Ischemic Colitis Research Articles

7 A Phase 1 study of fianlimab (anti–LAG-3) in combination with cemiplimab (anti–PD-1) in patients with advanced ccRCC

Abstract Background Concurrent blockade of lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3) may enhance efficacy of anti–programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) therapies. We present safety and clinical activity data from a Phase 1 study (NCT03005782) in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) treated with anti–LAG-3 (fianlimab) + anti–PD-1 (cemiplimab). Methods Patients with advanced or metastatic ccRCC who had received no more than two previous regimens of anti-angiogenic therapy who were anti–PD-(ligand[L])1-naïve (cohort 3) or anti–PD-(L)1-experienced with most recent dose within 3 months prior to screening (cohort 4) were eligible. All patients were to receive fianlimab 1600 mg + cemiplimab 350 mg intravenously every 3 weeks for up to 24 months. Tumor measurements were performed by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1 every 6 weeks for 24 weeks, then every 9 weeks. The study objectives were to assess safety and antitumor activity of fianlimab + cemiplimab combination therapy in patients with ccRCC. Results Overall, 15 patients (median age: 64 years) each in cohorts 3 and 4 (total N=30) were enrolled and treated with fianlimab + cemiplimab as of November 1, 2022 data cutoff. For cohorts 3 and 4, 80% and 87% of patients were male, and 40% and 87% were White, respectively. All patients had prior cancer-related systemic therapy. In total, 60% and 93% of patients in cohorts 3 and 4 had ≥2 lines of prior therapies, respectively. For cohorts 3 and 4, median treatment duration was 27 weeks and 18 weeks, and median follow-up was 13 months and 24 months, respectively. Grade ≥3 treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) occurred in 53% and 33% of patients in cohorts 3 and 4, respectively. Serious TEAEs occurred in 33% and 13% of patients in cohorts 3 and 4, respectively. Treatment-related AEs (TRAEs) were reported in 80% of patients in cohort 3 and 60% of patients in cohort 4. The most common TRAEs (any Grade) were rash (27%) and infusion related reaction (Grade 1 and 2; 27%) in cohort 3, and fatigue (20%) in cohort 4. Grade ≥3 TRAEs occurred in 27% of patients in cohort 3; there were no Grade ≥3 TRAEs in cohort 4. Treatment was discontinued due to any TEAE in three patients in cohort 3 and one patient in cohort 4. There was one death in cohort 3; a 79-year-old woman with a history of antiphospholipid syndrome died from complications of biopsy-proven ischemic colitis, which was attributed to study treatment. RECIST 1.1-based investigator-assessed objective response rate was 20% (3 partial responses [PRs]) in cohort 3 and 7% (1 PR) in cohort 4. The disease control rate was 60% and 73% in cohorts 3 and 4, respectively. Kaplan–Meier estimation of median progression-free survival was 4 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 1–10) in cohort 3 and 4 months (95% CI 1–7) in cohort 4. Durations of response were 4, 7, and 26 months in three responders in cohort 3, and 6 months in one responder in cohort 4. Conclusions Fianlimab + cemiplimab demonstrated promising signs of clinical activity with durable responses among patients who were anti–PD-(L)1-naïve (cohort 3) and anti–PD-(L)1-experienced (cohort 4), with an acceptable safety profile.

Ischaemic Colitis from an Unusual Cause: Oral Contraceptives.

Ischaemic colitis is due to insufficiency of intestinal blood flow and is responsible for half of the cases of gastrointestinal ischaemia.Oral contraceptives have an increased odd of 1.05 predisposing development of ischaemic colitis.Symptoms typically resolve with removal of the oral contraceptive.

A predictive model for ischemic colitis: Integrating clinical and laboratory parameters

