Differentiating pancreatic pseudocyst and pancreatic necrosis using computerized tomography.

Ten per cent of patients with acute pancreatitis will develop pancreatic complications. Differentiating pancreatic pseudocyst formation from pancreatic necrosis may be difficult based on clinical grounds. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of computerized tomography in differentiating these processes. A retrospective analysis was performed of 40 patients who developed pancreatic complications following an episode of acute pancreatitis and who subsequently underwent operation for drainage of their pancreatic fluid collections. All 40 patients had abdominal CT scans performed before surgery and the patients were then categorized on the basis of CT findings as having (1) a pseudocyst with a well-defined cyst wall, (2) peripancreatic fluid marked by the absence of a cyst wall, and (3) a combination of a pseudocyst as well as free peripancreatic fluid. Patients with pseudocysts had an average hospital stay of 14 +/- 2 days, a hospital morbidity rate of 16%, and a hospital mortality rate of 0%. In contrast, patients with peripancreatic fluid collections had an average hospital stay of 43 +/- 4 days (p less than 0.01) and hospital morbidity and mortality rates of 74% (p less than 0.01) and 22% (p less than 0.05), respectively. Patients with both pseudocysts and peripancreatic fluid collections behaved in a similar fashion to patients with peripancreatic fluid alone as characterized by a prolonged hospital stay and a high incidence (80%) of postoperative complications. At one year follow-up, 89% of the patients with pseudocysts were asymptomatic, whereas only 13% (p less than 0.01) of patients with peripancreatic fluid were symptom free. These data demonstrate that pseudocyst and peripancreatic fluid collections have markedly different biologic characteristics both in their short-term and long-term behavior. The results suggest that CT scanning can differentiate these processes and may help in directing the appropriate surgical therapy.

Evaluation of insulin secretion after pancreas autotransplantation by oral or intravenous glucose challenge.

Segmental pancreatic autotransplantation is accompanied by surgical alterations to the pancreas that may have consequences for carbohydrate metabolism. Four mongrel dogs were evaluated before operation and sequentially until 40 weeks after total pancreatectomy and autotransplantation of the splenic lobe of the pancreas with bolus intravenous and oral administration. Intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) (0.5 g/kg) revealed maintenance of fasting euglycemia for as long as 40 weeks after operation. Peak glucose and integrated glucose values did not show significant changes as a result of autotransplantation. Following transplantation, a delayed peak insulin response was seen; however, basal, peak, and integrated insulin values were largely unaltered. Only K values, a measure of glucose disposal, showed severe alterations (2.44 +/- 0.21 before operation to 1.24 +/- 0.30 at 40 weeks after operation). Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) (2.0 g/kg) demonstrated an increased peak hyperglycemic response after autotransplantation with increased integrated glucose responses. Insulin levels remained at those levels seen before operation, and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) responses were unchanged during the OGTT as late as 20 weeks after operation. In conclusion, pancreas autotransplantation after total pancreatectomy results in significant metabolic alterations that the IVGTT fails to detect with absolute glucose or insulin levels. However, K values are significantly lowered, which indicates alterations in cellular glucose transport. The OGTT demonstrates hyperglycemia without increased insulin or GIP levels, which suggests an altered beta cell response to the enteric stimulus of insulin release. These changes are nonetheless well tolerated by animals that have remained clinically healthy and euglycemic in the basal state.

Therapeutic embolization for delayed rectal hemorrhage following episiotomy: a case report.

A case of severe, delayed rectal bleeding following an episiotomy was treated with selective pelvic arteriography and embolization after surgery failed to control the hemorrhage.

Can success in the surgical residency be predicted from preresidency evaluation?

Sixty-two residents entered the general surgical residency over a 10-year period, and 42 completed it. When the 20 who were dismissed from the program were compared by discriminant analysis to those who completed it successfully, it was found that Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) membership, high class rank, clinical honors, and publications predicted success with 89% accuracy. Ten of the 42 who completed the program were rated as outstanding, 22 were average and 10 below average. No subjective or objective preresidency selection data correlated with later chief resident performance.

Postoperative recurrence in Crohn's disease. The effect of the initial length of bowel resection and operative procedure.

