Seguridad y calidad de vida de los donadores renales. Comparación entre dos técnicas.

BACKGROUND: Currently there are no studies that determine the safety and quality of life of kidney donors in Mexico. OBJECTIVE: To determine the safety of being a kidney donor and the quality of life, comparing the open approach with hand-assisted laparoscopic technique. METHOD: Observational, cross-sectional, analytical study of the kidney donors in our hospital from January 2015 to December 2018, in two groups: open technique and hand-assisted laparoscopic. To determine safety, the Clavien-Dindo scale and transoperative bleeding were used, and the SF-36 health-related quality of life questionnaire was applied. RESULTS: There are no reports of peri-operative complications in any type of approach. All the patients obtained a grade I in the Clavien-Dindo scale. When the difference in the score of the SF-36 health-related quality of life questionnaire in kidney donor patients with hand-assisted laparoscopic surgical approach versus open approach was compared, a difference between both means of 14.05 was obtained, with p < 0.0001 in favor of the hand-assisted approach. CONCLUSIONS: Being a kidney donor is safe and the approach that we recommend is hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy.

ANTECEDENTES: Actualmente en México no hay estudios que determinen la seguridad y la calidad de vida de los donadores renales. OBJETIVO: Determinar la seguridad de ser donador renal y la calidad de vida, comparando el abordaje abierto frente al laparoscópico mano-asistido. MÉTODO: Estudio observacional, transversal, analítico, de todos los donadores renales de nuestro hospital de enero de 2015 a diciembre de 2018, con seguimiento mínimo de 2 años. Se dividieron en dos grupos: operados con técnica abierta o laparoscópica mano-asistida. Para determinar la seguridad se utilizaron la escala de Clavien-Dindo y el sangrado transquirúrgico, y se les aplicó el cuestionario SF-36 de calidad de vida relacionada con la salud. RESULTADOS: No se reportan complicaciones transquirúrgicas en ningún tipo de abordaje. Todos los pacientes obtuvieron grado I en escala de Clavien-Dindo. En el puntaje del cuestionario SF-36 en pacientes donadores renales con abordaje quirúrgico laparoscópico mano-asistido versus abordaje abierto se obtuvo una diferencia entre ambas medias de 14.05, con p < 0.0001 a favor del abordaje mano-asistido. CONCLUSIONES: Ser donador renal es seguro y el abordaje que recomendamos ofrecer es el laparoscópico mano-asistido.

Radical Nephrectomy and Pulmonary Lobectomy for Renal Cell Carcinoma With Tumor Thrombus Extension into the Inferior Vena Cava and Pulmonary Arteries.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common malignancies of the urinary tract. Venous migration, tumor thrombus and metastases are often seen in patients with RCC and are adverse prognostic factors. Intravascular tumor growth along the renal vein into the inferior vena cava occurs in up to 10% of all patients with RCC. Furthermore, extension of the tumor reaching the right atrium is detected in approximately 1% of all patients. Synchronous involvement of pulmonary arteries with tumor emboli is very rare and challenging. Management of metastatic RCC includes surgical resection of renal and metastatic lesions. We present 3 cases of patients with RCC tumor thrombus extending into the inferior vena cava (IVC) and with pulmonary emboli of the tumor thrombus into one of the branches of the main pulmonary artery. All the cases had simultaneous resection of the kidney tumor with the tumor thrombus and pulmonary lobectomy that included the tumor emboli with satisfactory outcome. CASE REPORT: We present a series of cases of RCC with tumor extension into the inferior vena cava (IVC) and with tumor emboli to the pulmonary arteries. Surgical procedure in all cases consisted of radical nephrectomy with IVC tumor thrombus resection, along with a thoracotomy with lung resection including the tumor emboli to one of the branches of the main pulmonary artery. Synchronous metastatic lesions were found on the liver in one case and contiguous extension of renal tumor to the pancreas in another. CONCLUSION: In patients with IVC thrombus with synchronous pulmonary artery tumor embolus, such as the cases presented in this series, a careful multidisciplinary management approach is preferable. Transplant technique used in our open approach minimizes complications, blood loss, and provides excellent visualization for abdominal vascular manipulation of IVC. This provides a potentially curable treatment option with acceptable survival rates.

