Objective
To explore the clinical management, surgical timing and approaches of complicated choledochal cysts in children.
Methods
From January 2013 to December 2015, retrospective reviews were conducted for the clinical data of pediatric choledochal cysts with complications. There were biliary perforation (n=7), biliary pancreatitis (n=9) and cholangitis, obstructive jaundice & liver dysfunction (n=29). There was no improvement after conservative measures. And 5/7 biliary perforation patients underwent cyst external drainage and definitive surgery after 3 months. Another 2 patients of sealed perforation underwent one-stage definitive surgery. Nine cases of biliary pancreatitis underwent endoscopic nasobiliary drainage and one-stage definitive surgery after serum amylase returned to normal. Among 29 cases of obstructive jaundice and liver dysfunction, 17 patients with an onset age under 3 months had one-stage definitive surgery while 11 patients aged over 6 months nasobiliary drainage and one-stage definitive surgery after relieved complications.
Results
For patients of choledochal cysts complicated with biliary perforation, there were dehydration and electrolyte disturbance (n=2), T-tube dislodging (n=1) and sealed perforation reoperated because of postoperative bleeding (n=1). The remainder was discharged uneventfully. When serum amylase recovered after endoscopic nasobiliary drainage, patients complicated with biliary pancreatitis underwent definitive surgery and were discharged uneventfully. Among patients complicated with acute cholangitis, obstructive jaundice and liver dysfunction, 12 were aged over 6 months. And 11 complicated cases were relieved after nasobiliary drainage. One case of papilla cannulation failure underwent emergent cyst external drainage and definitive surgery 1 month later. Seventeen cases with an onset age of under 3 months had one-stage definitive surgery. They were all discharged uneventfully. During follow-ups, chronic pancreatitis (n=1) and cholangitis (n=1) became relieved after conservative medications.
Conclusions
Appropriate management and surgical approaches can effectively improve the outcomes of pediatric complicated choledochal cysts.
Key words:
Children; Choledochal cyst; Complication; Treatment
Robotic surgery is a cutting-edge minimally invasive technique that overcomes many shortcomings of laparoscopic techniques, yet few studies have evaluated the use of robotic surgery to treat Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR).To analyze the feasibility and medium-term outcomes of robotic-assisted proctosigmoidectomy (RAPS) with sphincter- and nerve-sparing surgery in HSCR patients.From July 2015 to January 2022, 156 rectosigmoid HSCR patients were enrolled in this multicenter prospective study. Their sphincters and nerves were spared by dissecting the rectum completely from the pelvic cavity outside the longitudinal muscle of the rectum and then performing transanal Soave pull-through procedures. Surgical outcomes and continence function were analyzed.No conversions or intraoperative complications occurred. The median age at surgery was 9.50 months, and the length of the removed bowel was 15.50 ± 5.23 cm. The total operation time, console time, and anal traction time were 155.22 ± 16.77, 58.01 ± 7.71, and 45.28 ± 8.15 min. There were 25 complications within 30 d and 48 post-30-d complications. For children aged ≥ 4 years, the bowel function score (BFS) was 17.32 ± 2.63, and 90.91% of patients showed moderate-to-good bowel function. The postoperative fecal continence (POFC) score was 10.95 ± 1.04 at 4 years of age, 11.48 ± 0.72 at 5 years of age, and 11.94 ± 0.81 at 6 years of age, showing a promising annual trend. There were no significant differences in postoperative complications, BFS, and POFC scores related to age at surgery being ≤ 3 mo or > 3 mo.RAPS is a safe and effective alternative for treating HSCR in children of all ages; it offers the advantage of further minimizing damage to sphincters and perirectal nerves and thus providing better continence function.
