The studied probiotic formulation significantly decreased the risk of postoperative complications, namely mechanical ventilation, infections and anastomotic leakage. Modulation of the gene expression of SOCS3 is one suggested mechanism ( www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT02313519).

Table of contentsP001 - Sepsis impairs the capillary response within hypoxic capillaries and decreases erythrocyte oxygen-dependent ATP effluxR. M. Bateman, M. D. Sharpe, J. E. Jagger, C. G. EllisP002 - Lower serum immunoglobulin G2 level does not predispose to severe flu.J. Solé-Violán, M. López-Rodríguez, E. Herrera-Ramos, J. Ruíz-Hernández, L. Borderías, J. Horcajada, N. González-Quevedo, O. Rajas, M. Briones, F. Rodríguez de Castro, C. Rodríguez GallegoP003 - Brain protective effects of intravenous immunoglobulin through inhibition of complement activation and apoptosis in a rat model of sepsisF. Esen, G. Orhun, P. Ergin Ozcan, E. Senturk, C. Ugur Yilmaz, N. Orhan, N. Arican, M. Kaya, M. Kucukerden, M. Giris, U. Akcan, S. Bilgic Gazioglu, E. TuzunP004 - Adenosine a1 receptor dysfunction is associated with leukopenia: A possible mechanism for sepsis-induced leukopeniaR. Riff, O. Naamani, A. DouvdevaniP005 - Analysis of neutrophil by hyper spectral imaging - A preliminary reportR. Takegawa, H. Yoshida, T. Hirose, N. Yamamoto, H. Hagiya, M. Ojima, Y. Akeda, O. Tasaki, K. Tomono, T. ShimazuP006 - Chemiluminescent intensity assessed by eaa predicts the incidence of postoperative infectious complications following gastrointestinal surgeryS. Ono, T. Kubo, S. Suda, T. Ueno, T. IkedaP007 - Serial change of c1 inhibitor in patients with sepsis – A prospective observational studyT. Hirose, H. Ogura, H. Takahashi, M. Ojima, J. Kang, Y. Nakamura, T. Kojima, T. ShimazuP008 - Comparison of bacteremia and sepsis on sepsis related biomarkersT. Ikeda, S. Suda, Y. Izutani, T. Ueno, S. OnoP009 - The changes of procalcitonin levels in critical patients with abdominal septic shock during blood purificationT. Taniguchi, M. OP010 - Validation of a new sensitive point of care device for rapid measurement of procalcitoninC. Dinter, J. Lotz, B. Eilers, C. Wissmann, R. LottP011 - Infection biomarkers in primary care patients with acute respiratory tract infections – Comparison of procalcitonin and C-reactive proteinM. M. Meili, P. S. SchuetzP012 - Do we need a lower procalcitonin cut off?H. Hawa, M. Sharshir, M. Aburageila, N. SalahuddinP013 - The predictive role of C-reactive protein and procalcitonin biomarkers in central nervous system infections with extensively drug resistant bacteriaV. Chantziara, S. Georgiou, A. Tsimogianni, P. Alexandropoulos, A. Vassi, F. Lagiou, M. Valta, G. Micha, E. Chinou, G. MichaloudisP014 - Changes in endotoxin activity assay and procalcitonin levels after direct hemoperfusion with polymyxin-b immobilized fiberA. Kodaira, T. Ikeda, S. Ono, T. Ueno, S. Suda, Y. Izutani, H. ImaizumiP015 - Diagnostic usefullness of combination biomarkers on ICU admissionM. V. De la Torre-Prados, A. Garcia-De la Torre, A. Enguix-Armada, A. Puerto-Morlan, V. Perez-Valero, A. Garcia-AlcantaraP016 - Platelet function analysis utilising the PFA-100 does not predict infection, bacteraemia, sepsis or outcome in critically ill patientsN. Bolton, J. Dudziak, S. Bonney, A. Tridente, P. NeeP017 - Extracellular histone H3 levels are in...