AbstractObjectiveWe aimed to develop a predictive model for the clinical diagnosis of ischemic colitis (IC).MethodsClinical data were collected from patients with acute IC lesions who were diagnosed and admitted to Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital from January 2016 to December 2022. These patients were included in the IC case group in this retrospective observational study. The control group comprised patients aged ≥40 years who were diagnosed with abdominal pain during the same period, excluding those with IC. All patients were divided into a training and test sets based on the time window. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression was used to screen risk factors for the occurrence of IC. Logistic stepwise regression (maximum likelihood ratio method) was performed in multifactorial analysis, and a diagnostic prediction model for IC was established using R language. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was examined to assess differentiation using working ROC curves. We used bootstrap resampling (1000 times) for internal validation. Model calibration curves and decision curve analysis (DCA) were also applied.ResultsOur study indicates that constipation, hematochezia, neutrophil counts, and specific abdominal computed tomography (CT) (plain scan) findings, including intestinal wall edema and thickening, intestinal lumen stenosis, and dilation, are independent predictors of IC. The predictive model exhibited high discriminative ability with an AUC of 0.9788 in the training set, and the calibration and DCA curves demonstrated excellent model performance. After validation, the AUC remained robust at 0.9868, underscoring the model's reliability in predicting IC.ConclusionAccording to our model, constipation accompanied by hematochezia necessitates careful consideration of IC. Abdominal CT (plain scan) is an effective diagnostic tool for IC, and it is common for patients to exhibit elevated neutrophil counts. The predictive model, demonstrating high discriminative ability and accuracy, shows promise for practical application in clinical settings, aiding in the early diagnosis and management of IC.

ОЦЕНКА РЕЗУЛЬТАТОВ ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ АЛГОРИТМА ВЫБОРА ОПТИМАЛЬНОГО ХИРУРГИЧЕСКОГО ДОСТУПА К ЗАБРЮШИННОМУ ПРОСТРАНСТВУ У ПАЦИЕНТОВ С РАЗЛИЧНЫМИ ПАРАМЕТРАМИ КОНСТИТУЦИИ.

Relevance. Despite the rapid development and predominance of endovideosurgical techniques in the treatment of pathologies of organs and structures of the retroperitoneal space, the implementation of transperitoneal or retroperitoneal approaches for open surgical interventions remains a routine activity. Surgical treatment of various pathologies of retroperitoneal localization leads to the development of nonspecific life-threatening complications in 23.8% - 30% of clinical observations, and associated mortality - 7.2% - 11% of cases. Previously, our works presented the results of comparing the number of this type of complications when using laparotomy or retroperitoneal access, depending on the constitutional parameters of the patient. An assessment was made of the significance of the influence of constitutional parameters on the development of nonspecific life-threatening complications, on the basis of which an algorithm for choosing the optimal surgical access to the structures of the retroperitoneal space was developed [patent application No. 2024113445 dated May 17, 2024]. Purpose of the study. To evaluate the effectiveness of using an algorithm for selecting the optimal surgical approach in the surgical treatment of pathologies of organs and structures of retroperitoneal localization. Materials and methods. Comparative analysis of the results of surgical treatment of patients with various surgical pathologies of the retroperitoneal space. Group I (n = 167), where the choice of surgical approach was determined using the “optimal surgical approach selection algorithm.” Group II (n = 284), in which the choice of access to the structures of the retroperitoneal space was not unified and was chosen without taking into account the constitutional parameters of the patient. In the perioperative period, the duration of surgical intervention, the volume of intraoperative blood loss, the number of days of stay in the intensive care unit, the time of postoperative respiratory support, the duration of postoperative intestinal paresis and the number of postoperative bed days were assessed. Criteria assessed in the postoperative period: development of myocardial infarction, acute cardiovascular failure, ARDS with the development of respiratory failure, acute kidney injury; cases of development of ischemic colitis and small intestinal obstruction, requiring repeated interventions, as well as the phenomenon of multiple organ failure. Wound complications included failure of retroperitoneal and laparotomy wounds, including eventration. To calculate quantitative characteristics, the median (Me) and percentiles (Q0.25 - Q0.75) were determined. Calculation of statistical significance between groups was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test**, for comparison of qualitative indicators - the Chi-square test* in IBM SPSS Statistics 25 software. Results. In group I, compared with group II, there was a shorter surgical intervention time [140.8 vs 179.5] min, p = 0.031**, a smaller volume of intraoperative blood loss [280.4 vs 413.3] ml, p = 0.024* *; postoperative respiratory support [4.5 vs 8.5] hours, p = 0.041**; length of stay in the intensive care unit [1.8 vs 3.4] days, p = 0.021**; postoperative intestinal paresis [1.2 vs 4.8] days p = 0.024**; and duration of total postoperative hospital stay [9.1 vs 16.4] days p = 0.003**. The number of postoperative nonspecific life-threatening and wound complications in group I was 24 (14.4%), and in group II - 64 (22.5%) cases (p = 0.023*). The number of complications-related deaths in group I was 9 (5.4%); in group II - 32 (11.26%) cases (p = 0.037*). Conclusion. The use of an algorithm for selecting the optimal surgical approach for surgical treatment of pathologies of organs and structures of the retroperitoneal localization of the access leads to a reduction in the number of nonspecific life-threatening complications to 14.4%, and associated deaths to 5.4%.

