Increasing the Inflammatory Competence of Macrophages with IL-6 or with Combination of IL-4 and LPS Restrains the Invasiveness of Pancreatic Cancer Cells.

Recent studies suggest that pro-inflammatory type M1 macrophages inhibit tumor progression and that anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages enhance it. The aim of this study was to examine the interaction of type M1 and M2 macrophages with pancreatic cancer cells. We studied the migration rate of fluorescein stained pancreatic cancer cells on Matrigel cultured alone or with Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF) differentiated macrophages or with Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (M-CSF) differentiated macrophages, skewing the phenotype towards pro- and anti-inflammatory direction, respectively.

Early assessment of pancreatic infections and overall prognosis in severe acute pancreatitis by procalcitonin (PCT): a prospective international multicenter study.

Background: Pancreatic infections and sepsis are major complications in severe acute pancreatitis (AP) with significant impact on management and outcome. We investigated the value of Procalcitonin (PCT) for identifying patients at risk to develop pancreatic infections in severe AP.

Methods: A total of 104 patients with predicted severe AP were enrolled in five European academic surgical centers within 96 hours of symptom onset.

Treatment of abdominal compartment syndrome with subcutaneous anterior abdominal fasciotomy in severe acute pancreatitis.

Background: Managing the abdominal compartment syndrome associated with severe acute pancreatitis by the open abdomen method is associated with considerable morbidity and resource utilization.

Methods: A technique of subcutaneous anterior abdominal fasciotomy is described for the first time in two patients with severe acute pancreatitis.

Results: Following the procedure, the intra-abdominal pressure decreased from 30 mmHg immediately to 23 mmHg and to a sustained level of 12-14 mmHg in the first patient, and from 35 mmHg immediately to 23 mmHg and to a sustained level of 14-19 mmHg in the second patient.

Predicting fatal outcome in the early phase of severe acute pancreatitis by using novel prognostic models.

Background/aims: Survival in acute pancreatitis and particularly in severe acute and necrotizing pancreatitis is a combination of therapy-associated and patient-related factors. There are only few relevant methods for predicting fatal outcome in acute pancreatitis. Scores such as Ranson, Imrie, Blamey, and APACHE II are practical in assessing the severity of the disease, but are not sufficiently validated for predicting fatal outcome among patients with severe acute pancreatitis.

Long-term health-related quality of life in survivors of severe acute pancreatitis.

Objective: To evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQL) and postdischarge outcome after severe acute pancreatitis.

Design And Setting: Observational study in a department of surgery (surgical and general intensive care unit) in a tertiary care hospital.

Patients And Participants: Of 283 patients with severe acute pancreatitis 211 survived; during a follow-up period an additional 27 died.

Multiple organ dysfunction associated with severe acute pancreatitis.

Objective: To compare three different multiple organ dysfunction scores in predicting hospital mortality rates and to discover which one best assesses organ dysfunction/failure in patients with severe acute pancreatitis in a general intensive care unit.

Design: Retrospective, observational study.

Setting: Surgical department and a ten-bed general intensive care unit in a tertiary care hospital.