Long-term outcomes after contaminated complex abdominal wall reconstruction.

PURPOSE: Complex abdominal wall repair (CAWR) in a contaminated operative field is a challenge. Available literature regarding long-term outcomes of CAWR comprises studies that often have small numbers and heterogeneous patient populations. This study aims to assess long-term outcomes of modified-ventral hernia working group (VHWG) grade 3 repairs. Because the relevance of hernia recurrence (HR) as the primary outcome for this patient group is contentious, the need for further hernia surgery (FHS) was also assessed in relation to long-term survival. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study with a single prospective follow-up time-point nested in a consecutive series of patients undergoing CAWR in two European national intestinal failure centers. RESULTS: In long-term analysis, 266 modified VHWG grade 3 procedures were included. The overall HR rate was 32.3%. The HR rates for non-crosslinked biologic meshes and synthetic meshes when fascial closure was achieved were 20.3% and 30.6%, respectively. The rates of FHS were 7.2% and 16.7%, and occurred only within the first 3 years. Bridged repairs showed poorer results (fascial closure 22.9% hernia recurrence vs bridged 57.1% recurrence). Overall survival was relatively good with 80% en 70% of the patients still alive after 5 and 10 years, respectively. In total 86.6% of the patients remained free of FHS. CONCLUSIONS: In this study of contaminated CAWR, non-crosslinked biologic mesh shows better results than synthetic mesh. Bridging repairs with no posterior and/or anterior fascial closure have a higher recurrence rate. The overall survival was good and the majority of patients remained free of additional hernia surgery.

The development and validation of risk-stratification models for short-term outcomes following contaminated complex abdominal wall reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: Short-term outcomes for patients undergoing contaminated complex abdominal wall reconstruction (CCAWR), including risk stratification, have not been studied in sufficiently high numbers. This study aims to develop and validate risk-stratification models for Clavien-Dindo (CD) grade ≥ 3 complications in patients undergoing CCAWR. METHODS: A consecutive cohort of patients who underwent CCAWR in two European national intestinal failure centers, from January 2004 to December 2015, was identified. Data were collected retrospectively for short-term outcomes and used to develop risk models using logistic regression. A further cohort, from January 2016 to December 2017, was used to validate the models. RESULTS: The development cohort consisted of 272 procedures performed in 254 patients. The validation cohort consisted of 114 patients. The cohorts were comparable in baseline demographics (mean age 58.0 vs 58.1; sex 58.8% male vs 54.4%, respectively). A multi-variate model including the presence of intestinal failure (p < 0.01) and operative time (p < 0.01) demonstrated good discrimination and calibration on validation. Models for wound and intra-abdominal complications were also developed, including pre-operative immunosuppression (p = 0.05), intestinal failure (p = 0.02), increasing operative time (p = 0.04), increasing number of anastomoses (p = 0.01) and the number of previous abdominal operations (p = 0.02). While these models showed reasonable ability to discriminate patients on internal assessment, they were not found to be accurate on external validation. CONCLUSION: Acceptable short-term outcomes after CCAWR are demonstrated. A robust model for the prediction of CD ≥ grade 3 complications has been developed and validated. This model is available online at www.smbari.co.uk/smjconv2.

Systematic review: pharmacotherapy for high-output enterostomies or enteral fistulas.

BACKGROUND: High-output enterocutaneous fistula or enterostomies can cause intestinal failure. There is a wide variety of options in medical management of patients with high output. AIM: To systematically review the literature on available pharmacotherapy to reduce output and to propose an algorithm for standard of care. METHODS: Relevant databases were systematically reviewed to identify studies on pharmacotherapy for reduction in (high-) output enterostomies or fistula. Randomised controlled trials and within subjects controlled prospective trials were included. An algorithm for standard of care was generated based on the outcomes of the systematic review. RESULTS: Two studies on proton pump inhibitors, six on anti-motility agents, three on histamine receptor antagonists, one on an α2- receptor agonist and eight on somatostatin (analogues) were included. One study examined a proton pump inhibitor and a histamine receptor antagonist within the same patients. Overall, we found evidence for the following medical therapies to be effective: omeprazole, loperamide and codeine, ranitidine and cimetidine. On the basis of these outcomes and clinical experience, we proposed an algorithm for standard of care which consists of high-dose proton pump inhibitors combined with high-dose loperamide as the first step followed by addition of codeine in case of insufficient output reduction. So far, there is insufficient evidence for the standard use of somatostatin (analogues). CONCLUSIONS: The available evidence on the efficacy of medication to reduce enterostomy or enterocutaneous fistula output is hampered by low quality studies. We propose an algorithm for standard of care output reduction in these patients.