Prevalence and predictive value of sarcopenia in hospitalized patients with ischemic colitis

Ischemic colitis (IC) and sarcopenia are associated with aging and multiple comorbidities. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and predictive role of sarcopenia in patients with IC. We retrospectively analyzed 225 hospitalized patients (median age, 72 years; women, 67.1%; severe IC, 34.2%) who were diagnosed with IC between January 2007 and February 2022. Sarcopenia was defined as the skeletal muscle index at the third lumbar vertebra determined by computed tomography. It was present in 49.3% (n = 111) of the patients and was significantly associated with severe IC compared to those without sarcopenia (48.6% vs. 20.2%, P < 0.001). Sarcopenia was associated with extended hospitalization (median: 8 vs. 6 days, P < 0.001) and fasting periods (4 vs. 3 days, P = 0.004), as well as prolonged antibiotic use (9 vs. 7 days, P = 0.039). Sarcopenia was linked to a higher risk of surgery or mortality (9.0% vs. 0%, P = 0.001) and independently predicted this outcome (odds ratio [OR], 11.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24‒1467.65, P = 0.027). It was prevalent among hospitalized patients with IC, potentially indicating severe IC and a worse prognosis. This underscores the importance of meticulous monitoring, immediate medical intervention, and timely surgical consideration.

Patología vascular mesentérica

Mesenteric vascular disease is wide-ranging and can produce different manifestations depending on various factors, including the presence of symptoms or not; the clinical form of presentation; the vessels involved, duration, and cause; and collateral blood flow. The clinical entities described herein include acute and chronic mesenteric artery ischemia; nonocclusive mesenteric ischemia; acute, subacute, and chronic mesenteric venous thrombosis; focal segmental ischemia of the small intestine; colonic ischemia; arterial aneurysms; and vasculitis.This disease produces a wide spectrum of clinical symptoms that share the same predisposing factors and many etiologies, although with different consequences. Abdominal pain is the most common clinical symptom in these diseases. In acute forms, high clinical suspicion is essential for making a rapid diagnosis and early treatment that prevents more severe lesions. The widespread use of computed tomography has led to greater diagnostic rates with an improved prognosis for these patients.Treatment varies from conservative to surgical, depending on the case. Early anticoagulation is a fundamental treatment in many cases and in recent years, vascular radiology techniques have been developed which produce good results.

Results of open prosthetics of abdominal aortic aneurysms using laparotomic and retroperitoneal approaches

The OBJECTIVE was to evaluate the results of surgical treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm using laparotomic and retroperitoneal approaches.METHODS AND MATERIALS. The study included 206 patients operated on at the Department of Vascular Surgery of the Novgorod Regional Clinical Hospital from 2010 to 2018. All patients were divided into 2 groups. The first – 112 people, whose surgical intervention was performed through laparotomic approach. The second – 94 patients, approach to the aorta was made by the retroperitoneal technique according to Rob. comparison of non-specific life-threatening complications included the development of myocardial infarction and acute cardiovascular failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome and respiratory failure, the development of ischemic colitis and small bowel obstruction, which required repeated interventions. The development of acute renal injury was characterized as an increase in creatinine by 50 % from baseline or a decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by more than 25 %. This group of complications also included ischemic stroke, sepsis, and multiple organ failure. Wound complications included insolvency of postoperative wounds of retroperitoneal and laparotomic approaches, cases of eventration.RESULTS. When analyzing the incidence of nonspecific complications, it was found that in group I their frequency was 41 (46.6 %) clinical cases, and in group II – 26 (27.6 %) (p=0.173*). In group I, the incidence of cardiovascular complications significantly exceeded those in group II – 17 (15.2 %) vs 6 (6.4 %) (p*=0.046). The incidence of gastrointestinal complications was also significantly higher in group I – 9 (8 %) vs 1 (1.06 %) (p*=0.021). The frequency of deaths in groups I and II did not differ significantly in 7 (6.25 %) and 5 (5.3 %) cases (p*=0.77).CONCLUSION. As our study showed, retroperitoneal approach is a worthy alternative to laparotomy, mainly in case of repeated interventions, as well as in the presence of signs of visceral obesity of the patient. At the same time, laparotomic approach is associated with a higher risk of developing cardiovascular and gastrointestinal complications in the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Surgical interventions of colon cancer

