Somprakas Basu

The SCARE Statement: Consensus-based surgical case report guidelines

INTRODUCTION Case reports have been a long held tradition within the surgical literature. Reporting guidelines can improve transparency and reporting quality. However, recent consensus-based guidelines for case reports (CARE) are not surgically focused. Our objective was to develop surgical case report guidelines. METHODS The CARE statement was used as the basis for a Delphi consensus. The Delphi questionnaire was administered via Google Forms and conducted using standard Delphi methodology. A multidisciplinary group of surgeons and others with expertise in the reporting of case reports were invited to participate. In round one, participants stated how each item of the CARE statement should be changed and what additional items were needed. Revised and additional items from round one were put forward into a further round, where participants voted on the extent of their agreement with each item, using a nine-point Likert scale, as proposed by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) working group. RESULTS In round one, there was a 64% (38/59) response rate. Following adjustment of the guideline with the incorporation of recommended changes, round two commenced and there was an 83% (49/59) response rate. All but one of the items were approved by the participants, with Likert scores 7-9 awarded by >70% of respondents. The final guideline consists of a 14-item checklist. CONCLUSION We present the SCARE Guideline, consisting of a 14-item checklist that will improve the reporting quality of surgical case reports.

The STROCSS statement: Strengthening the Reporting of Cohort Studies in Surgery

INTRODUCTION The development of reporting guidelines over the past 20 years represents a major advance in scholarly publishing with recent evidence showing positive impacts. Whilst over 350 reporting guidelines exist, there are few that are specific to surgery. Here we describe the development of the STROCSS guideline (Strengthening the Reporting of Cohort Studies in Surgery). METHODS AND ANALYSIS We published our protocol apriori. Current guidelines for case series (PROCESS), cohort studies (STROBE) and randomised controlled trials (CONSORT) were analysed to compile a list of items which were used as baseline material for developing a suitable checklist for surgical cohort guidelines. These were then put forward in a Delphi consensus exercise to an expert panel of 74 surgeons and academics via Google Forms. RESULTS The Delphi exercise was completed by 62% (46/74) of the participants. All the items were passed in a single round to create a STROCSS guideline consisting of 17 items. CONCLUSION We present the STROCSS guideline for surgical cohort, cross-sectional and case-control studies consisting of a 17-item checklist. We hope its use will increase the transparency and reporting quality of such studies. This guideline is also suitable for cross-sectional and case control studies. We encourage authors, reviewers, journal editors and publishers to adopt these guidelines.

Preferred reporting of case series in surgery; the PROCESS guidelines

INTRODUCTION Case series have been a long held tradition within the surgical literature and are still frequently published. Reporting guidelines can improve transparency and reporting quality. No guideline exists for reporting case series, and our recent systematic review highlights the fact that key data are being missed from such reports. Our objective was to develop reporting guidelines for surgical case series. METHODS A Delphi consensus exercise was conducted to determine items to include in the reporting guideline. Items included those identified from a previous systematic review on case series and those included in the SCARE Guidelines for case reports. The Delphi questionnaire was administered via Google Forms and conducted using standard Delphi methodology. Surgeons and others with expertise in the reporting of case series were invited to participate. In round one, participants voted to define case series and also what elements should be included in them. In round two, participants voted on what items to include in the PROCESS guideline using a nine-point Likert scale to assess agreement as proposed by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) working group. RESULTS In round one, there was a 49% (29/59) response rate. Following adjustment of the guideline with incorporation of recommended changes, round two commenced and there was an 81% (48/59) response rate. All but one of the items were approved by the participants and Likert scores 7-9 were awarded by >70% of respondents. The final guideline consists of an eight item checklist. CONCLUSION We present the PROCESS Guideline, consisting of an eight item checklist that will improve the reporting quality of surgical case series. We encourage authors, reviewers, editors, journals, publishers and the wider surgical and scholarly community to adopt these.

Massive gangrene of the stomach due to primary antiphospholipid syndrome: Report of two cases

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disease, which may be primary or secondary to other autoimmune diseases. It produces thrombosis of arteries and veins of any caliber, and no organ is immune to its insult. This report describes two cases of massive gastric gangrene due to primary APS, which presented in a span of 2 years. In the first case a multiparous, 40-year-old woman presented with acute abdominal pain, hematemesis, and progressive abdominal distension, and was in azotemia and shock. A laparotomy revealed gangrene of the stomach without any other organ involvement. She was managed with a total gastrectomy and esophagojejunal anastomosis. Postoperative serology revealed a persistent elevation of anticardiolipin antibody with no other apparent predisposing cause. The histopathological examination of the specimen revealed characteristic extensive intramural vascular thrombosis without inflammatory changes in the vessel wall, confirming antiphospholipid syndrome. The second patient was a primiparous, 26-year-old woman who had severe abdominal pain in the first trimester followed by shock. An exploratory laparotomy revealed massive gangrene of the stomach with complete loss of the posterior wall and hemoperitoneum. She also underwent a total gastrectomy with esophagogastric anastomosis and was later managed in the intensive care unit, where she succumbed within 8 days. Her serology showed a highly elevated anticardiolipin antibody titer, and histopathological examination of the stomach revealed characteristic intramural vascular thrombosis without inflammatory cellular infiltrate in the vessel wall. Patients undergoing a total gastrectomy following acute gastric necrosis have very high mortality (50%–80%). Its association with APS is rare and it has not been previously reported. The combination is a formidable challenge to the physician and a dangerous disease for the patient. The rarity of the condition and its grave prognosis is highlighted.

