Adhesive small bowel obstruction: How long can patients tolerate conservative treatment?

AIM: To evaluate how long patients with small bowel obstruction caused by postoperative adhesions can tolerate conservative treatment.METHODS: The records of patients with small bowel obstruction due to postoperative adhesions were retrospectively reviewed. Data collected included the number of admissions, type of management for each admission,duration of conservative treatment, number of repeat laparotomies, and operative findings.RESULTS: One hundred fifty-five patients with this condition from January 1999 to December 2001, for a total of 293 admissions were enrolled in this study. Medical treatment alone was given in 220 admissions, and repeat laparotomy was performed in 73 admissions. The period of observation in patients managed medically ranged from 2 to 12 days (average: 6.9 days), while for those who underwent surgery,the range was 1 to 14 days (average 5.4 days). At surgery,adhesions were the only finding in 46 cases, while there were intestinal complications in 27, or 9.2 % of all 293admissions. Fever and leukocytosis greater than 15 000/mm3were prediction of intestinal complications.CONCLUSION: With closely monitoring, most patients with small bowel obstruction due to postoperative adhesions could tolerate supportive treatment and recover well averagely within 1 week, although some patients require more than 10 days of observation.

Transcatheter arterial embolization treatment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and risk of pulmonary metastasis

AIM: To investigate the relationship between transcatheterarterial embolization (TAE) and pulmonary metastasis insubjects with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: A total of 287 patients with HCC followed upfor more than 1 week were included. 102 patients underwenttranscatheter arterial embolization (TAE group) and 185received conservative treatment(control group). Thepatients' chest x-rays and chest CT scans were examinedfor pulmonary metastasis.RESULTS: Patients with TAE had a median survival of 19.3months while that of the control group was only 10.0 months(P＜0.05). Pulmonary metastasis occurred in 14 (13.7 %)patients in the TAE group and 14 (7.6 %) patients in the control group, there was no significant difference (P＞0.05).The 1-year, 2-year and 5-year cumulative incidence of pulmonary metastasis was 11.8 %, 17.6 % and 24.0 % in the TAE group and 7.0 %, 13.0 % and 21.7 % in the control group, respectively (P＞0.05). On the univariate analysis,tumor size, abnormal serum alanine aminotransferase levels and heterogeneity on sonography were significantly associated with pulmonary metastasis. However, on the multivariate analysis, only tumor size was significantly predictive of pulmonary metastasis.CONCLUSION: TAE is effective on prolonging survival of patients with HCC. It does not significantly increase the risk of pulmonary metastasis. Tumor size is the only significant predictive factor associated with lung metastasis.

Decision making in right-sided diverticulitis

AIM: To evaluate systematically our nine-year experience in treating right-sided diverticulitis of the colon, and to explore its clinical and radiological relationship.METHODS: The clinical and radiological data of 40 patients with colonic diverticulitis treated in Mackay Memorial Hospital,Taipei, from 1993 through 2002 were reviewed retrospectively.RESULTS: The average age of the patients with right-sided diverticulitis was 53.1 years, which was 11.6 years younger than that of the patients with left-sided diverticulitis. The preoperative diagnosis of appendicitis was made in 8 of 13 right-sided diverticulitis patients. Nine (69 %) had right lower quadrant abdominal pain for more than 48 hours, and ten patients (77 %) presented with fever. CT findings suggesting acute right-sided diverticulitis including thickening of the intestinal wall and pericolonic inflammation were present in five patients.CONCLUSION: Right-sided diverticulitis is easily confused with acute appendicitis because it occurs at a somewhat younger age than that in left-sided diverticulitis. Barium enema and CT are helpful for the early diagnosis of rightsided diverticulitis. While clearly not required in the majority of patients with right lower quadrant abdominal pain, barium enema and CT may be helpful in making the decision with a clinical history or physical examinations atypical of acute appendicitis.