Closed incision prophylactic negative pressure wound therapy in patients undergoing major complex abdominal wall repair.

PURPOSE: To evaluate if incisional prophylactic negative pressure wound therapy (pNPWT) reduces wound infections and other wound complications in high-risk patients undergoing major complex ventral abdominal wall repair. METHODS: Retrospective before-after comparison nested in a consecutive series of patients undergoing elective major complex abdominal wall repair. Starting January 2014, pNPWT was applied on the closed incisional wound for a minimum of 5 days. To minimize selection bias, we compared two periods of 14 months before and after January 2014. Wound infections according to the Centre for Disease Control Surgical Site Infection classification as well as other wound complications were recorded. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients were included in the pNPWT group and 34 in the control group. The study group involved clean-contaminated and contaminated operations due to enterocutaneous fistula, enterostomies or infected mesh. Median duration of pNPWT was 5 days (IQR 5-7). Overall wound infection rate was 35%. pNPWT was associated with a significant decrease in postoperative wound infection rate (24 versus 51%; p = 0.029, OR 0.30 (95% CI 0.10-0.90)). Incisional wound infection rates dropped from 48 to 7% (p < 0.01, OR 0.08 (95% CI 0.16-0.39), whereas the number of subcutaneous abscesses was comparable in both groups. Moreover, less interventions were needed in the pNPWT group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Closed incision pNPWT seems a promising solution to reduce the incidence of wound infections in complex abdominal wall surgery. Randomized controlled trials are needed to estimate more precisely the value and cost-effectiveness of pNPWT in this high-risk setting.

Meta-analysis of lower perioperative blood glucose target levels for reduction of surgical-site infection.

BACKGROUND: There is a clear association between hyperglycaemia and surgical-site infection (SSI). Intensive glucose control may involve a risk of hypoglycaemia, which in turn results in potentially severe complications. A systematic review was undertaken of studies comparing intensive versus conventional glucose control protocols in relation to reduction of SSI and other outcomes, including hypoglycaemia, mortality and stroke. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL and WHO databases from 1 January 1990 to 1 August 2015 were searched. Inclusion criteria were RCTs comparing intensive with conventional glucose control protocols, and reporting on the incidence of SSI. Meta-analyses were performed with a random-effects model, and meta-regression was subsequently undertaken. Targeted blood glucose levels, achieved blood glucose levels, and important adverse events were summarized. RESULTS: Fifteen RCTs were included. The summary estimate showed a significant benefit for an intensive compared with a conventional glucose control protocol in reducing SSI (odds ratio (OR) 0·43, 95 per cent c.i. 0·29 to 0·64; P < 0·001). A significantly higher risk of hypoglycaemic events was found for the intensive group compared with the conventional group (OR 5·55, 2·58 to 11·96), with no increased risk of death (OR 0·74, 0·45 to 1·23) or stroke (OR 1·37, 0·26 to 7·20). These results were consistent both in patients with and those without diabetes, and in studies with moderately strict and very strict glucose control. CONCLUSION: Stricter and lower blood glucose target levels of less than 150 mg/dl (8·3 mmol/l), using an intensive protocol in the perioperative period, reduce SSI with an inherent risk of hypoglycaemic events but without a significant increase in serious adverse events.

The value of pre-operative computed tomography scanning for the assessment of lymph node status in patients with colon cancer.

AIM: Our aim was to determine the value of a pre-operative computed tomography (CT) scan for the assessment of lymph node status in patients diagnosed with colon cancer by comparing radiological N-stage to histopathological N-stage. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study at the Sint Lucas Andreas Hospital in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Between 2008 and 2010, two radiologists independently reviewed all pre-operative CT scans of patients diagnosed with colon cancer. The scans were examined for signs of regional lymphatic spread (N+), defined as lymph nodes exceeding 1 cm, clusters of ≥ 3 lymph nodes or a combination of the two. The results were compared with the histopathological N-stage. Inter-observer agreement, positive predictive value (PVV), negative predictive value (NPV), sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were calculated. RESULTS: We included 106 patients in our study. PVV, NPV, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of detecting regional lymph nodes metastases were 47%, 66%, 71%, 41% and 54%, respectively. Inter-observer agreement was 74.5% (к = 0.48). CONCLUSION: Although our study group was relatively large and newer techniques were used in comparison to previous studies, our results demonstrated that the value of a pre-operative CT scan for the assessment of regional lymph nodes remained poor and unreliable. Therefore we question if a radiologist should assess regional lymph nodes on a pre-operative CT scan in colon cancer. Before treatment decisions are made on the appearance of lymph nodes in colon cancer patients, its diagnostic accuracy needs strong improvement.