Colon cancer is most common type of malignancies all over the world. Various risk factors including genetic mutations,old age,family history, smoking, drinking excessively, poor diet and several others are associated with increasing cases of colorectal carcinoma(CRC). Diagonosis is usually made by colonoscopy and and confirmed by tissue biopsy. After diagonosis delay to treatment can worsen the disease progression and long-term outcome.Treatment options for CRC include surgical resection either open or laparoscopic both with their merits and demerits. Laparoscopic resection have been well accepted for treatment and is known to result in less hospitalisation and blood loss while open surgery still has same overall survival rate, morbidity and mortality. Surgical treatment is associated with postoperative complications including port site metastases, surgical site infections (SSIs),Adhesions, intestinal obstruction, venous thromboembolic events, colonic ischemia, these complications can be decreased by preoperative assessment, intraoperative care and postoperative interventions. Controlling nutritional status (COUNT) score is prognostic factor of postoperative complications and mortality of patients with CRC. 5-years survival rate has increased upto 70% due to improved treatment modalities.

Severe Venous Calcifications in Phlebosclerotic Colitis and Significantly Decreased Expression in Betaine.

Phlebosclerotic colitis (PC) is a rare type of chronic ischemic colitis. Its etiology is still unknown, and PC is also known as idiopathic mesenteric phlebosclerosis colitis. Currently, many studies have reported that long-term use of Chinese herbal medicine and drinking history are related to its pathogenesis. In the early stage of the lesion, due to insufficient understanding of PC, it is difficult to distinguish it from inflammatory bowel disease and other nonneoplastic intestinal diseases. We reported a case of severe diffuse total colon calcification with multiple misdiagnosis, summarizing and analyzing the clinical pathological characteristics to increase clinical and pathological physicians' understanding of the disease and reduce misdiagnosis. Moreover, for the first time, we conducted metabolomics sequencing on fresh intestinal specimens of PC, in order to explore the possible mechanism of severe calcification in the patient. We found that betaine was significantly decreased in the intestinal specimens of the patient, which is an amino acid that has been shown to improve vascular risk factors, and may be one of the mechanisms underlying severe calcification in the patient.

Goodbye Hartmann trial: a prospective, international, multicenter, observational study on the current use of a surgical procedure developed a century ago

BackgroundLiterature suggests colonic resection and primary anastomosis (RPA) instead of Hartmann’s procedure (HP) for the treatment of left-sided colonic emergencies. We aim to evaluate the surgical options globally used to treat patients with acute left-sided colonic emergencies and the factors that leading to the choice of treatment, comparing HP and RPA.MethodsThis is a prospective, international, multicenter, observational study registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. A total 1215 patients with left-sided colonic emergencies who required surgery were included from 204 centers during the period of March 1, 2020, to May 31, 2020. with a 1-year follow-up.Results564 patients (43.1%) were females. The mean age was 65.9 ± 15.6 years. HP was performed in 697 (57.3%) patients and RPA in 384 (31.6%) cases. Complicated acute diverticulitis was the most common cause of left-sided colonic emergencies (40.2%), followed by colorectal malignancy (36.6%). Severe complications (Clavien-Dindo ≥ 3b) were higher in the HP group (P < 0.001). 30-day mortality was higher in HP patients (13.7%), especially in case of bowel perforation and diffused peritonitis. 1-year follow-up showed no differences on ostomy reversal rate between HP and RPA. (P = 0.127). A backward likelihood logistic regression model showed that RPA was preferred in younger patients, having low ASA score (≤ 3), in case of large bowel obstruction, absence of colonic ischemia, longer time from admission to surgery, operating early at the day working hours, by a surgeon who performed more than 50 colorectal resections.ConclusionsAfter 100 years since the first Hartmann’s procedure, HP remains the most common treatment for left-sided colorectal emergencies. Treatment’s choice depends on patient characteristics, the time of surgery and the experience of the surgeon. RPA should be considered as the gold standard for surgery, with HP being an exception.

