Antibiotics for uncomplicated diverticulitis.

Background: Diverticulitis is a complication of the common condition, diverticulosis. Uncomplicated diverticulitis has traditionally been treated with antibiotics, as diverticulitis has been regarded as an infectious disease. Risk factors for diverticulitis, however, may suggest that the condition is inflammatory rather than infectious which makes the use of antibiotics questionable.

Position-Related Postoperative Peripheral Neuropathy After Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery: A Comparative Single-Center Prospective Cohort Study.

Laparoscopic colorectal surgery requires perioperative positioning in the dorsal lithotomy position and intermittent Trendelenburg position. This position is associated with postoperative peripheral neuropathy (PPN), which is a substantial cause of anesthesia-related claims. The objective of this study was to assess the incidence of PPN of patients positioned in lithotomy position with shoulder braces, and second to compare this group with patients positioned on the foam mattress Pink Pad.

A challenging journey: The experience of elderly patients and their close family members after major emergency abdominal surgery.

Rationale: Knowledge of how elderly patients undergoing major emergency abdominal surgery and their close family members experience the course of illness is limited. Little is known about how such surgery and hospitalisation affect elderly patients' daily life after discharge. It is well known that such patients have an increased risk of mortality and that their physical functional level often decreases during hospitalisation, which can make them dependent on family or homecare services.

Anaesthesia in patients undergoing esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy for suspected bleeding.

Introduction: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a common emergency. Currently, there are no agreed guidelines on the level of anaesthetic support required in patients undergoing acute esophago-gastro-duodendoscopy (EGD).

Methods: An online questionnaire comprising 19 questions was distributed to all members of the Danish Association of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (n = 1,418) and the Danish Society of Anaesthesiologists in Training (n = 566).

Comparison of single-port and conventional laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection.

Background: Within the last two decades, surgical treatment of colorectal cancer has changed dramatically from large abdominal incisions to minimal access surgery. In the recent years, single port (SP) surgery has spawned from conventional laparoscopic surgery. The purpose of this study was to compare conventional with SP laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection (LAPR) for rectal cancer.

Mental vulnerability, Helicobacter pylori, and incidence of hospital-diagnosed peptic ulcer over 28 years in a population-based cohort.

Objective: To examine whether mental vulnerability, an enduring personality characteristic, predicts incident hospital-diagnosed ulcer over three decades.

Materials And Methods: A population-based cohort study enrolled 3365 subjects with no ulcer history, ages 30-60, in 1982-3. Mental vulnerability, Helicobacter pylori IgG antibodies, socioeconomic status, and sleep duration were determined at baseline; non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug use, smoking, leisure time physical activity, and alcohol consumption both at baseline and in 1993-4.

Inadvertent Splenectomy During Resection for Colorectal Cancer Does Not Increase Long-term Mortality in a Propensity Score Model: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Background: Previous studies suggest that long-term mortality is increased in patients who undergo splenectomy during surgery for colorectal cancer. The reason for this association remains unclear.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between inadvertent splenectomy attributed to iatrogenic lesion to the spleen during colorectal cancer resections and long-term mortality in a national cohort of unselected patients.

Association between ulcer site and outcome in complicated peptic ulcer disease: a Danish nationwide cohort study.

Objective: Mortality rates in complicated peptic ulcer disease are high. This study aimed to examine the prognostic importance of ulcer site in patients with peptic ulcer bleeding (PUB) and perforated peptic ulcer (PPU).

Design: a nationwide cohort study with prospective and consecutive data collection.

Anaesthesia care for emergency endoscopy for peptic ulcer bleeding. A nationwide population-based cohort study.

Objective: Currently, no standard approach exists to the level of monitoring or presence of staff with anaesthetic expertise required during emergency esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy (EGD) for peptic ulcer bleeding (PUB). We assess the association between anaesthesia care and mortality. We further describe the prevalence and inter-hospital variation of anaesthesia care in Denmark and identify clinical predictors for choosing anaesthesia care.

The effect of fasting on surgical performance.

Background: It is unknown whether fasting has any impact on surgical performance. This simulator-based study investigates whether fasting affects surgical performance.

Methods: Twelve healthy medical students [seven women, mean age 26.

Single-port laparoscopic rectal surgery - a systematic review.

Introduction: Single-port laparoscopic surgery (SPLS) for colonic disease has been widely described, whereas data for SPLS rectal resection are sparse. This review aimed to evaluate the feasibility, safety and complication profile of SPLS for rectal diseases.

Methods: A systematic literature search of PubMed and Embase was performed in September 2013 according to the PRISMA guidelines.

Psychological stress increases risk for peptic ulcer, regardless of Helicobacter pylori infection or use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Background & Aims: There is controversy over whether psychological stress contributes to development of peptic ulcers. We collected data on features of life stress and ulcer risk factors from a defined population in Denmark and compared these with findings of confirmed ulcers during the next 11-12 years.

Methods: We collected blood samples and psychological, social, behavioral, and medical data in 1982-1983 from a population-based sample of 3379 Danish adults without a history of ulcer participating in the World Health Organization's MONICA study.

Improving quality of care in peptic ulcer bleeding: nationwide cohort study of 13,498 consecutive patients in the Danish Clinical Register of Emergency Surgery.

Objectives: The treatment of peptic ulcer bleeding (PUB) is complex, and mortality remains high. We present results from a nationwide initiative to monitor and improve the quality of care (QOC) in PUB.

Methods: All Danish hospitals treating PUB patients between 2004 and 2011 prospectively registered demographic, clinical, and prognostic data.

Diagnosis and treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection.

National Danish guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection have been approved by the Danish Society for Gastroenterology. All patients with peptic ulcer disease, gastric cancer, and MALT lymphoma should be tested for Hp. We also recommend testing in first degree relatives to patients with gastric cancer, in NSAID-naive patients, who need long-term NSAID therapy, and in patients presenting with dyspepsia and no alarm symptoms.

[Traumatic abdominal wall hernia].

Traumatic abdominal wall hernias are rare. We describe a case of a handlebar hernia which was initially misinterpreted as a rectus haematoma, and consequently the patient was discharged without any treatment. The patient was admitted two days after with severe pain and computed tomography showed a defect in the abdominal wall.