No abstract

Obesity is a major public health concern, caused by a combination of increased consumption of energy-dense foods and reduced physical activity, with contributions from host genetics, environment, and adipose tissue inflammation. In recent years, the gut microbiome has also been found to be implicated and augmented research in mice and humans have attributed to it both the manifestation and/or exacerbation of this major epidemic and vice versa. At the experimental level, analysis of fecal samples revealed a potential link between obesity and alterations in the gut flora (drop in Bacteroidetes and increase in Firmicutes), the specific gut microbiome being associated with the obese phenotype. Conventionally raised mice were found to have over 40% more total body fat compared with those raised under germ-free conditions, while conventionalization of germ-free mice resulted in a significant increase in total body fat. Similarly, the sparse data in humans supports the fact that fat storage is favoured by the presence of the gut microbiota, through a multifaceted mechanism. Efforts to identify new therapeutic strategies to modulate gut microbiota would be of high priority for public health, and to date, probiotics and/or prebiotics seem to be the most effective tools.

The trigger for infectious complications in patients following major abdominal operations is classically attributed to endogenous enteral bacterial translocation, due to the critical condition of the gut. Today, extensive gut microbiome analysis has enabled us to understand that almost all “evidence-based” surgical or medical intervention (antibiotics, bowel preparation, opioids, deprivation of nutrition), in addition to stress-released hormones, could affect the relative abundance and diversity of the enteral microbiome, allowing harmful bacteria to proliferate in the place of depressed beneficial species. Furthermore, these bacteria, after tight sensing of host stress and its consequent humoral alterations, can and do switch their virulence accordingly, towards invasion of the host. Probiotics are the exogenously given, beneficial clusters of live bacteria that, upon digestion, seem to succeed in partially restoring the distorted microbial diversity, thus reducing the infectious complications occurring in surgical and critically ill patients. This review presents the latest data on the interrelationship between the gut microbiome and the occurrence of complications after colon surgery, and the efficacy of probiotics as therapeutic instruments for changing the bacterial imbalance.

Background and aim  Intragastric balloon placement is established as a safe, relatively low-cost and well-tolerated minimally invasive procedure for weight loss, giving encouraging results under the strict prerequisite that the obese patient will enroll in a medically supervised weight loss program. This retrospective study reviews already published cases of severe visceral complications for the purpose of assigning responsibility to the device, the patient, or the doctor. Methods  We reviewed PubMed and Scopus archived publications describing intragastric balloon (BIB/Orbera)-related severe visceral complications, i. e. perforations and obstructions. Results  Twenty-two cases of gastric perforation, two cases of esophageal perforation and 10 cases of bowel obstruction were found. For the gastric perforation the endoscopist was responsible in nine cases, the patient in four, and the balloon itself in nine. For the two cases of esophageal perforation, the endoscopists were responsible, while for the 12 cases of bowel obstruction, the patient was responsible for seven and the device for the other five cases. Conclusion  BIB/Orbera balloon insertion remains a safe procedure, with a minimum of complications related to hollow viscera. Mandatory education and accreditation of physicians dealing with bariatric endoscopy and strict supervision of the obese individuals, while living with the balloon, will eliminate such complications.

No abstract

Objective: We aimed to ascertain the factors potentially contributing to the manifestation of pressure ulcers (PU) due to poor nutritional status in a nonselected hospitalized population. Subjects and Methods: This is a prospective cohort study of 471 adult inpatients treated at our university hospital. Study parameters included anthropometric data, demographics, medical history, mood status, diet-related factors and self-perception of health status. For each participant, the body mass index (BMI) was calculated, and a malnutrition universal screening tool (MUST) was used to screen for nutritional deficiencies, with the presence of PU constituting the outcome of interest. An independent-samples t test, χ² analysis and logistic regression analysis were performed. Results: The overall prevalence of PU in our cohort was 14.2%. Advanced age, low BMI, poor health status by self-assessment, serious mood disorders, malnutrition, abnormal appetite status, a quantity of food intake half of normal, an artificial diet, limited or no autonomy in everyday activities (p < 0.01 for all) and recent weight loss (p < 0.05) were identified as important determinants for the manifestation of PU. Multivariate analysis highlighted limited autonomy in everyday activities (OR 6.456 and 95% CI 3.212-12.973; p = 0.000), MUST score (OR 3.825 and 95% CI 1.730-8.455; p = 0.001) and artificial diet (OR 1.869 and 95% CI 1.247-2.802; p = 0.018) as the most powerful predictors of PU development. Conclusion: Poor nutritional status, limited autonomy in everyday activities and artificial nutrition seemed to confer noteworthy prognostic value regarding PU development in the acute-care setting.