Adenocarcinoma arising at ileostomy sites:Two cases and a review of the literature

Total colectomy with ileostomy placement is a treatment for patients with inflammatory bowel disease or familial adenomatous polyposis(FAP). A rare and late complication of this treatment is carcinoma arising at the ileostomy site. We describe two such cases: a 78-year-old male 30 years after subtotal colectomy and ileostomy for FAP, and an 85-year-old male 50 years after colectomy and ileostomy for ulcerative colitis. The long latency period between creation of the ileostomies and development of carcinoma suggests a chronic metaplasia due to an irritating/inflammatory causative factor. Surgical excision of the mass and relocation of the stoma is the mainstay of therapy, with possible benefits from adjuvant chemotherapy. Newly developed lesions at stoma sites should be biopsied to rule out the possibility of this rare ileostomy complication.

Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein activates splenic T cells during sepsis in a TLR4-dependent manner

Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRP) is a novel inflammatory mediator that stimulates the release of proinflammatory cytokines from macrophages in sepsis. Given the immune dysregulation that characterizes sepsis, the effect of CIRP on other immune cells is an area of increasing interest that has not yet been studied. In the present study, we hypothesized that extracellular CIRP promotes activation of T lymphocytes in the spleen during sepsis. We observed that mice subjected to sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture showed significantly higher expression of the early activation markers CD69 and CD25 at 20 h on CD4+ splenic T cells, and significantly higher CD69 expression on CD8+ splenic T cells compared with sham-operated controls. Furthermore, at 20 h after receiving intravenous injection of recombinant murine CIRP (rmCIRP, 5 mg/kg body weight (BW)) or PBS (vehicle), those mice receiving rmCIRP showed significantly increased expression of CD69 and CD25 on both CD4+ and CD8+ splenic T cells. This effect, however, was not seen in TLR4-deficient mice after rmCIRP injection. In addition, treatment with CIRP predisposed CD4+ T cells to a Th1 hyperinflammatory response profile, and influenced CD8+ T cells toward a cytotoxic profile. Taken together, our findings indicate that CIRP is a proinflammatory mediator that plays an important role in T-cell dysregulation during sepsis in a TLR4-dependent manner.

Outcomes following operative vs. non-operative management of blunt traumatic pancreatic injuries: a retrospective multi-institutional study

Background:Traumatic pancreatic injuries are rare,and guidelines specifying management are controversial and difficult to apply in the acute clinical setting.Due to sparse data on these injuries,we carried out a retrospective review to determine outcomes following surgical or non-surgical management of traumatic pancreatic injuries.We hypothesize a higher morbidity and mortality rate in patients treated surgically when compared to patients treated non-surgically.Methods:We performed a retrospective review of data from four trauma centers in New York from 1990–2014,comparing patients who had blunt traumatic pancreatic injuries who were managed operatively to those managed non-operatively.We compared continuous variables using the Mann-Whitney U test and categorical variables using the chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests.Univariate analysis was performed to determine the possible confounding factors associated with mortality in both treatment groups.Results:Twenty nine patients were managed operatively and 32 non-operatively.There was a significant difference between the operative and non-operative groups in median age(37.0 vs.16.2 years,P=0.016),grade of pancreatic injury(grade I;30.8 vs.85.2%,P value for all comparisons<0.0001),median injury severity score(ISS)(16.0 vs.4.0,P=0.002),blood transfusion(55.2 vs.15.6%,P=0.0012),other abdominal injuries(79.3 vs.38.7%,P=0.0014),pelvic fractures(17.2 vs.0.00%,P=0.020),intensive care unit(ICU)admission(86.2 vs.50.0%,P=0.003),median length of stay(LOS)(16.0 vs.4.0 days,P<0.0001),and mortality(27.6 vs.3.1%,P=0.010).Conclusions:Patients with traumatic pancreatic injuries treated operatively were more severely injured and suffered greater complications than those treated non-operatively.The greater morbidity and mortality associated with these patients warrants further study to determine optimal triage strategies and which subset of patients is likely to benefit from surgery.