No abstract

HighlightsThe recognition of intestinal ischemia often occurs too late due to the presence of unspecific symptoms and lack of reliable exams.The combination of laparoscopy and UV light and fluorescein dye should be considered as an invaluable procedure for the early diagnosis of acute bowel ischemia.ICG can intraoperatively provide more useful information than conventional clinical assessment, mostly in case of a non-diagnostic CT scan.

Introduction:The number of elderly patients requiring emergency surgical intervention has increased dramatically. Perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) complications, such as perforation, have remained relatively stable and associated morbidity remains between 10% and 20%. Advances in perioperative care have greatly improved the outcomes of laparoscopic emergency surgery, allowing increasing numbers of patients, even the elderly, to undergo safe repair. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and outcome of laparoscopic gastric repair in the elderly using the database of the FRAILESEL (Frailty and Emergency Surgery in the Elderly) study.Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective analysis carried out on data of the FRAILESEL study. Data on all the elderly patients who underwent emergency abdominal surgery for PPU from January 2017 to December 2017 at 36 Italian surgical departments were analyzed. Patients who underwent PPU repair were further divided into a laparoscopic gastroduodenal repair (LGR) cohort and an open gastroduodenal repair (OGR) cohort, and the clinicopathologic features of the patients in both the groups were compared.Results: Sixty-seven patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Thirtythree patients (47.8%) underwent LGR. The LGR patients had less blood loss and shorter postoperative stay, even if the difference was not statistically significant. The mean operative time was significantively higher in the OGR (OGR 96.5 ± 27.7 vs. LGR 78.6 ± 16.3 P = 0.000). The rate of death after laparoscopic surgery was similar to the rate of the open surgery. Multivariate analysis indicated that only age (P = 0.018), admission haemoblogbin (Hb) level (P = 0.006), platelet count (P = 0.16), lactate level (P = 0.47), and Mannheim Peritonitis Index (P = 0.18) were independent variables associated with the risk of overall mortality. Conclusions:LGR is safe and feasible in elderly patients with PPU and it is associated with better perioperative outcomes. However, patient selection and preoperative frailty evaluation in the elderly population are the key to achieving better outcomes.

Our results pinpoint the advantages of performing bedside diagnostic laparoscopy in the ICU setting, which can be considered an option every time there is the suspicion of an intra-abdominal pathology.

Background Severe complicated intra-abdominal sepsis (SCIAS) has an increasing incidence with mortality rates over 80% in some settings. Mortality typically results from disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, progressive and self-perpetuating bio-mediator generation, systemic inflammation, and multiple organ failure. A further therapeutic option may be open abdomen (OA) management with negative peritoneal pressure therapy (NPPT) to remove inflammatory ascites and attenuate the systemic damage from SCIAS, although there are definite risks of leaving the abdomen open whenever it might possibly be closed. This potential therapeutic paradigm is the rationale being assessed in the Closed Or Open after Laparotomy (COOL trial) (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03163095). Initially, the COOL trial received Industry sponsorship; however, this funding mandated the use of a specific trademarked and expensive NPPT device in half of the patients allocated to the intervention (open) arm. In August 2022, the 3 M/Acelity Corporation without consultation but within the terms of the contract canceled the financial support of the trial. Although creating financial difficulty, there is now no restriction on specific NPPT devices and removing a cost-prohibitive intervention creates an opportunity to expand the COOL trial to a truly global basis. This document describes the evolution of the COOL trial, with a focus on future opportunities for global growth of the study. Methods The COOL trial is the largest prospective randomized controlled trial examining the random allocation of SCIAS patients intra-operatively to either formal closure of the fascia or the use of the OA with an application of an NPPT dressing. Patients are eligible if they have free uncontained intraperitoneal contamination and physiologic derangements exemplified by septic shock OR severely adverse predicted clinical outcomes. The primary outcome is intended to definitively inform global practice by conclusively evaluating 90-day survival. Initial recruitment has been lower than hoped but satisfactory, and the COOL steering committee and trial investigators intend with increased global support to continue enrollment until recruitment ensures a definitive answer. Discussion OA is mandated in many cases of SCIAS such as the risk of abdominal compartment syndrome associated with closure, or a planned second look as for example part of “damage control”; however, improved source control (locally and systemically) is the most uncertain indication for an OA. The COOL trial seeks to expand potential sites and proceed with the evaluation of NPPT agnostic to device, to properly examine the hypothesis that this treatment attenuates systemic damage and improves survival. This approach will not affect internal validity and should improve the external validity of any observed results of the intervention. Trial registration: National Institutes of Health (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03163095).