Rapid Endoscopic Diagnosis of Benign Ulcerative Colorectal Diseases With an Artificial Intelligence Contextual Framework

Benign ulcerative colorectal diseases (UCDs) such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, ischemic colitis, and intestinal tuberculosis share similar phenotypes with different etiologies and treatment strategies. To accurately diagnose closely related diseases like UCDs, we hypothesize that contextual learning is critical in enhancing the ability of the artificial intelligence models to differentiate the subtle differences in lesions amidst the vastly divergent spatial contexts. White-light colonoscopy datasets of patients with confirmed UCDs and healthy controls were retrospectively collected. We developed a Multiclass Contextual Classification (MCC) model that can differentiate among the mentioned UCDs and healthy controls by incorporating the tissue object contexts surrounding the individual lesion region in a scene and spatial information from other endoscopic frames (video-level) into a unified framework. Internal and external datasets were used to validate the model's performance. Training datasets included 762 patients, and the internal and external testing cohorts included 257 patients and 293 patients, respectively. Our MCC model provided a rapid reference diagnosis on internal test sets with a high averaged area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (image-level: 0.950 and video-level: 0.973) and balanced accuracy (image-level: 76.1% and video-level: 80.8%), which was superior to junior endoscopists (accuracy: 71.8%, P < .0001) and similar to experts (accuracy: 79.7%, P= .732). The MCC model achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.988 and balanced accuracy of 85.8% using external testing datasets. These results enable this model to fit in the routine endoscopic workflow, and the contextual framework to be adopted for diagnosing other closely related diseases.

Fecal Calprotectin in Nosocomial Diarrhea: A Prospective Observational Study

Objective: Fecal calprotectin (FC) has an essential role in differentiating inflammatory diarrhea from functional diarrhea in an outpatient setting; however, its role in nosocomial diarrhea remains not well explored. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective observational study. We included adult inpatients with nosocomial diarrhea and categorized them into diarrhea likely (group A) and unlikely (group B) to have lesions in the colonic mucosa. Group A included infectious diarrhea such as Clostridium difficile and ischemic colitis. Group B comprised tube-feeding diarrhea, non-C. difficile antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and drug-induced diarrhea. The FC levels were compared between the two groups. Results: 135 patients were included, 45 in group A and 90 in group B. Median FC was 902 mg/kg (interquartile range [IQR] 549-2,175) of feces in group A, significantly higher than the median level of 377 mg/kg (IQR 141-664) of feces in group B (p&lt;0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.798 (95% confidence interval: 0.717-0.879). At the standard cutoff of 50 mg/kg of feces, the sensitivity and specificity were 97.8% and 7.8%, respectively. Conclusion: FC was significantly higher in nosocomial diarrhea likely to have mucosal lesions; however, its clinical usefulness was limited due to poor specificity.

A specialized unit for women with schizophrenia: Results from the healthcare model Observatories-Monitoring Stations and Interventions.

IntroductionThere are many theoretical reasons to implement gender-specific care for schizophrenia. For all these reasons, the Mutua Terrassa-Functional Unit for Women with Schizophrenia was inaugurated in January 2023 in the context of a community mental health service.ObjectivesOur aim today is to describe the health care model applied in this newly initiated unit.MethodsWe created a healthcare model in our new unit consisting of A)Five observatories of Health (somatic morbi-mortality, hyperprolactinemia-HPRL, substance use disorders, social exclusion/discrimination, and drug safety); B)Monitoring stations or vigilance teams (reflecting the 5 observatories); and C)resulting actions (specific interventions). The observatory teams each meet monthly. In this presentation, according to the healthcare model we implemented, we first describe data about the original patient recruitment and then focus on the observatories of somatic morbi-mortality and hyperprolactinemia.ResultsFrom 265 potentially eligible women, 42 were included in the 5 observatories. (A) of the 11 women in the observatory of somatic morbi-mortality, 10 women had died within the last 24 months. Causes of Death: (1)respiratory tract disease (n=5,45.4%), (2)cancer (n=3;27.3%): lung cancer (n=1), pancreatic cancer (n=1), kidney cancer (n=1), (3)ischemic colitis (n=1;9%), (4)Alzheimer disease (n=1;9%). 2) Morbidity. One woman had an ongoing glioblastoma. (B)Observatory of HPRL. Eight women with moderate/severe HPRL were included. Strategies for lowering prolactin levels were discussed with neuroendocrinologists. Interventions:adjunctive aripiprazole (n=3), switch to aripiprazole (n=2), lowering antipsychotic doses (n=2), and adjunctive cabergoline (n=1).ConclusionsDesignating special teams to focus on specific problems of women with schizophrenia will reduce morbidity and improve outcomes in this vulnerable population.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Surgical Abdominal Emergencies among Patients with Cerebral Palsy: A Case Report and Review Article

