Elevated care at home: An alternative to traditional levels of care.

Background: Elevated care at home (ECH) is a novel in-home care model supporting early hospital discharge and providing an alternative to institutional postacute care.

Objectives: This study compares patient characteristics, mortality, and readmission outcomes of hospitalized patients who transitioned to ECH to patients who transitioned to skilled nursing facilities (SNF) and skilled home health services (SHH).

Methods: A retrospective study of patients between May 2020 and January 2022 transitioned from the hospital to ECH, SNF, or SHH.

Imaging Surveillance of Hypervascular Liver Lesions in Non-Cirrhotic Patients.

A consensus surveillance protocol is lacking for non-cirrhotic patients with hypervascular liver lesions presumed to represent hepatocellular adenomas. Patients with hypervascular liver lesions <5 cm not meeting criteria for focal nodular hyperplasia or hepatocellular carcinoma underwent surveillance with contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 6, 12, and 24 months after baseline imaging. If lesions remained stable or decreased in size, then surveillance imaging was discontinued.

Neoadjuvant interferon-based chemoradiation for borderline resectable and locally advanced pancreas cancer: a Phase II pilot study.

Objectives: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is a viable treatment strategy for patients with pancreatic cancer. This study was conducted to evaluate the Virginia Mason Protocol (5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, interferon-α and radiation) given in the neoadjuvant setting for the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Methods: A Phase II pilot study evaluating interferon-based neoadjuvant CRT in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer was performed.

The robotic Whipple: operative strategy and technical considerations.

Advances in robotic surgery have allowed the frontiers of minimally invasive pancreatic surgery to expand. We present a step-by-step approach to the robotic Whipple procedure. The discussion includes port setting and robotic docking, kocherization and superior mesenteric vein identification, portal dissection, releasing the ligament of Treitz, uncinate dissection, and reconstruction.

Multi-institutional tumor banking: lessons learned from a pancreatic cancer biospecimen repository.

Clinically annotated pancreatic cancer samples are needed for progress to be made toward developing more effective treatments for this deadly cancer. As part of a National Cancer Institute-funded program project, we established a biospecimen core to support the research efforts. This article summarizes the key hurdles encountered and solutions we found in the process of developing a successful multi-institution biospecimen repository.

Successful treatment of metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma with combination chemotherapy regimens.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Current 5-year survival is less than 4%, highlighting the dire need for effective treatment. We report the case of a 41-year-old woman who was diagnosed with advanced metastatic well-to-moderately differentiated mucinous adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, involving the liver and peritoneal cavity.

Analysis of the plasma peptidome from pancreas cancer patients connects a peptide in plasma to overexpression of the parent protein in tumors.

Blood circulates through nearly every organ including tumors. Therefore, plasma is a logical source to search for tumor-derived proteins and peptides. The challenge with plasma is that it is a complex bodily fluid composed of high concentrations of normal host proteins that obscure identification of tumor-derived molecules.

Selective internal radiation therapy-induced extrahepatic injury: an emerging cause of iatrogenic organ damage.

Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) using Yttrium microspheres is a novel therapeutic approach to the localized treatment of hepatic tumors. It provides a distinct advantage over conventional external beam radiation in that its targeted nature allows the directed delivery of high doses of radiation to tumors while sparing the surrounding uninvolved hepatic parenchyma. Numerous studies have evaluated the safety and efficacy of SIRT, and it has been used to treat both primary and metastatic hepatic malignancies.

Clinical utility of endoscopic ultrasound in solid pancreatic mass lesions deemed resectable by computer tomography.

Context: Appropriate surgical exploration and resection of pancreatic carcinoma depends on accurate preoperative evaluation.

Objective: Determine the accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound in predicting the need for surgical exploration in patients with solid pancreatic masses deemed by computer tomography to be resectable without venous grafting (absence of distant metastatic disease or major vascular involvement).

Patients: All patients between March 2000 and November 2003 with focal pancreatic mass lesions deemed to be surgically resectable by computer tomography.

Staged laparoscopic infusion of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy after cytoreductive surgery.

Cytoreductive surgery plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPC) is a promising treatment for patients with peritoneal malignancies. Traditionally, HIPC is performed concurrently with cytoreductive surgery. However, this strategy is associated with significant morbidity and mortality.

Biliary cystadenomas: hormone receptor expression and clinical management.

Biliary cystadenomas with mesenchymal stroma are neoplasms whose growth may be hormone sensitive. This study profiled the immunohistochemistry of these lesions to clarify the pathophysiology and define clinical management. Twelve patients with biliary cystadenomas were identified.