We reviewed the surgical experience of 61 patients with Crohn's disease who have received surgical treatment over a 32-year period. Sex, age at onset of symptoms, associated systemic abnormalities, presenting symptoms, indication for previous surgery, and site of disease were not significant predictors of postoperative recurrence. Certain extensive resections of the small bowel are associated with a decreased probability of rehospitalization and reoperation. Resection of more than 25 cm of the small bowel and more than 50 cm of the "total" (small plus large) bowel was associated with a decreased likelihood of recurrence. Interestingly, analysis of larger resections (50, 75, 100 cm) failed to document a decreased likelihood of recurrence. The amount of large bowel resected did not predict postoperative recurrence. Bypass and diversion procedures offer a significantly enhanced risk for recurrent disease, whereas procedures employing resection are associated with lower probabilities of recurrent disease. We conclude that technically adequate resections of 25 to 50 cm of the small bowel or the combined small and large bowel are associated with a decreased probability of reoperation or rehospitalization after the initial surgery for Crohn's disease.

Wound infections in renal transplant recipients--a complication of urinary tract infections during allograft malfunction.

Both wound and urinary tract infections are common in renal transplant recipients. Certain recipients, however, develop detrimental complications following such infections, and our aim was to analyze factors that predisposed recipients to such complications. Analysis of 174 consecutive transplants performed over a 7-year period ending December 1980 demonstrated that a urinary infection developing during acute tubular malfunction (ATM) led to serious septic complications. The complication rate was 70% in the 30 recipients in whom urinary tract infection occurred during ATM but only 10% in the 20 recipients with infection in the absence of ATM (P less than 0.001). Similarly, analysis of 14 deep wound infections showed that the source of the organisms was the urinary tract (12 cases), especially when the urinary tract infection occurred in the setting of ATM. Deep injections led to high rates of morbidity and mortality. Conversely, superficial wound infections (10 cases) contained staphylococci and healed without complications. We suggest that urinary tract organisms, which are difficult to eradicate with antibiotics because of low urinary concentration of antibiotics during ATM, lead to infection of the perirenal tissues.

Small bowel perforation secondary to metastatic lung carcinoma.

Since 1961, there have been a total of seven patients with small bowel perforation caused by metastatic lung carcinoma reported in the literature. Perforation of the small bowel to metastatic lung carcinoma must be considered when evaluating older patients who have histories of heavy cigarette smoking and signs and symptoms suggestive of pulmonary neoplasia. Primary resection and end-to-end anastomosis of the perforated bowel is the treatment of choice. No patient with small bowel perforation secondary to lung carcinoma has survived more than four months.

Cold lymphocytotoxins: an important cause of acute tubular necrosis occurring immediately after transplantation.

Cold-reactive lymphocytotoxins, present in some renal-transplant recipients, may be an important cause of the acute tubular necrosis (ATN) that commonly occurs immediately after transplantation. In a study of transplantation of optimally preserved cadaveric kidneys obtained from heart-beating donors, ATN was found in 10 of 17 recipients with cold antibodies and in only 1 of 21 recipients without such antibodies. Warming of the allograft after completion of anastomosis significantly reduced the incidence of ATN at 18% in recipients with cold antibodies. When pairs of reicpients with cold antibodies were transplanted with identically preserved cadaveric kidneys from single donors ATN was observed only in recipients whose donor kidney was not warmed. ATN may result from antibody-medicated damage to vascular endothelial cells during the brief period when the recipient's blood starts flowing into a "cold" allograft.

Prophylactic antibiotic therapy with cefamandole and tobramycin for patients undergoing renal transplantation.

The incidence of infections among patients undergoing renal transplantation has been reported as high as 83% during the first post-transplant year. In an effort to reduce the occurrence of such infections, we evaluated the role of perioperative prophylactic antibiotics in these patients. Thirty-seven patients undergoing transplantation were assigned randomly to treatment groups (N = 20, cefamandole, 1 gm IM every 6 hrs for 8 doses/tobramycin 1 mg/kg IM for 1 dose, starting 2 hrs prior to surgery) and control groups (N = 17, no antibiotics). A uniform infection surveillance system was used. Eighty-one percent (30/37) of patients became infected; 70% (14/20) of treated patients and 94% (16/17) of controls (p = 0.14). Since antibiotic prophylaxis might be expected to exert the greatest influence in the immediate postoperative period, we examined patient outcome data for both the first seven posttransplant days and for the entire hospitalization. Of the 38% (14/37) of patients who developed infections during the first posttransplant week, a statistically greater proportion came from the control group than from the treated group (10/17 vs. 4/20, p = 0.04). These data suggest that this regimen is effective in reducing the occurrence of infections during the first week following renal transplantation.