Abstract Surgical abdominal emergencies among patients with cerebral palsy (CP) are infrequently reported. The most commonly reported reason for urgent and emergent abdominal surgery among patients with CP is intestinal volvulus. Intestinal volvulus leads to obstruction and vascular compromise, potentially resulting in life-threatening ischemia and necrosis. Volvulus typically presents with abdominal pain and decreased bowel function. When patients are nonverbal and have baseline bowel dysfunction, symptoms of volvulus can be difficult to diagnose. Here, we present a case of an adult female patient with CP who presented with ischemic colitis with perforation and underwent emergency total colectomy and end-ileostomy. Her postoperative course was complicated by two episodes of intestinal volvulus that occurred one and three months after the initial operation. At the second presentation, she had global bowel ischemia due to the volvulus, which led to her death. We have reviewed and summarized the current literature regarding abdominal emergencies among patients with CP.

Tacrolimus-Associated Thrombotic Microangiopathy Presenting with Ischemic Colitis After Kidney Transplantation: A Case Report

Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) are a significant component of the immunosuppressive regimen after kidney transplantation. By inhibiting cytokine gene transcription, CNIs suppress T cell and T cell-dependent B cell activation. Tacrolimus is preferred in most patients undergoing kidney transplantation. Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a severe but rare complication of CNIs therapy. TMA defines a specific pathologic lesion of arterioles and capillaries that leads to microvascular thrombosis. A 45-year-old male underwent kidney transplantation five months ago due to autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). His triple-maintenance immunosuppressive therapy includes tacrolimus. Abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea occurred in the fifth month of posttransplant. The edematous and erythematous mucosa of the ascending colon was detected on the colonoscopy. The foci of microthrombi inside the vessel lumen in the lamina propria were shown biopsy. The thrombosis or occlusion was excluded with computerized tomography (CT) angiography in abdominal vessels. The fragmented red blood cells and moderate thrombocytopenia were detected on the peripheral blood smear. Eventually, TMA diagnosis was established through laboratory and histological findings. Tacrolimus was suspected as the trigger of the pathological process and promptly switched to the everolimus. Afterward, laboratory abnormalities and clinical symptoms were improved. In this case, we intend to emphasize drug-associated TMA and atypical presentations, such as colonic microvasculature involvement.

Invited commentary on surgical prevalence and outcomes in ischemic colitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Invited commentary on surgical prevalence and outcomes in ischemic colitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The 5-Factor Modified Frailty Index is a Succinct yet Effective Predictor of Adverse Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Open Surgery for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

BackgroundFrailty is an age-related, clinically recognizable state marked by increased susceptibility. The 5-item Modified Frailty Index (mFI-5) offers a concise assessment of frailty and has demonstrated its efficacy in various surgical fields. While the mFI-5 has been validated for Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR) for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA), its applicability in open surgical repair (OSR) for AAA remains largely unexplored. This study sought to evaluate the utility of mFI-5 in predicting 30-day outcomes following OSR for AAA. MethodsPatients underwent OSR for AAA were identified in ACS-NSQIP targeted database from 2012-2021. Patients were stratified into three cohorts: mFI-5 score of 0 (control), 1, and 2+. Multivariable logistic regression was used to compare 30-day perioperative outcomes between frail patients and controls adjusting preoperative variables with p-value<0.1. ResultsOf the 5,249 patients who underwent OSR for AAA, 1,043 were controls, 2,938 had an mFI-5 score of 1, and 1,268 had an mFI-5 score of 2+. When compared to the control group, patients with an mFI-5=1 were more likely to have pulmonary events (aOR=1.452, p<0.01), bleeding events (aOR=1.33, p<0.01), wound complications (aOR=2.214, p<0.01), ischemic colitis (aOR=1.616, p=0.01), and unplanned reoperation (aOR=1.292, p=0.04). Those with an mFI-5=2+ demonstrated higher risks of mortality (aOR=1.709, p<0.01), MACE (aOR=1.347, p=0.04), pulmonary events (aOR=2.045, p<0.01), renal dysfunction (aOR=1.568, p<0.01), sepsis (aOR=1.587, p=0.01), bleeding events (aOR=1.429, p<0.01), wound complications (aOR=2.338, p<0.01), ischemic colitis (aOR=1.775, p=0.01), unplanned reoperation (aOR=1.445, p=0.01), operation over 4 hours (aOR=1.34, p<0.01), length of stay over 7 days (aOR=1.324, <0.01), discharge not to home (aOR=1.547, p<0.01), 30-day readmission (aOR=1.657, p=0.01). ConclusionThe mFI-5 emerges as a succinct yet effective indicator of frailty for patients undergoing OSR for AAA. Especially, a mFI-5 score of 2+ is linked with increased 30-day mortality and complications. As such, mFI-5 can be used as a valuable screening tool for frailty in patients undergoing OSR for AAA.