Expression patterns of transforming growth factor-beta and its receptors in gastric mucosa of patients with refractory gastric ulcer

AIM: Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) plays a regulatory role in tissue repair. In a previous study, we found that TGF-β and its receptors were expressed in gastric mucosa of patients with well-healed gastric ulcers, as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. To further characterize the role of TGF-β and its receptors in repairing gastric ulcers, we investigated the expression patterns of TGF-β and its receptors in gastric mucosa by in situ hybridization and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).METHODS: Seventy-four patients with endoscopically proven gastric ulcers were eligible for participation in this study. All patients had routine biopsies on initial endoscopy and were then treated for 12 wk with an H2 blocker. Repeat endoscopy was then performed. There were 8 patients with poorly healed ulcers, and biopsies were taken from the margin of the residual ulcers. These tissue samples, along with biopsy of gastric mucosa near the original ulcers from 8 randomly selected patients with well-healed ulcers were examined for TGF-β and TGF-β receptor Ⅱ mRNA by RT-PCR and in situ hybridization, as well as immunohistochemistry.RESULTS: TGF-β and TGF-β receptor Ⅱ were strongly expressed in tissues from patients with well-healed ulcers.Four of the 8 patients with poor healing had low or absent expression of TGF-β or TGF-β receptor Ⅱ mRNA. All cases positive by RT-PCR assay were confirmed by in situ hybridization as well as immunohistochemistry.CONCLUSION: It is suggested that TGF-β and its receptors are important for gastric ulcer healing. These results may have implications for further investigation of the healing process and in predicting response to therapy.

Fatty metamorphosis of the liver in patients with breast cancer:Possible associated factors

AIM: To investigate the relationship between breast cancer and fatty liver in Chinese patients.METHODS: The study group consisted of 217 patients with newly diagnosed breast cancers and the control group of 182 subjects undergoing routine health examination in the same hospital. All subjects were female and the groups were matched for date of study. Ultrasound scanning was performed by the same operator using a 3.5 mHz transducer.Steatosis of the liver was diagnosed based on the criteria of Saverymuttu et al. Clinical variables were statistically analyzed.RESULTS: Fatty liver was diagnosed in 98 patients of the study group and 37 patients of the control group, a significant difference was found in incidence (98/217, 45.2 % and 37/182, 20.3 %; P＜0.0001). On univariate analysis, fatty liver in breast cancer patients was associated with overweight,hyperlipidemia, and hepatitis. On multivariate analysis in the same patients, obesity and hyperlipidemia were significantly associated with fatty liver.CONCLUSION: The cause of fatty liver in women with breast cancer may be multifactorial. The present study confirms its link with overweight and hyperlipidemia.

Polymorphism in transmembrane region of MICA gene and cholelithiasis

AIM: To study the significance of polymorphism of MHC class I chain-related gene A (MICA) gene in patients with cholelithiasis. METHODS: Subjects included 170 unrelated adults (83 males) with cholelithiasis and 245 randomly selected unrelated adults (130 males) as controls. DNA was extracted from peripheral leukocytes and analyzed for polymorphism of 5 alleles (A4, A5, A5.1, A6 and A9) of the MICA gene. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in phenotype, allele, and genotype frequencies of any of the 5 alleles between cholelithiasis patients and controls .CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that MICA alleles studied bear no relation to cholelithiasis.

Report of gossypiboma from the standpoint in medicine and law

We report on a case of gossypiboma. A 78-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with acute abdomen. He had undergone an operation for colon cancer 4 mo previously.Abdominal ultrasonography revealed an echogenic lesion with a hypoechoic rim and strong posterior acoustic shadowing in the lower abdomen. Diagnosis of gossypiboma can be made by ultrasonography to avoid loss-of-chance of survival. We reviewed the English literature briefly of gossypiboma from the medical and juridical view. According to the theory of loss-of-chance, the damage of plaintiff is the loss of the chance of survival or recovery, rather than the final harm. The victim would allow recovery for the loss of the chance from the defendant. But the plaintiff would show by a preponderance that he was deprived of a betterchance of a cure. Under the proposed rule, the compensable value of the victim would be the plaintiff's compensation for the loss of the victim's chance of survival.