Tuberculous pleurisy (TP) presents a serious allergic reaction in the pleura caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis; however, few studies have described its spatial epidemiological characteristics in eastern China.This study aimed to determine the epidemiological distribution of TP and predict its further development in Zhejiang Province.Data on all notified cases of TP in Zhejiang Province, China, from 2017 to 2021 were collected from the existing tuberculosis information management system. Analyses, including spatial autocorrelation and spatial-temporal scan analysis, were performed to identify hot spots and clusters, respectively. The prediction of TP prevalence was performed using the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA), Holt-Winters exponential smoothing, and Prophet models using R (The R Foundation) and Python (Python Software Foundation).The average notification rate of TP in Zhejiang Province was 7.06 cases per 100,000 population, peaking in the summer. The male-to-female ratio was 2.18:1. In terms of geographical distribution, clusters of cases were observed in the western part of Zhejiang Province, including parts of Hangzhou, Quzhou, Jinhua, Lishui, Wenzhou, and Taizhou city. Spatial-temporal analysis identified 1 most likely cluster and 4 secondary clusters. The Holt-Winters model outperformed the SARIMA and Prophet models in predicting the trend in TP prevalence.The western region of Zhejiang Province had the highest risk of TP. Comprehensive interventions, such as chest x-ray screening and symptom screening, should be reinforced to improve early identification. Additionally, a more systematic assessment of the prevalence trend of TP should include more predictors.
Minimal invasive pulmonary resection in children is challenging, irrespective of whether it is conducted using a robot or a thoracoscope. This study presents the preliminary results of pediatric robotic pulmonary resection (RPR) and comparison outcomes with conventional thoracoscopic pulmonary resection (TPR).This is a retrospective study conducted in patients underwent RPR (RPR group; n=30) and TPR (TPR group; n=44). The clinical data, including operative time, post-operative body temperature, surgical complications, surgeon's workload (by NASA-TLX), postoperative hospital stay, and scar score (using the SCAR scale), of both the RPR and TPR groups were collected and compared.Both groups had similar age and weight. The youngest patient belonged to the RPR group and was 6 months old and weighed 8 kg. One case in the RPR group and two in the TPR group were converted to thoracotomy. RPR had a longer total operative time (148.3±36.8 min), but a shorter pure operative time (103.9±28.5 min) than those of the TPR group [118.3±22.5 (P<0.001) and 111.4±18.3 min (P=0.045), respectively]. Compared to the TPR group, fewer patients in the RPR group reported fever postoperatively (2/29 vs. 11/42, P=0.039). The workload of the surgeons was also lower in the RPR group (55.2±4.7 vs. 62.9±6.0, P<0.01). No significant difference was observed in perioperative complications, drainage length, postoperative hospital stays, and scar score of the two groups.The safety and effectiveness of the robotic approach are similar to those of the thoracoscopic surgery for pediatric pulmonary resection in children heavier than 8 kg. In addition, the robotic approach shows improved operative dissection efficiency and accuracy for patients and reduced workload for surgeons. Hence, it is beneficial to both surgeons and patients.
BACKGROUND Tuberculous pleurisy (TP) presents a serious allergic reaction in the pleura caused by <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>; however, few studies have described its spatial epidemiological characteristics in eastern China. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine the epidemiological distribution of TP and predict its further development in Zhejiang Province. METHODS Data on all notified cases of TP in Zhejiang Province, China, from 2017 to 2021 were collected from the existing tuberculosis information management system. Analyses, including spatial autocorrelation and spatial-temporal scan analysis, were performed to identify hot spots and clusters, respectively. The prediction of TP prevalence was performed using the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA), Holt-Winters exponential smoothing, and Prophet models using R (The R Foundation) and Python (Python Software Foundation). RESULTS The average notification rate of TP in Zhejiang Province was 7.06 cases per 100,000 population, peaking in the summer. The male-to-female ratio was 2.18:1. In terms of geographical distribution, clusters of cases were observed in the western part of Zhejiang Province, including parts of Hangzhou, Quzhou, Jinhua, Lishui, Wenzhou, and Taizhou city. Spatial-temporal analysis identified 1 most likely cluster and 4 secondary clusters. The Holt-Winters model outperformed the SARIMA and Prophet models in predicting the trend in TP prevalence. CONCLUSIONS The western region of Zhejiang Province had the highest risk of TP. Comprehensive interventions, such as chest x-ray screening and symptom screening, should be reinforced to improve early identification. Additionally, a more systematic assessment of the prevalence trend of TP should include more predictors.
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(23.036 .093 25.536)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(45.87 1.273 16.18)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(69.945 .996 12.078)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(20.66 -19.689 31.932)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(144 450 300)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(216 450 300)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(288 450 300)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)