Trypsin and Trypsinogen Activation Peptide in the Prediction of Severity of Acute Pancreatitis.

Objectives: To assess the predictive value of serum trypsin and trypsinogen activation peptide (TAP) for the severity of AP through a single center cohort study as well as a systematic review of the current literature.

Methods: A literature search was conducted using Medline (PubMed), EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register. A total of 142 patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) were included in the cohort study and parameters of the revised Atlanta criteria of 2012 and the APACHE II were assessed.

An analysis of virtual reality in abdominal surgery-A scoping review.

Background: The integration of virtual reality (VR) in surgery has gained prominence as VR applications have increased in popularity.

Methods: A scoping review was undertaken, gathering the most relevant sources, utilising a detailed literature search of medical and academic databases including EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane, IEEE, Google Scholar, and the Google search engine.

Results: Of the 18 articles included, 7 focused on VR in colon surgery, 5 addressed VR in pancreas surgery, and the remaining 6 concentrated on VR in liver surgery.

Assessment of resectability of pancreatic cancer using novel immersive high-performance virtual reality rendering of abdominal computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Purpose: Virtual reality (VR) allows for an immersive and interactive analysis of imaging data such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The aim of this study is to assess the comprehensibility of VR anatomy and its value in assessing resectability of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Methods: This study assesses exposure to VR anatomy and evaluates the potential role of VR in assessing resectability of PDAC.

Assessment of Internet Available Patient Information on Chronic Pancreatitis Using the Ensuring Quality Information for Patients Tool: A Systematic Search and Evaluation.

Introduction: Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a relevant chronic medical problem whereby delayed presentation and poor patient understanding can cause adverse effects. Quality of patient information available on the internet about CP is not known.

Methods: A systematic review of the information about CP available online using the search term "chronic pancreatitis" in using the search engine Google has been conducted.

Management of patients at the hepatopancreatobiliary unit of a London teaching hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To mitigate COVID-19-related shortage of treatment capacity, the hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) unit of the Royal Free Hospital London (RFHL) transferred its practice to independent hospitals in Central London through the North Central London Cancer Alliance. The aim of this study was to critically assess this strategy and evaluate perioperative outcomes. Prospectively collected data were reviewed on all patients who were treated under the RFHL HPB unit in six hospitals between November 2020 and October 2021.

Reliability of Medical Information Provided by ChatGPT: Assessment Against Clinical Guidelines and Patient Information Quality Instrument.

Background: ChatGPT-4 is the latest release of a novel artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot able to answer freely formulated and complex questions. In the near future, ChatGPT could become the new standard for health care professionals and patients to access medical information. However, little is known about the quality of medical information provided by the AI.

The Value of Indocyanine Green Image-Guided Surgery in Patients with Primary Liver Tumors and Liver Metastases.

Introduction: Successful R0 resection is crucial for the survival of patients with primary liver cancer (PLC) or liver metastases. Up to date, surgical resection lacks a sensitive, real-time intraoperative imaging modality to determine R0 resection. Real-time intraoperative visualization with near-infrared light fluorescence (NIRF) using indocyanine green (ICG) may have the potential to meet this demand.

The Current Role and Future Applications of Machine Perfusion in Liver Transplantation.

The relative paucity of donor livers suitable for transplantation has sparked innovations to preserve and recondition organs to expand the pool of transplantable organs. Currently, machine perfusion techniques have led to the improvement of the quality of marginal livers and to prolonged cold ischemia time and have allowed for the prediction of graft function through the analysis of the organ during perfusion, improving the rate of organ use. In the future, the implementation of organ modulation might expand the scope of machine perfusion beyond its current usage.

Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography enhanced by virtual reality as a novel tool to improve the understanding of biliary anatomy and the teaching of surgical trainees.

Objective: The novel picture archiving and communication system (PACS), compatible with virtual reality (VR) software, displays cross-sectional images in VR. VR magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) was tested to improve the anatomical understanding and intraoperative performance of minimally invasive cholecystectomy (CHE) in surgical trainees.

Design: We used an immersive VR environment to display volumetric MRCP data (Specto VR).

Efficacy of intraoperative cholangiography versus preoperative magnetic resonance cholangiography in patients with intermediate risk for common bile duct stones.

Background: This is the first randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) in patients with suspected CBDS.

Methods: This unblinded, multicenter RCT was conducted at five swiss hospitals. Eligibility criteria were suspected CBDS.

