Evaluating the use of laparoscopic gastrostomy in children with congenital heart disease in Colombia: a retrospective analysis.

Introduction: Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is the most common congenital disorder and a leading cause of infant mortality. Despite improved survival rates, patients with CHD often face malnutrition due to increased metabolic demands, feeding difficulties, and gastrointestinal dysfunction. Malnutrition in CHD is linked to poor short and long-term clinical outcomes. Gastrostomy (GT) is frequently used for long-term enteral support, and laparoscopic GT (LGT) has demonstrated advantages in children without CHD. This study evaluated a modified Georgeson's percutaneous LGT technique and its perioperative complications in children with CHD. Methods: We performed an analytical retrospective cohort study from 2018 to 2022, including patients younger than 24 months with a diagnosis of CHD who underwent LGT. The primary outcome evaluated was the presence of complications during surgery and the first thirty postoperative days. Complications were graded using Clavien-Dindo's (CD) classification. Sociodemographic, clinical, and procedure-related variables were collected. A bivariate analysis was performed using STATA 15, and a p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Seventy-eight patients were eligible (male 56.41%, Median age 129.5 days, weight: 4.83 kg). The median surgery time was 35 min. The complication rate was 24.36%. The most frequent complications were GT site infection (10.26%), followed by leakage (8.97%) and granuloma formation (6.41%). Conversion to open surgery was significantly associated with postoperative complications (p = 0.002). Conclusion: This modified technique is well-tolerated in children with CHD, demonstrating a low rate of CD grade 3A/3B complications and no grade 4 or 5 complications.

Diseño y validación de una herramienta para la predicción de desenlaces adversos en pacientes con obstrucción intestinal por bridas: La escala HALVIC / Design and validation of a predicting adverse outcomes toll for patients with adhesive small bowel obstruction: HALVIC score

Introducción. La obstrucción intestinal por bridas representa una causa común de consulta a los servicios de urgencias, pero hay poca claridad sobre qué pacientes tienen mayor riesgo de desarrollar complicaciones. El objetivo de este estudio fue diseñar y validar una escala de predicción de riesgo de desenlaces adversos en pacientes con obstrucción intestinal por bridas. Métodos. Estudio de cohorte retrospectivo realizado a partir de la base de datos MIMIC-IV. Se incluyeron pacientes adultos admitidos al servicio de urgencias entre 2008 y 2019, con diagnóstico de obstrucción intestinal por bridas. El desenlace principal fue el compuesto de resección intestinal, ingreso a unidad de cuidados intensivos y mortalidad por cualquier causa. Se diseñó una escala de predicción de riesgo asignando un puntaje a cada variable. Resultados. Se incluyeron 513 pacientes, 63,7 % hombres. El desenlace compuesto se presentó en el 25,7 % de los casos. La edad, historia de insuficiencia cardiaca y enfermedad arterial periférica, nivel de hemoglobina, recuento de leucocitos e INR constituyeron el mejor modelo de predicción de estos desenlaces (AUC 0,75). A partir de este modelo, se creó la escala simplificada HALVIC, clasificando el riesgo del desenlace compuesto en bajo (0-2 puntos), medio (3-4 puntos) y alto (5-7 puntos). Conclusión. La escala HALVIC es una herramienta de predicción simple y fácilmente aplicable. Puede identificar de manera precisa los pacientes con obstrucción intestinal por bridas con alto riesgo de complicaciones, permitiendo el ajuste individualizado de las estrategias de manejo para mejorar los desenlaces

Introduction. Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction (ASBO) represents a common cause of consultation to the emergency department. Currently there is little clarity about which patients with ASBO are at increased risk of developing complications, potentially benefiting from early surgical management. The present study aims to design and validate a risk prediction scale for adverse outcomes in patients with ASBO. Methods. Retrospective cohort study performed from the MIMIC-IV database between 2008 and 2019. Adult patients admitted to the emergency department with a diagnosis of ASBO were included. The primary outcome was the composite of bowel resection, intensive care unit admission, and all-cause mortality. A risk prediction scale was designed by assigning a score to each variable according to the measure of association obtained in the logistic regression model. All analyses were performed in R statistical software (version 3.5.3). Results. Five-hundred-thirteen patients were included (men 63.7%, median age: 61 years). Composite outcome was present in 25.7% of cases. Age, history of heart failure and peripheral arterial disease, hemoglobin level, leukocyte count, and INR were the best predictors of these outcomes (AUC 0.75). Based on this model, the simplified HALVIC scale was created, classifying the risk of the composite outcome as low (0-2 points), medium (3-4 points) and high (5-7 points). Conclussion. The HALVIC scale is presented as a simple and easily applicable predictive tool in the clinical setting, which can accurately identify patients with ASBO at high risk of complications, allowing the surgeon to adjust management strategies individually and potentially improving the outcomes of these patients