Complications of Wound Healing

Wound healing is an organized, four-phased system involving hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and maturation. However this process is far from simple. It involves a huge orchestration of cells and biochemical molecules in an environment of constantly changing signaling processes, temporally and spatially. A variety of physiological events and environmental agents can divert this healing cascade, alter the wound bed environment and stall healing. The pathology of a non-healing wound is highly complex and differs to a great extent from an acute wound. The resident cells are phenotypically different, senescent and resist apoptosis. The matrix becomes corrupt and shows poor response to growth factors. The growth factors may be inadequately synthesized, trapped or degraded rapidly and may have low receptor population or insensitive receptors. The inflammatory phase remains prolonged and a dynamic process of matrix degradation with attempts to repair exists in the wound environment. The failure to heal may result from various insults like biofilm formation and microbial invasion, defective signaling processes, genetically defective enzymes and wound metabolism, repeated trauma, ischemia, edema, venous hypertension and effect of mechanical forces including pressure. The corrupt matrix leads to poor migration of keratinocytes and epithelization is also delayed. A number of drugs particularly anticancer drugs may also lead to chronicity. Wound bed preparation remains the gold standard of therapy in these indolent cases. A good wound bed preparation may involve enzymatic and surgical debridement, resident fibroblast stimulation and stimulation of growth factor release, addition of extraneous growth factors to the wound, deployment of bioengineered extracellular matrix, collagen and alginates, cultured keratinocyte suspension and even bioengineered dermal preparation in any combination. Stem cell therapy holds promise. The results are encouraging although much work is yet to be done to achieve the best outcome. It should be kept in mind that any attempt in helping a chronic wound to heal should take the patient in consideration as a whole and not a leave narrow focus on the wound only.

Arginase activity in carcinoma of the gallbladder: a pilot study.

Carcinoma of the gallbladder is the third most common cancer of the gastrointestinal tract. Recent studies have shown increased arginase activity in various malignancies. The main aim of this study was to evaluate whether arginase activity increases in carcinoma of the gallbladder. The arginase activity was evaluated in serum and gallbladder tissue in 22 patients with histologically proven carcinoma of the gallbladder and 20 patients with cholecystitis using spectrophotometry and western blot assay. The Students t-test, analysis of variance, and Student–Newman–Keuls test were used for comparison of data and for statistical significance. The mean tissue arginase and serum arginase activity (118.64±17.45 and 15.91±1.91, respectively) in cases of carcinoma of the gallbladder were significantly higher in comparison with cholecystitis (86.37±4.45 and 12.73±0.72, respectively). Subgroup analysis showed stage III gallbladder carcinoma had the maximum tissue arginase activity (142.00±21.68 U/g of tissue) followed by stage II (124.15±19.88) and stage I (108.46±6.73). This significant rise in mean tissue arginase and serum arginase activity in patients with gallbladder cancer probably supports an association between arginase activity and the malignancy.

The Buruli Ulcer.

Buruli ulcer (BU) is caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans and can manifest as a simple nodule or as aggressive skin ulcers leading to debilitating osteoarthritis or limb deformity. The disease is more prevalent in those living in remote rural areas, especially in children younger than 15 years. The exact mode of transmission is possibly through traumatic skin lesions contaminated by M ulcerans. IS2404 polymerase chain reaction from ulcer swabs or biopsies is a rapid method for confirmation of BU. In coendemic countries, HIV infection complicates the progression of BU, leading to rapidly spreading osteomyelitis. Treatment is principally medical, with antitubercular drugs, and surgery is utilized for complicated disease. Because of ineffective vaccination, primary prevention is the best option for control of the disease.

A dangerous pleural effusion

Bilothorax is a rare complication of biliary peritonitis and, if not treated promptly, can be life-threatening. We report a case of a middle-aged woman who had undergone a bilio-enteric bypass and subsequently a biliary leak developed, which finally led to intra-abdominal biliary collection and spontaneous bilothorax. The clinical course was rapid and mimicked venous thromboembolism, myocardial infarction and pulmonary oedema, which led to a delay in diagnosis and management and finally death. We high-light the fact that bilothorax, although a rare complication of biliary surgery, should always be considered as a probable cause of massive effusion and sudden-onset respiratory and cardiovascular collapse in the postoperative period. A chest X-ray and a diagnostic pleural tap can confirm the diagnosis. Once detected, an aggressive management should be instituted to prevent organ failure and death.

recent advances in the management of carcinoma of the rectum

In the last two decades rectal cancer has changed from a surgically managed disease into a multidisciplinary treatment model resulting in considerable improvements in the survival and outcome. This has been made possible by better understanding of the tumor biology and oncogenesis, advances in diagnostic and staging investigations, and the changing concepts in surgical excision; from the days of abdominoperineal resection to the concept of “zone of upward spread” and low anterior resection to the era of total mesorectal excision and transanal excision. Efforts are on the way to risk stratification and identification of predictors of nonoperative management. Impressive advances in the adjuvant therapies have seen a sea change in the form of postoperative radiotherapy to preoperative radiotherapy to preoperative chemoradiotherapy and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. This multidisciplinary approach is the key to impressive local control rates, decreased metastatic rates, overall survival, and enhancement in quality of life. Newer ideas in the understanding of genetic differences in rectal cancers have stemmed from the observation that these cancers differ in their response to the adjuvant treatment. The present day research has focused these areas of biologic differences in cancers and aims to target the specific loci in malignant cells with monoclonal antibodies directed against various growth factors, key enzyme inhibition, and genetic manipulation. The future research lies in the study of gene expression, micro-array techniques, molecular markers, and better understanding of the predictors of tumor response to therapy.

Role of nicotine in gallbladder carcinoma: A preliminary report

To assess the role of nicotine in gallbladder carcinoma and its association with the stage and degree of cancer differentiation.