Massive unifocal cyst of the liver in a drug abuser: case report and review of the literature.

A 20-year-old white male presented, complaining of abdominal fullness. His previous history was unremarkable except for the use of intravenous illicit drugs. Physical examination disclosed a mass filling the upper and lower right quadrants. We evaluated this mass through the use of barium contrast x-ray, sonography and angiography, and made the preoperative diagnosis of hepatic cystic disease. On operative exploration, a large thin-walled cyst was found on the right lobe of the liver and was shown to be free of communication with the biliary tree; 3,000 cc of chocolate colored fluid were aspirated from the cyst. Total removal of the cyst was achieved with careful dissection. The cavity was filled with omentum and closed with drainage. After a benign immediate postoperative course, the patient remains asymptomatic one year later. Although most reports from the literature describe unexpected intraoperative findings, we stress that symptomatic patients can and should be diagnosed prior to laparotomy, and that a thorough search be made for concomitant polycystic disease. Total extirpation of the cyst is the most desirable of the discussed treatments, when tempered by the age and physical condition of the patient. Thorough preoperative evaluation and awareness of different modalities of therapy allow for the correct choice of treatment.

Intestinal obstruction: a complication of percutaneous cystotomy. A case report.

The percutaneous suprapubic bladder catheter has become an important tool for the urologist because of its efficacy, simplicity and wide range of applications. A case of intestinal obstruction secondary to percutaneous cystotomy with the Bonanno suprapubic bladder drainage catheter is reported.

Kidney transplantatability across a positive cross-match. Cross-match assays and distribution of B lymphocytes in donor tissues.

Lymphocyte subpopulations were determined in peripheral blood, abdominal lymph-nodes, and spleens from renal allograft donors. Percentages of B lymphocytes were low in peripheral blood (mean +/- S.E., 10-0 +/- 1-0%), variable in lymph-nodes (28-8 +/- 3-8), and high in spleens (41-4 +/- 2-1). Microlym-phocytotoxicity cross-match assays in which sera with B-cell-specific antibody were used were invariably negative with peripheral-blood lymphocytes but positive with lymph-node or spleen preparations. Four renal allografts were transplanted when the standard cross-match was positive with spleen or lymph-node but negative with blood. No hyperacute or accelerated rejection was observed. Potential recipients are often denied allografts because of a positive cross-match with either lymph-node or splenic preparations, and this could be avoided in some cases if cross-matches were performed on peripheral blood or B-lymphocyte-depleted splenic or lymph-node preparations. These results accord with those of other workers who found that B-cell pre-sensitisation is not a contraindication to transplantation.

Utilization of Virginia's hospital emergency departments.

When compared with the results of a statewide study conducted in 1968, these data indicate that the utilization of Virginia's emergency departments has increased substantially both in absolute numbers and on a per capita basis. Consistent with the national pattern, the results of this study suggest that a large proportion of patients who utilize the hospital emergency department are actually seeking care for non-acute conditions. Thus the hospital emergency department and its staff are confronted with the complex and often contradictory task of responding appropriately to growing demands for primary medical care while, concurrently, trying to improve the level of care for patients with acute illness or injuries. The development of workable ways to resolve this dilemma and still ensure that the public has ready access to appropriate medical care at a reasonable cost is one of the major challenges in the health industry today.

Abdominal pain. An analysis of 1,000 consecutive cases in a University Hospital emergency room.

In the majority of patients in this series of 1,000, acute abdominal pain was due to conditions that required neither surgical intervention nor hospitalization. Eleven of the 1,000 patients had an early missed diagnosis in the emergency clinic for which a subsequent operation was needed, and twenty underwent an operation which subsequent diagnosis showed was not required. All false-negative evaluations occurred in patients with early appendicitis or small bowel obstruction. Most false-positive results were due to acute infections of the female genitourinary tract in patients operated on to exclude appendicitis or a tubo-ovarian abscess. The following factors help identify the high risk patient with an acute surgical abdomen: (1) pain for less than 48 hours; (2) pain followed by vomiting; (3) guarding and rebound tenderness on physical examination; (4) advanced age; (5) a prior surgical procedure. The presence of these features demands careful evaluation and a liberal policy of admission and observation. White blood cell counts, body temperature, and abnormal abdominal roentgenograms may add confirmatory evidence but are not particularly helpful as screening devices.