Comparison of Clinical, Pathological, and Procedural Characteristics of Adult and Pediatric Acute Appendicitis before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the clinical, pathological, and surgical characteristics of acute appendicitis (AA) at the University Hospital Centre (UHC) Zagreb. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed demographic, clinical, and surgical data from consecutive AA patients. Data were collected from an electronic database for two periods: 1 January to 31 December 2019 (pre-COVID-19), and 11 March 2020, to 11 March 2021 (COVID-19 pandemic). RESULTS: During the two study periods, 855 appendectomies were performed, 427 in the pre-pandemic, and 428 during the pandemic. Demographic data were comparable between groups. There was statistically no significant difference in the type of appendectomy (p = 0.33) and the median hospital length of stay (3; (2-5) days, p = 0.08). There was an increase in the conversion rate during the pandemic period (4.2% vs. 7.7%, p = 0.03). The negative appendectomy rate and the incidence of perforated AA did not differ significantly (p = 0.34 for both). CONCLUSIONS: We did not observe a significant increase in the rate of AA complications during the COVID-19 pandemic at the UHC Zagreb. This may be attributed to two factors: (1) AA was diagnosed and treated as an emergency, which remained available during the pandemic, and (2) diagnostic and therapeutic protocols remained unaltered. We recommend a laparoscopic approach even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Concomitant Presence of Hydatid Cyst and Colorectal Liver Metastasis

A 65-year-old man, with signs of acute colon obstruction, was diagnosed with rectal tumour and liver hydatid cyst. Additionally, a focal liver lesion in segment 1 was detected. Moreover, physical examination revealed hepatomegaly and abdominal distension. Thus, rectal resection and small liver lesion biopsy was performed. Serological and pathohistological analyses showed concomitant presence of hydatid cyst and colorectal metastasis in the liver. Hence, the cyst was treated with anthelmintic therapy, and patient lived another year after the diagnosis. To the best of our knowledge, cases of concomitant hydatid cyst and colorectal liver metastasis has never been reported; thus, this article addresses a unique case of coexistence between these two serious liver diseases.

Abdominal wall reconstruction after emergent surgery for fistulizing incarcerated ventral wall hernia in morbidly obese patient.

BACKGROUND: Incarcerated abdominal wall hernias may have a variety of manifestations and the most dreaded consequence is strangulation leading to obstruction and perforation of hollow viscus. Very rarely, such a perforation presents with fistulization into the abdominal wall and skin, which is often not considered but may complicate the management approach. <br/>Case presentation: We reported on presentation and management of a 56-year-old morbidly obese male with a fistulizing incarcerated ventral wall hernia and postoperative abdominal wall necrosis. <br/>Discussion: Contained bowel perforations caused by ventral hernia incarceration are a rare and not well recognized problem and are confined to a handful of case reports in the surgical literature. <br/>Conclusion: The most recognized complications of ventral hernias are incarceration and strangulation leading to obstruction and consequent perforation; however, as the case described below reveals, intestinal perforation and bowel-skin fistulization may occur as unusual incident. Management should involve operative reduction, resection of the involved bowel and staged repair of abdominal wall defect.

LAPAROSCOPIC APPENDECTOMY DOES NOT INCREASE THE RATE OF NEGATIVE APPENDECTOMY along with a lower rate of perforated appendicitis - RESULTS IN 1899 PATIENTS at Zagreb UHC.

