Serum interleukin-6 and C reactive protein responses in patients after laparoscopic or conventional cholecystectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the acute phase inflammatory response to surgical trauma after laparoscopic and conventional cholecystectomy. DESIGN: Prospective open study. SETTING: University Hospital in The Netherlands. SUBJECTS: 21 patients with symptomatic cholelithiasis admitted for elective cholecystectomy who had had no previous upper abdominal operations. INTERVENTIONS: 12 patients underwent conventional, and 9 patients laparoscopic, cholecystectomy. Circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C reactive protein concentrations were measured 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours after operation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Changes in IL-6 and C reactive protein concentrations, and comparison of operative blood loss and length of stay in hospital. RESULTS: Those treated by laparoscopic cholecystectomy lost significantly less blood (median 60 compared to 100 ml) and spent significantly fewer days in hospital (median 2 compared with 7 days), (p < 0.01 in each case). The only changes in circulating IL-6 concentrations were seen in patients over the age of 60 years who underwent conventional cholecystectomy. There were significant differences in C reactive protein concentrations between the two operations at both 24 and 48 hours after the operation (p < 0.01 in each case). CONCLUSION: We conclude that laparoscopic cholecystectomy reduces the acute phase inflammatory response compared with the conventional operation; there seems to be no relevant correlation between plasma concentrations of IL-6 and C reactive protein; the presence of IL-6 does not affect the response of C reactive protein to trauma; and the response of IL-6 to trauma is age dependent.

The effect of packed cells and whole blood transfusions on survival after curative resection for colorectal carcinoma.

The effect of perioperative blood transfusions on survival after curative resection for colorectal carcinoma was studied retrospectively on 270 patients with special emphasis on whole blood transfusion. Eighty-six (32 percent) patients did not receive blood transfusions, whereas the remaining 110 (41 percent) received packed cells and 74 (27 percent) received at least 2 units of whole blood. The recurrence-free and overall 5-year survival rates for the transfused group were 58 and 57 percent, respectively, and for the non-transfused group, 78 and 72 percent, respectively. These differences were highly significant (log rank test, P less than 0.001). The recurrence-free and overall 5-year survival rates for patients who received only whole blood or a combination of whole blood and packed cells was 51 percent, and of those who received only packed cells was 63 percent. The difference was not statistically significant (log rank test, P = 0.08, P = 0.35). Administration of more than 6 units of blood is attended with a significantly worse 5-year disease-free survival rate than administration of a smaller volume. The survival was not decreased if 6 or more units of whole blood were given. The authors conclude that perioperative blood transfusions have a significant detrimental effect on survival after curative resection for colorectal carcinoma. This effect is not enhanced by whole blood transfusions.

Small-bowel perforation complicating the open treatment of generalized peritonitis.

Fourteen patients were found to have developed 53 small-bowel perforations in the absence of pathogenic factors during "open abdominal treatment" for generalized peritonitis. They occurred after three to 17 laparotomies, on average at the eighth postoperative day (one to 120 days). Forty-nine lesions were located superficially. A relation with organ system failure, routine blood tests, type of nutrition, or microorganisms could not be demonstrated. The etiology of the lesions remains uncertain, but the open abdominal treatment must play some important role in its pathophysiology. Five patients survived. The therapy of choice appears to be mobilization of the bowel with resection of the affected part and primary anastomosis.