Recent studies on the urine microbiome have highlighted the importance of the gut-vagina-bladder axis in recurrent urinary tract infection (rUTI). In particular, the role of Gardnerella as a covert pathogen that activates E. coli in animal experiments has been reported. Herein, we conducted a human bladder microbiome study to investigate the effect of Gardnerella on rUTI. Urine 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing via transurethral catheterization was conducted in the normal control group (NC) (n = 18) and rUTI group (n = 78). The positive detection rate of Gardnerella species did not differ between the NC and rUTI groups (22.2% vs. 18.0%, p = 0.677). In addition, the Gardnerella-positive NC and Gardnerella-positive rUTI groups showed similar levels of microbiome diversity. The Gardnerella-positive group was categorized into three subgroups: the Escherichia-dominant group, Gardnerella-dominant group, and Lactobacillus-dominant group. All of the Escherichia-dominant groups were associated with rUTI. The Gardnerella-dominant or Lactobacillus-dominant groups expressed rUTI with symptoms when risk factors such as the degree of Gardnerella proliferation or causative agents of bacterial vaginosis were present. The presence of Gardnerella in the urine is considered to be related to rUTI depending on other risk factors. New guideline recommendations regarding antibiotic selection based on a novel method to detect the cause of rUTI may be required to reduce antibiotic resistance.
Purpose: With the advancement of laparoscopic techniques and instruments, laparoscopic approach for pancreatic lesions has become an increasingly used procedure.But, there are few and limited studies about laparoscopic enuleation (LE) for pancreatic lesions.Therefore, the purpose of this study was to present our experience and to evaluate the clinical outcome of LE for pancreatic benign or borderline malignant tumors.Methods: Between May 2005 and December 2011, 11 patients who underwent LE were analyzed.Candidates for LE met the following criteria: benign or borderline malignant pancreatic tumor, no involvement of main pancreatic duct, and outwardly growing tumor with small tumor bed.Results: All 11 patients (10 women and 1 man with a mean age of 43.1 ± 11.9 years) who underwent LE were completed laparoscopically without conversion.The mean diameter of tumor was 4.0 ± 3.3 cm and all cases had benign tumors at the final pathologic diagnosis.One patient (9%) developed pancreatic fistula and mean postoperative hospital stay was 5.5 ± 1.7 days.During follow-up period (mean, 44.3 ± 23.9 months), all patients were alive with no recurrence or new onset of diabetes.Conclusion: LE is a safe and effective procedure, and should be considered as a treatment option for pancreatic lesions that do not involve the main pancratic duct and have an outgrowing aspect with small tumor bed.
Objective The limited studies with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG)-PET reported results and interpretations that differed between hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC). We investigated the correlation between preoperative PET results and postoperative prognosis, including early (time-to-recurrence<6 months) tumor recurrence, and histopathological tumor differentiation in patients who had undergone surgery for primary malignant intrahepatic tumors, including HCC and IHCC. Materials and methods We retrospectively reviewed 357 patients who had undergone curative surgery for malignant hepatic tumors, including primary HCC or IHCC, other than Klatskin tumors at a tertiary academic hospital between January 2005 and June 2012. All patients had undergone an 18F-FDG PET/computed tomography scan preoperatively and the maximum standardized uptake value of the tumor (maxSUVtumor) and the tumor-to-nontumor SUV ratio (TNR) were calculated from 18F-FDG uptake. Histopathological differentiation grading was confirmed postoperatively. Results Among the patients, 115 cases with primary malignant intrahepatic tumors fulfilled the inclusion criteria. On univariate analysis, preoperative maxSUVtumor and TNR showed a correlation with the overall and early tumor recurrence of HCC, but only maxSUVtumor was associated with overall and early recurrence of IHCC (P<0.05). When considering postoperative histopathological differentiation, a correlation between maxSUVtumor and TNR with HCC and between maxSUVtumor and IHCC was found (P<0.05). However, on multivariate analysis, only early recurrence was associated with TNR in HCC and with maxSUVtumor in IHCC. Conclusion A preoperative 18F-FDG PET scan can be considered a useful reference for postoperative tumor recurrence and histopathological differentiation in cases of primary malignant intrahepatic tumors. 18F-FDG PET scan results should be interpreted separately for malignant liver tumors.
BACKGROUND: Previous research has not evaluated the potential effect of transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block on quality of recovery following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Therefore, we investigated whether addition of the bilateral subcostal and lateral TAP (bilateral dual TAP [BD-TAP]) blocks to multimodal analgesia would improve the quality of recovery as assessed with the Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40). METHODS: Patients age 18 to 60 years who were scheduled to undergo elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy were randomized to the BD-TAP or control group. The BD-TAP group received the BD-TAP block with multimodal analgesia under general anesthesia, using 0.25% ropivacaine, and the control group was treated with the same method, except that they received the sham block using 0.9% normal saline. Both groups had the same multimodal analgesia regimen, consisting of intravenous dexamethasone, propacetamol, ibuprofen, and oxycodone. The primary outcome was the QoR-40 score at 24 hours after surgery. Data were analyzed using the independent t test, Mann-Whitney U test, χ 2 test, and Fisher exact test. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients in each group were recruited. The mean QoR-40 score decreased by 13.6 (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.3–18.8) in the BD-TAP group and 15.6 (95% CI, 6.7–24.5) in the control group. The postoperative QoR-40 score at 24 hours after surgery did not differ between the 2 groups (BD-TAP group, median [interquartile range], 170.5 [152–178]; control group, 161 [148–175]; median difference, 3 [95% CI, −5 to 13]; P = .427). There were no differences between the 2 groups in the pain dimension of the QoR-40: 30.5 (95% CI, 27–33) in the BD-TAP group and 31 (95% CI, 26–32) in the control group; median difference was 0 (95% CI, −2 to 2); P = .77. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the BD-TAP block does not improve the quality of recovery or analgesic outcomes following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Our results do not support the routine use of the BD-TAP block for this surgery.
Abstract Background Disposable digital single-operator cholangioscopy (D-SOC) and direct peroral cholangioscopy (D-POC) using an ultraslim endoscope are established POC modalities for the diagnosis and treatment of various biliary diseases. We compared the usefulness of D-SOC and D-POC for the diagnosis of intraductal superficial lesions of the bile duct (ISL-Bs). Methods 38 consecutive patients with suspected biliary diseases who underwent both D-SOC and D-POC were enrolled. The primary outcome was ISL-B detection rate, and the secondary outcomes were technical success of POC and POC-guided forceps biopsy sampling (POC-FB), procedure time, visualization quality, and tissue adequacy. Results D-SOC had a higher technical success rate than D-POC but the difference was not statistically significant (100% vs. 92.1%, P = 0.25). D-POC had a marginally higher ISL-B detection rate (34.2% vs. 28.9%, P = 0.68) and significantly higher visualization quality (P = 0.03). The mean (SD) procedure time was significantly shorter with D-SOC (11.00 [1.33] vs. 19.03 [2.95] minutes, P<0.001). The technical success rate of POC-FB and tissue adequacy did not differ between the two techniques (D-SOC vs. D-POC: 81.8% vs. 84.6%, P = 0.69 and 77.8% vs. 90.9%, P = 0.57, respectively). Conclusions Both POC systems were safe and useful for the detection, characterization, and diagnosis of minute ISL-Bs. While D-SOC displayed a shorter procedure time and a tendency for higher technical success rate, D-POC provided superior visualization quality, allowing detailed observation of the surface structure and microvascular patterns.