Hypothermic maintenance of hepatocyte spheroids.

Primary hepatocytes form spheroids under some culture conditions. These spheroids exhibit many tissue-like ultrastructures and retain many liver-specific functions over a long period of time. They are attractive for many applications employing liver cells.

Sustaining a bioartificial liver under hypothermic conditions.

Bioartificial liver (BAL) devices employing xenogeneic hepatocytes are being developed as a temporary support of liver failure. For clinical applications, transporting such a device from the manufacturing site to the hospital is necessary. We investigated the effect of hypothermic treatment on the performance of the collagen-entrapment BAL device developed at the University of Minnesota.

Postoperative severe microangiopathic hemolytic anemia associated with a giant hepatic cavernous hemangioma.

Complications related to liver hemangioma are rare. We herein describe the case of a patient with three giant cavernous hemangiomas of the liver, of which two were resected for symptoms. A significant microangiopathic hemolytic anemia occurred in the early postoperative period, leading to acute renal failure and necessitating blood transfusions.

Characterization of a hollow fiber bioartificial liver device.

A three-compartment bioartificial liver (BAL) has been developed for potential treatment of fulminant hepatic failure. It has been shown previously that viability and liver-specific functions were maintained in laboratory-scale bioreactors of such design. In this study, the performance of hepatocytes in a clinical-scale bioartificial liver was verified by sustained specific production rates of albumin and urea, along with oxygen consumption rates for up to 56 h and liver-specific gene expression for up to 72 h.

Management of an occluded Wallstent for a benign biliary stricture: a case report.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is associated with a 0.5% incidence of major common bile duct injury. Management of this uncommon complication is determined by when the injury is recognized, by its extent, and by local surgical, radiological and endoscopic expertise.

Liver regeneration after adult living donor and deceased donor split-liver transplants.

As the number of living donor (LD) and deceased donor (DD) split-liver transplants (SLTs) have increased over the last 5 years, so too has the interest in liver regeneration after such partial-liver transplants. We looked at liver regeneration, as measured by computed tomography (CT) volumetrics, to see if there were significant differences among LDs, right-lobe LD recipients, and SLT recipients. We measured liver volume at 3 months postoperatively by using CT, and we compared the result to the patient's ideal liver volume (ILV), which was calculated using a standard equation.

A modern approach to malignant hilar biliary obstruction.

Management of patients with malignant hilar biliary obstruction is challenging for all specialists involved in their care. Evaluation should focus on potential surgical resection, which offers the principal chance of cure; liver transplantation is offered as an experimental treatment at a few centers. Attempt at curative surgical resection is appropriate for selected tumors and often requires partial hepatectomy.

Laparoscopic stapled left lateral segment liver resection--technique and results.

Because of the favorable anatomy of the left lateral segment of the liver, a totally laparoscopic approach to resection is feasible. Herein we describe a technique for laparoscopic stapled resection of the left lateral segment of the liver, including the necessary anatomic criteria for a safe operation and data on clinical outcome. Five patients at our center underwent laparoscopic exploration, ultrasound examination, and resection of segments II and III.

Radiofrequency ablation causes 'thermal fixation' of hepatocellular carcinoma: a post-liver transplant histopathologic study.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is increasingly used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients awaiting a liver transplant. Despite its increasing use, detailed histologic information is scarce regarding the nature of RFA-treated lesions. We identified four chronic hepatitis C patients who had RFA of their HCC before their liver transplant.

A deeply invasive Phoma species infection in a renal transplant recipient.

Phoma sp, a fungus routinely isolated from the soil and a known plant pathogen, was found to be the cause of an aggressive, deep compartment hand infection in a renal transplant recipient. Previous reports have described minimally invasive Phoma sp infections with isolates recovered from the skin or subcutaneous tissue. This case, however, is the first reported in which Phoma sp was found to be both aggressive and deeply invasive.

Hepatic encephalopathy secondary to transtumoral portal-hepatic venous shunting.

Intrahepatic portal-systemic shunts causing hepatic encephalopathy are very rare. This is a case report of a patient with hepatic metastases of a pancreatic islet cell tumor that manifested with transtumoral shunts leading to hepatic encephalopathy. The diagnosis was confirmed with Doppler ultrasound and initially treated with selective transhepatic portal vein embolization followed by hepatic artery embolization, and eventually radiofrequency ablation of the largest metastases.