Use of Kidneys with Small Renal Tumors for Transplantation.

Population of patients with end-stage renal disease increases every day. There is a vast difference in the number of patients on the waiting list for a kidney transplant, and the number of donors and the gap increases every year. The use of more marginal organs can increase the donor pool. These organs include the kidneys with small renal cell carcinomas (RCTC). There has been a number of reports in the literature about the use of these grafts for renal transplant after tumor excision and reconstruction. These grafts have been reported to be used with good renal function outcomes without an increased risk for malignancy recurrences. We present the collection of evidence for the use of kidneys with RCC for transplantation, technique used for surgical resection, and reconstruction as well as insights on the recommendations for the use of these grafts.

Molecular basis and current treatment for alcoholic liver disease.

Alcohol use disorders and alcohol dependency affect millions of individuals worldwide. The impact of these facts lies in the elevated social and economic costs. Alcoholic liver disease is caused by acute and chronic exposure to ethanol which promotes oxidative stress and inflammatory response. Chronic consumption of ethanol implies liver steatosis, which is the first morphological change in the liver, followed by liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. This review comprises a broad approach of alcohol use disorders, and a more specific assessment of the pathophysiologic molecular basis, and genetics, as well as clinical presentation and current modalities of treatment for alcoholic liver disease.

Role of angiotensin II in liver fibrosis-induced portal hypertension and therapeutic implications.

Angiotensin II (AT-II) is a peptide that plays an important role in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone (RAA) system. Traditionally, the RAA system has been related with states of systemic hypertension and hypoperfusion as a counterbalance mechanism. Recently, AT-II has been studied for its properties in the process of fibrosis in several organs, especially in the liver. AT-II is capable to stimulate the activated hepatic stellate cells, which increase expression of profibrogenic molecules like tumor growth factor-beta, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 and collagen I, among others. At the same time, AT-II is implied in the hemodynamic balance of cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Due to its profibrogenic and vasoactive properties, blockade of AT-II actions constitutes an important therapeutic target to inhibit fibrotic processes and reduction of risk of complications of portal hypertension as well. Some drugs like angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or the angiotensin II receptor blockers have been studied as alternatives for the treatment of patients with cirrhosis with promising results. Nonetheless, additional research is required in order to consider these drugs as a part of the integral treatment of the patient with cirrhosis and portal hypertension.

[Novel treatments for hepatitis C viral infection and the hepatic fibrosis]. / Nuevos tratamientos para la infección por virus de hepatitis C y el proceso de fibrosis hepática.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection represents a global health problem due to its evolution to hepatic cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The viral pathogenesis and infectious processes are not yet fully understood. The development of natural viral resistance towards the host immune system represents a mayor challenge for the design of alternative therapeutic interventions and development of viral vaccines. The molecular mechanisms of hepatic fibrosis are well described. New alternatives for the treatment of patients with HCV infection and hepatic cirrhosis are under intensive research. New drugs such as viral protease inhibitors and assembly inhibitors, as well as immune modulators have been studied in clinical trials. Additional alternatives include antifibrotic drugs, which reverse the hepatic cellular damage caused by HCV infection. This review makes reference to viral infective mechanisms, molecular pathways of liver fibrosis and overviews conventional and new treatments for HCV infection and liver fibrosis.

Nuevos tratamientos para la infección por virus de hepatitis C y el proceso de fibrosis hepática: [revisión] / Novel treatments for hepatitis C viral infection and the hepatic fibrosis: [revision]

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection represents a global health problem due to its evolution to hepatic cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The viral pathogenesis and infectious processes are not yet fully understood. The development of natural viral resistance towards the host immune system represents a mayor challenge for the design of alternative therapeutic interventions and development of viral vaccines. The molecular mechanisms of hepatic fibrosis are well described. New alternatives for the treatment of patients with HCV infection and hepatic cirrhosis are under intensive research. New drugs such as viral protease inhibitors and assembly inhibitors, as well as immune modulators have been studied in clinical trials. Additional alternatives include antifibrotic drugs, which reverse the hepatic cellular damage caused by HCV infection. This review makes reference to viral infective mechanisms, molecular pathways of liver fibrosis and overviews conventional and new treatments for HCV infection and liver fibrosis.