Probiotic prophylaxis in predicted severe acute pancreatitis: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Commentary

Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP), which is the most serious type of this disorder, is associated with high morbidity and mortality. SAP runs a biphasic course. During the first 1-2 wk, a pro-inflammatory response results in systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). If the SIRS is severe, it can lead to early multisystem organ failure (MOF). After the first 1-2 wk, a transition from a pro-inflammatory response to an anti-inflammatory response occurs; during this transition, the patient is at risk for intestinal flora translocation and the development of secondary infection of the necrotic tissue, which can result in sepsis and late MOF. Many recommendations have been made regarding SAP management and its complications. However, despite the reduction in overall mortality in the last decade, SAP is still associated with high mortality. In the majority of cases, sterile necrosis should be managed conservatively, whereas in infected necrotizing pancreatitis, the infected non-vital solid tissue should be removed to control the sepsis. Intervention should be delayed for as long as possible to allow better demarcation and liquefaction of the necrosis. Currently, the step-up approach (delay, drain, and debride) may be considered as the reference standard intervention for this disorder.

Treatment of severe acute pancreatitis and its complications.

Mean platelet volume as an indicator of disease severity in patients with acute pancreatitis.

Acute pancreatitis is a common and potentially lethal disease with increasing incidence. Severe cases are characterised by high mortality, and despite improvements in intensive care management, no specific treatment relevantly improves clinical outcomes of the disease. Meta-analyses suggest that enteral nutrition is more effective than conventional treatment consisting of discontinuation of oral intake with use of total parenteral nutrition. However, no systematic review has compared different enteral nutrition formulations for the treatment of patients with acute pancreatitis. Objectives: To assess the beneficial and harmful effects of different enteral nutrition formulations in patients with acute pancreatitis. We searched the Cochrane Upper Gastrointestinal and Pancreatic Diseases Group Specialised Register of Clinical Trials, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (2013, Issue 7), MEDLINE (from inception to 20 August 2013), EMBASE (from inception to 2013, week 33) and Science Citation Index–Expanded (from 1990 to August 2013) ; we conducted full-text searches and applied no restrictions by language or publication status. We considered randomised clinical trials assessing enteral nutrition in patients with acute pancreatitis. We allowed concomitant interventions if they were received equally by all treatment groups within a trial. Two review authors independently assessed trials for inclusion and extracted data. We performed the analysis using Review Manager 5 (Review Manager 2013) and both fixed-effect and random-effects models. We expressed results as risk ratios (RRs) for dichotomous data, and as mean differences (MDs) for continuous data, both with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Analysis was based on an intention-to-treat principle. We included 15 trials (1376 participants) in this review. We downgraded the quality of evidence for many of our outcomes on the basis of high risk of bias. Low-quality evidence suggests that immunonutrition decreases all-cause mortality (RR 0.49, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.80). The effect of immunonutrition on other outcomes from a subset of the included trials was uncertain. Subgrouping trials by type of enteral nutrition did not explain any variation in effect. We found mainly very low-quality evidence for the effects of probiotics on the main outcomes. One eligible trial in this comparison reported a higher rate of serious adverse events leading to increased organ failure and mortality due to low numbers of events and low risk of bias. When we excluded this study as a post hoc sensitivity analysis, risks of mortality (RR 0.30, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.84), organ failure (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.92) and local septic complications (RR 0.40, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.72) were lower with probiotics. In one trial assessing immunonutrition with probiotics and fibres, no deaths occurred, but hospital stay was shorter with immunonutrition (MD -5.20 days, 95% CI -8.73 to -1.67). No deaths were reported following semi-elemental enteral nutrition (EN), and the effect on length of hospital stay was small (MD 0.30 days, 95% CI -0.82 to 1.42). Fibre-enriched formulations reduced the number of other local complications (RR 0.52, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.87) and length of hospital stay (MD -9.28 days, 95% CI -13.21 to -5.35) but did not significantly affect all-cause mortality (RR 0.23, 95% CI 0.03 to 1.84) and other outcomes. Very low-quality evidence from the subgroup of trials comparing EN versus no intervention showed a decrease in all-cause mortality with EN (RR 0.50, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.86). Authors' conclusions: We found evidence of low or very low quality for the effects of immunonutrition on efficacy and safety outcomes. The role of supplementation of enteral nutrition with potential immunomodulatory agents remains in question, and further research is required in this area. Studies assessing probiotics yielded inconsistent and almost contrary results, especially regarding safety and adverse events, and their findings do not support the routine use of EN enriched with probiotics in routine clinical practice. However, further research should be carried out to try to determine the potential efficacy or harms of probiotics. Lack of trials reporting on other types of EN assessed and lack of firm evidence regarding their effects suggest that additional randomised clinical trials are needed. The quality of evidence for the effects of any kind of EN on mortality was low, and further studies are likely to have an impact on the finding of improved survival with EN versus no nutritional support. Evidence remains insufficient to support the use of a specific EN formulation.

Enteral nutrition formulations for acute pancreatitis

Duodenal adenocarcinoma (DA) is a rare tumor for which survival data per treatment modality and disease stage are unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to summarize the current literature on patient outcome after surgical, (neo)adjuvant, and palliative treatment in patients with DA. A systematic search was performed according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines, to 25 April 2017. Primary outcome was overall survival (OS), specified for treatment strategy or disease stage. Random-effects models were used for the calculation of pooled odds ratios per treatment modality. Included papers were also screened for prognostic factors. A total of 26 observational studies, comprising 6438 patients with DA, were included. Of these, resection with curative intent was performed in 71% (range 53–100%) of patients, and 29% received palliative treatment (range 0–61%). The pooled 5-year OS rate was 46% after curative resection, compared with 1% in palliative-treated patients (OR 0.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.02–0.09, p < 0.0001). Both segmental resection and pancreaticoduodenectomy allowed adequate assessment of lymph node involvement and resulted in similar OS. Lymph node involvement correlated with worse OS (pooled 5-year survival rate 21% for nodal metastases vs. 65% for node-negative disease; OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.11–0.27, p < 0.0001). In the current literature, no survival benefit for adjuvant therapy after curative resection was found. Resection with curative intent, either pancreaticoduodenectomy or segmental resection, and lack of nodal metastases, favors survival for DA. Further studies exploring multimodality (neo)adjuvant therapy are warranted to investigate their benefit.

/pdf/outcomes-and-treatment-options-for-duodenal-adenocarcinoma-a-73uggm4hmc.pdf

Outcomes and Treatment Options for Duodenal Adenocarcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Acute pancreatitis is an acute inflammatory disease of the pancreas which can lead to a systemic inflammatory response syndrome with significant morbidity and mortality in 20% of patients. Gallstones and alcohol consumption are the most frequent causes of pancreatitis in adults. The treatment of mild acute pancreatitis is conservative and supportive; however severe episodes characterized by necrosis of the pancreatic tissue may require surgical intervention. Advanced understanding of the pathology, and increased interest in assessment of disease severity are the cornerstones of future management strategies of this complex and heterogeneous disease in the 21st century.

Acute pancreatitis at the beginning of the 21st century: The state of the art

Purpose
The aims of this paper were to evaluate the clinical features of patients with primary duodenal adenocarcinoma and to address the prognostic relevance of different surgical and pathological variables after potentially curative pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Postoperative morbidity is an additional prognostic factor after potentially curative pancreaticoduodenectomy for primary duodenal adenocarcinoma.

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Acute pancreatitis at the beginning of the 21st century: The state of the art

Postoperative morbidity is an additional prognostic factor after potentially curative pancreaticoduodenectomy for primary duodenal adenocarcinoma.