ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Traumatic diaphragmatic injuries are rare and usually occur after thoracoabdominal trauma. Most patients will have other potentially life-threatening injuries. High index of suspicion is the most important attribute. Unfortunately, it is incorrectly diagnosed in up to 33% of cases. If left untreated, the onset of complications carries mortality rates between 25 and 80%. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of an acute diaphragmatic laceration in a 29-year-old male with thoracoabdominal trauma due to a road traffic accident. Physical examination revealed an absence of normal breath sounds in the left hemithorax. CT-scan confirmed a voluminous left diaphragmatic hernia with omental, gastric, and transverse colon content, so surgical intervention was advised. During laparoscopy, a 15 cm long and 5 cm wide diaphragmatic defect was identified. The hernia was reduced laparoscopically, and the defect repaired with interrupted non-absorbable sutures. As a reinforcement, a visceral contact prosthesis was placed. The patient had an uneventful recovery and after 12-month follow-up he has no evidence of recurrence. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Diaphragmatic injuries do not close spontaneously. An abdominal approach is recommended as it allows for evaluation of the entire abdomen and treatment of any associated injury. Watertight closure with nonabsorbable suture and in case of large defects, the placement of a mesh on the peritoneal side of the diaphragm is recommended to reinforce the primary repair. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic emergency surgery has proved to be effective and safe in selected patients with hemodynamic stability. Patients can expect the benefits of minimal invasive surgery with recurrence rate like the open approach.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Colorectal surgery (CRS) is associated with high morbidity rates, being anastomotic leakage (AL) one of the most serious complications with an incidence as high as 15%, accounting for up to a third of mortality in these procedures. The identification of pre-clinical markers may allow an early diagnosis and a timely intervention. The objective of the present study was to compare the performance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) vs C-reactive protein (CRP) as early predictors of AL in CRS. METHODS: A retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients who underwent a colorectal surgery with anastomosis from June 2015 to April 2019. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to find the cutoff points with the best diagnostic performance of AL. RESULTS: A total of 116 patients were included. From 43 patients (37%) who developed a total of 63 complications, 9 (7.76%) presented with an AL with a median of 8 days (range: 5-9). No significant differences were found for NLR between patients with vs without AL. In contrast, median CRP was significantly higher in patients who subsequently presented with AL, both on day 4 (164 vs 64, p = 0.04) and 5 (94 vs 44, p < 0.001) after surgery. The best predictive performance through ROC curves was found on postoperative day 5, with a CRP value of >54 mg/dL (AUC: 0.81, Sensitivity: 89%, Specificity: 61%). CONCLUSIONS: CRP appears superior to NLR as an early predictor of AL following CRS. The best diagnostic performance was obtained on postoperative day 5 with a cutoff value of >54 mg/dL.
