Predicting the severity of acute pancreatitis: Current approaches and future directions.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a sudden-onset inflammatory disease of the pancreas. The severity of AP is classified into mild, moderate, and severe categories based on the presence and persistence of organ failure. Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. It requires early recognition for appropriate timely management. Prognostic scores for predicting SAP incorporating many clinical, laboratory, and radiological parameters have been developed in the past. However, all of these prognostic scores have low positive predictive value for SAP and some of these scores require >24 h for assessment. There is a need to develop biomarkers that can accurately identify patients at risk for SAP early in the course of the presentation. In this review, we aim to provide a summary of the most commonly utilized prognostic scores for AP and discuss future directions.

Omphalitis with Umbilical Abscess in an Adult with a Urachal Remnant.

Omphalitis is an inflammation of the umbilicus and is seldom diagnosed in adults. It is even rarer when it results from an infection of the urachus, an embryological remnant that connects the umbilicus to the dome of the bladder. Patients with omphalitis present with erythema, edema, tenderness, and purulent discharge form the umbilical stump. Workup includes ultrasonography and CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis. Management consists of antibiotics and incision and drainage of the umbilical abscess, followed by surgical resection of the urachal remnant. In this article, we report a case of omphalitis complicated by umbilical abscess in a 20-year-old female with a urachal remnant.

Efficacy of the Combined Administration of Systemic and Intra-Articular Tranexamic Acid in Total Hip Arthroplasty Secondary to Femoral Neck Fracture: A Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is associated with substantial blood loss in the postoperative course. Tranexamic acid (TXA) is a potent antifibrinolytic agent, routinely administered by intravenous (IV) and topical (intra-articular, IA) route, which can possibly interrupt the cascade of events due to hemostatic irregularities close to the source of bleeding. However, scientific evidence of combined administration of TXA in THA secondary to a femoral neck fracture is still meagre. The present study aims to compare the patients who were administered combined IV and topical TXA with a control group in terms of blood loss, transfusion rate, and incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and thromboembolism (TE). Patients and Methods. 195 patients with femoral neck fracture underwent THA and were placed into two groups: (1) IV and IA TXA group which had 58 patients and (2) no TXA control group which had 137 patients. In the TXA group, 1 g IV TXA was administered 30 minutes before incision, and 1 g IA TXA was administered intraoperatively after fascia closure. No drains were placed, and soft spica was applied to the hip. RESULTS: Combined usage of IV and IA TXA showed better results when compared to the control group in terms of blood transfusion rate (31%) and hemoglobin drop (28%). No cases of DVT or TE were noted among the two study groups. CONCLUSION: Combined use of IV and IA TXA provided significantly better results compared to no TXA use with respect to all variables related to postoperative blood loss in THA. Moreover, TXA use is safe in terms of incidence of symptomatic DVT and TE.