Standardizing Patient-Derived Organoid Generation Workflow to Avoid Microbial Contamination From Colorectal Cancer Tissues.

The use of patient-derived organoids (PDO) as a valuable alternative to models significantly increased over the last years in cancer research. The ability of PDOs to genetically resemble tumor heterogeneity makes them a powerful tool for personalized drug screening. Despite the extensive optimization of protocols for the generation of PDOs from colorectal tissue, there is still a lack of standardization of tissue handling prior to processing, leading to microbial contamination of the organoid culture.

Persistent acute cholecystitis after cholecystostomy - increased mortality due to treatment approach?

Background: Percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) is a treatment option for acute cholecystitis (AC) in cases where cholecystectomy (CCY) is not feasible due to limited health conditions. The use of PC remains questionable. The aim was to retrospectively analyse the outcome of patients after PC.

High Density of CD16+ Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer Is Associated with Enhanced Responsiveness to Chemotherapy and Prolonged Overall Survival.

Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most aggressive and fatal malignancy of the female reproductive system. Debulking surgery with adjuvant chemotherapy represents the standard treatment, but recurrence rates are particularly high. Over the past decades, the association between the immune system and cancer progression has been extensively investigated.

Adenylosuccinate lyase is oncogenic in colorectal cancer by causing mitochondrial dysfunction and independent activation of NRF2 and mTOR-MYC-axis.

Adenylosuccinate lyase (ADSL) is an essential enzyme for purine biosynthesis. Here we sought to investigate the putative role of ADSL in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) carcinogenesis and response to antimetabolites. ADSL expression levels were assessed by immunohistochemistry or retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset.

The role of CRP and Pentraxin 3 in the prediction of systemic inflammatory response syndrome and death in acute pancreatitis.

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is an acute phase protein. Our goal was to assess PTX3 as a predictor of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), death and disease severity in acute pancreatitis (AP) in comparison to C-reactive protein (CRP) and the APACHE II score. From April 2011 to January 2015, 142 patients with AP were included in this single center post hoc analysis of prospectively collected data at the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland.

Cortisol Outperforms Novel Cardiovascular, Inflammatory, and Neurohumoral Biomarkers in the Prediction of Outcome in Acute Pancreatitis.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to assess whether copeptin, pro-atrial natriuretic peptide, proadrenomedullin, and cortisol are associated with disease severity in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) and to compare their ability in predicting organ failure or death.

Methods: From April 2011 to January 2015, 142 patients with AP were included in this prospective single-center study and observed for 4 days. Disease severity was rated by the Atlanta 1992 and 2012 criteria and organ failure by the modified Marshall score.

The role of preoperative blood parameters to predict the risk of surgical site infection.

Background: Routine preoperative blood work is not recommended but selected biochemical markers may predict the risk of surgical site infection (SSI). This study examines the association between preoperative biochemical markers and the risk of SSI.

Methods: This observational cohort study, nested in a randomized controlled trial, was conducted at two tertiary referral centers in Switzerland.

Control of angiogenesis and host response by modulating the cell adhesion properties of an Elastin-Like Recombinamer-based hydrogel.

The control of the in vivo vascularization of engineered tissue substitutes is essential in order to obtain either a rapid induction or a complete inhibition of the process (e.g. in muscles and hyaline-cartilage, respectively).

Assessing the severity of acute pancreatitis (ASAP) in Switzerland: A nationwide survey on severity assessment in daily clinical practice.

Background/objectives: We aim to assess which tools for severity stratification in acute pancreatitis are used in today's daily clinical practice and to what extent the new Atlanta classification is being implemented by the medical community in Switzerland.

Methods: The heads of surgical, medical and emergency departments of Swiss hospitals (n = 83) that directly treat patients with acute pancreatitis were given access to an online survey and asked to forward the questionnaire to their team. The questionnaire consisted of 16 items, including questions about the specialty background of the participants, the allocation of patients with AP, severity assessment, patient management, the role of imaging procedures, and future perspectives.

Laboratory markers predicting severity of acute pancreatitis.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease of highly variable severity, ranging from mild cases with low mortality to severe cases with high mortality. Numerous biomarkers have been studied as potential early predictors of the severity of this disease so that treatment can be optimally tailored to prevent complications. We aim to present and discuss the most relevant biomarkers for early severity assessment in AP that have been studied to date.