- Laparoscopic appendectomy is the method of choice of many professional societies owing to its many advantages. The question arises whether surgeons urge more easily to laparoscopic exploration due to its less invasiveness, faster recovery and adequate exploration of the entire abdominal cavity than to observation in unequivocal cases. This retrospective analysis (2009-2016) included 1899 patients undergoing laparoscopic (lap) or gridiron intra-abdominal approach treated at Zagreb University Hospital Centre. The analysis included total negative appendectomy, negative-negative appendectomy (normal appendix and no other pathology found), and negative-positive appendectomy (normal appendix but another pathology found) in children (≤16 years) and adults. There was no statistically significant difference in the rates of negative appendectomy (children) - lap vs. open (p=0.24); negative appendectomy (adults) - lap vs. open (p=0.15); negative-negative appendectomy (children) - lap vs. open (p=0.36); negative-negative appendectomy (adults) - lap vs. open (p=0.21); negative-positive appendectomy (children) - lap vs. open (p=0.53); negative-positive appendectomy (adults) - lap vs. open (p=0.56); and laparoscopy group negative appendectomy in children vs. adults (p=0.56). There was a statistically significantly higher perforation rate with the open approach in total (p<0.0001), in children (p<0.0001) and in adults (p=0.02). There was no statistically significant difference between adults and children in the perforation rate with laparoscopic approach (p=0.24) and perforation rate with open approach (p=0.29). Results confirmed that there was no statistically significant difference in the rate of negative appendectomy in all subgroups. It is concluded that laparoscopic appendectomy should be offered as the method of choice in any patient population with suspicion of acute appendicitis.

Prevalence of increased body weight and hypertension in the population of Croatian mainland and Adriatic Islands--are islanders really healthier?

The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of the hypertension and the increased body weight (BMI) between Croatian mainland and Adriatic island population. The data from the Croatian Adult Health Survey (N = 9,070) served as an estimate for the mainland Croatian population, while the data from "1001 Dalmatian study" (N = 1,001) were collected from four Adriatic islands; Rab, Vis, Lastovo and Mljet. The prevalence of increased body weight and hypertension was calculated for the four age groups and analyzed using chi-square test. The results indicate that men from the islands less frequently had normal body mass index (P < 0.001), and were more frequently overweight (P < 0.001). The prevalence of overweight and obesity were similar between the island and mainland women. The percent of normotensive respondents in men was significantly lower in islands (P < 0.001), while the prevalence of newly diagnosed hypertension was significantly higher among islanders in both genders (P < 0.001). Despite the traditionally prevalent Mediterranean diet and overall more favorable lifestyle islanders may not be as healthy as previously studies suggested, in terms of cardiovascular risk factors prevalence. This might be related to the poor access to health care and preventive measures or low interest for health care especially among men on the islands, reflected in the higher prevalence of newly diagnosed hypertension. These findings suggest that island populations represent good candidates for disease awareness programs and health promotion interventions.

Genome-wide association study of anthropometric traits in Korcula Island, Croatia.

AIM: To identify genetic variants underlying six anthropometric traits: body height, body weight, body mass index, brachial circumference, waist circumference, and hip circumference, using a genome-wide association study. METHODS: The study was carried out in the isolated population of the island of Korcula, Croatia, with 898 adult examinees who participated in the larger DNA-based genetic epidemiological study in 2007. Anthropometric measurements followed standard internationally accepted procedures. Examinees were genotyped using HumanHap 370CNV chip by Illumina, with a genome-wide scan containing 316730 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). RESULTS: A total of 11 SNPs were associated with the investigated traits at the level of P<10(-5), with one SNP (rs7792939 in gene zinc finger protein 498, ZNF498) associated with body weight, hip circumference, and brachial circumference (P=3.59-5.73 x 10(-6)), and another one (rs157350 in gene delta-sarcoglycan, SGCD) with both brachial and hip circumference (P=3.70-6.08 x 10(-6). Variants in CRIM1, a gene regulating delivery of bone morphogenetic proteins to the cell surface, and ITGA1, involved in the regulation of mesenchymal stem cell proliferation and cartilage production, were also associated with brachial circumference (P=7.82 and 9.68 x 10(-6), respectively) and represent interesting functional candidates. Other associations involved those between genes SEZ6L2 and MAX and waist circumference, XTP6 and brachial circumference, and AMPA1/GRIA1 and height. CONCLUSION: Although the study was underpowered for the reported associations to reach formal threshold of genome-wide significance under the assumption of independent multiple testing, the consistency of association between the 2 variants and a set of anthropometric traits makes CRIM1 and ITGA1 highly interesting for further replication and functional follow-up. Increased linkage disequilibrium between the used markers in an isolated population makes the formal significance threshold overly stringent, and changed allele frequencies in isolate population may contribute to identifying variants that would not be easily identified in large outbred populations.