Surgical prevalence and outcomes in ischemic colitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This study reviews the literature to examine the proportion of patients requiring surgical management in ischemic colitis (IC) and identify surgical outcomes. A systematic review of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials was conducted in accordance with the latest Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement. English language studies and adult patients were included. Studies with fewer than 10 patients, and IC post aortic or cardiac surgery was excluded. We present our systematic review and meta-analysis with pooled proportions of right sided IC distribution and prevalence of surgical treatment. 23 studies with a total of 12,844 patients were included in the systematic review, with 19 studies and 12,420 patients included in the meta-analysis. Four studies were excluded from the meta-analysis due to only including specific cohorts of patients-two with cocaine induced colitis, one with phlebosclerotic colitis, and one with IC associated withacute myocardial infarction. The pooled proportion of right sided IC distribution was 15% (CI 14%-17%, p<0.001), whilst the pooled proportion of surgical management of IC was 15% (CI 13%-16% p<0.001). Prevalence of surgical management of IC is rare. Right sided IC is associated with higher mortality and higher rates of surgical management. Reporting of surgical outcomes is scant.

Colitis isquémica y colitis microscópica

Ischemic colitis (IC) is a condition that arises when blood flow in the colon is reduced such that it is insufficient for maintaining adequate cellular metabolic function. Microscopic colitis (MC) is a chronic disease characterized by colon mucosa that has a normal appearance on an endoscopy, watery diarrhea, and distinctive histologic features. The pathophysiology of IC is not clearly established. The etiopathogenesis of MC is considered multifactorial and not clearly known; genetic and luminal factors as well as a component of abnormal immune regulation have been described. The symptoms and severity of IC are highly variable, although the classic clinical symptoms consists of abdominal pain, fecal urgency, and, subsequently, rectorrhagia. The most characteristic manifestation of MC is watery diarrhea. The diagnostic test of choice for IC is computed tomography, while for MC it is a colonoscopy with biopsy collection. Most cases of IC require conservative management with a liquid diet, fluid replacement therapy, and empiric antibiotic therapy. In regard to the treatment of MC, drugs with a temporal relationship should be suspended and oral budesonide is the treatment of choice.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor-related colitis in patients on immunotherapy for cancer.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors, a revolutionary class of cancer immunotherapy drugs, have transformed cancer treatment by bolstering antitumor immunity for various advanced-stage solid cancers. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved 7 immune checkpoint inhibitors that target 3 major immune checkpoint proteins: cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4, programmed cell death 1 protein, and programmed cell death 1 ligand 1. In addition to their remarkable efficacy, however, these inhibitors have been observed causing immune-related adverse events, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitor-related colitis, which often results in severe or life-threatening clinical issues. The diagnosis of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related colitis relies on incorporation of clinical evaluation as well as endoscopic and histopathologic examination, with exclusion of other potential etiologies. The common histopathologic manifestations of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related colitis are acute active colitis, chronic active colitis, microscopic colitis (collagenous or lymphocytic), and ischemic colitis, with patterns overlapping. Notably, enterocyte apoptosis is a unique feature of immune checkpoint inhibitor toxicity. The proposed mechanisms for the pathogenesis of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related colitis are primarily associated with autoimmune-type dysregulation and gut microbiome alteration. This review summarizes the clinical and pathologic characteristics of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related colitis and elucidates its underlying pathogenic mechanisms. Future successful management of this form of colitis relies on our comprehension of the intricate interplay between tumoral and systemic immune responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors and innovative approaches to modify these responses, along with specific immune cell populations, to preclude immune-related adverse events while achieving antitumor therapeutic outcomes.