Maternal regulation of biliary disease in neonates via gut microbial metabolites

Maternal seeding of the microbiome in neonates promotes a long-lasting biological footprint, but how it impacts disease susceptibility in early life remains unknown. We hypothesized that feeding butyrate to pregnant mice influences the newborn’s susceptibility to biliary atresia, a severe cholangiopathy of neonates. Here, we show that butyrate administration to mothers renders newborn mice resistant to inflammation and injury of bile ducts and improves survival. The prevention of hepatic immune cell activation and survival trait is linked to fecal signatures of Bacteroidetes and Clostridia and increases glutamate/glutamine and hypoxanthine in stool metabolites of newborn mice. In human neonates with biliary atresia, the fecal microbiome signature of these bacteria is under-represented, with suppression of glutamate/glutamine and increased hypoxanthine pathways. The direct administration of butyrate or glutamine to newborn mice attenuates the disease phenotype, but only glutamine renders bile duct epithelial cells resistant to cytotoxicity by natural killer cells. Thus, maternal intake of butyrate influences the fecal microbial population and metabolites in newborn mice and the phenotypic expression of experimental biliary atresia, with glutamine promoting survival of bile duct epithelial cells.

P-EGS29 Is an ambulatory emergency general surgery management pathway of biliary disease more cost effective than a traditional approach? A matched case series study

Background Patients presenting with biliary colic with or without deranged liver function tests (LFT’s) requiring surgery have traditionally been managed as inpatients or on an elective basis. Emergency surgery has previously been associated with higher costs in comparison to outpatient, elective management. Methods Thirteen patients presenting as an emergency with a diagnosis of cholecystitis, with or without deranged LFTs, who underwent different patient pathways resulting in laparoscopic cholecystectomy were identified randomly over 1 month period. They were then matched into groups to compare elective, inpatient and ambulatory care pathway management for patients with similar demographics and clinical picture. The costs of each patient’s journey, from acute presentation to discharge following laparoscopic cholecystectomy was calculated in conjunction with the patient level information costing team (PLICS). Results Three matched groups of patients were identified: 50-60M, 65-75F with normal LFTs, 60F with obstructive LFT’s. Each patient underwent an ultrasound scan of the upper abdomen, laparoscopic cholecystectomy with additional investigations dependent on the group and clinical picture. In each group, when elective, emergency inpatient or ambulatory care pathways were compared there was a consistent cost difference. The order from most expensive to cheapest was: inpatient management, elective management, ambulatory care. The difference in costs was primarily linked with emergency department assessment and inpatient bed stays with cost saving of up to £5000 in one group when comparing inpatient stay to ambulatory emergency care management. Conclusions The use of an ambulatory emergency general surgical pathway for patients with a variety of biliary colic presentations including those with deranged LFT’s is economically comparable and potentially advantageous to more traditional and established patient management pathway options in a number of patient demographics across age, gender and pathology. An ambulatory care pathway, when developed and used correctly can provide significant cost savings to a wide range of patients.

P-BN14 Differences in rate of complications between emergency and elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy at district general hospital

Background Current NICE guidelines recommend healthy low risk patients who present with acute biliary disease should be offered laparoscopic cholecystectomy on the same index admission. The increased complexity of the acute operations may impact on the operative complication rates; hence the aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the operative complication rates between elective and emergency laparoscopic cholecystectomies and additionally to assess the difference in surgical techniques comparing complete cholecystectomy versus subtotal versus open procedures. Methods Retrospectively, data was collected from emergency and elective Laparoscopic Cholecystectomies completed in the period 01/01/2021-01/06/2021 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Gateshead. The data set was gathered from an electronic theatre database and the individual cases were sub-analyzed further by delving into the electronic patient records database. Statistical analysis done by using Excel 2010. Results The average age of both groups was 50 years. There wasn’t a statistical significance on the rate of complication between the elective Vs emergency cholecystectomies (Elective 2%, Emergency 9% P = 0.17). Out of 42 Elective procedures, 4 had Sub-total cholecystectomy Vs 3 out of 42 patients on the emergency group who had Subtotal cholecystectomy (9% Vs 7%), implying there was no significant difference noted between the two groups. Average hospital stays was 5.6 days for the acute presentation with biliary disease Vs 0.14 days on the planned elective group. 2% of the elective group were noted to have a surgical drain inserted during the operation; whilst the emergency cohort had a slightly higher rate at 5%. Conclusions Overall there was no significant difference noted between the surgical complications arising in emergency cholecystectomy compared to planned surgeries. In addition to this the data also suggests that there is negligible difference in the rates of sub-total cholecystectomies in both cohorts.

P-O09 Development of a non face-to-face pre-operative assessment pathway for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background The Covid-19 pandemic has led to markedly reduced capacity in almost all areas of normal face-to-face activity in our hospitals. Prior to the pandemic, the standard pre-operative pathway for all patients included an initial appointment in the outpatients clinic and formal examination before recommending surgery. With the reality of limited clinic capacity, our unit developed a non face-to-face assessment pathway alongside a parallel green operating area in our local Independent Sector (IS) hospitals for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This study describes and methodology and outcomes of this approach Methods A non face-to-face (telephone) proforma for all new referrals for consideration of laparoscopic cholecystectomy was prepared in April 2020 with the first operations carried out in June 2020. All consultations were carried out by consultant surgeons and included thorough history, careful documentation of previous surgery and duration of symptoms and, where appropriate, patients were told to send images of their abdominal wall if they were unable to describe their scars. The first stage of the consent process was completed at initial appointment and all patients were sent written information about surgery. Patients who had BMI<40, uncomplicated biliary disease (biliary colic, mild cholecystitis, ERCP for CBD stones) and ASA of 1/2 were deemed suitable for surgery in the IS and sent across accordingly. A telephone pre-assessment was completed by the hospital and patients were sent blood tests forms in the post, as well as a Covid test to be completed at home followed by a period of self isolation before surgery. All patients were examined on the day of surgery by the operating surgeon and formal consent taken on the day. Primary outcomes that were recorded were cancellation on the day, transfer to the NHS hospital after surgery and complications. Results From June 2020 to December 2020, when the contract with the IS changed, 218 patients attended the IS hospitals for planned elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Four patients (2%) did not have surgery (one cancelled as inappropriate for the Independent Sector, two patients whose Covid swab result was not complete and one patient who no longer wished to have surgery). Three patients required transfer to the NHS hospital for post-operative care (drains inserted after unanticipated difficult surgery). All patients were given details of the surgical SDEC unit at the NHS hospital to allow ease of admission in the event of any problems or complications. 28 patients (13%) attended SDEC within 30 days after surgery; most had blood tests and clinical assessment alone. One patient (<1%) required re-laparoscopy for abdominal pain three days after their initial surgery (washout alone) and 5 patients developed umbilical wound infections after surgery (antibiotics alone). Two patients were found to have CBD stones on MRCP. The waiting time from initial assessment to surgery for patients on this pathway was less than 18 weeks for 168 patients though patients who were not suitable for the Independent Sector have had waiting times that are considerably longer. Conclusions These results demonstrate that it is possible to plan surgery for laparoscopic cholecystectomy without a face-to-face appointment at all which has considerable implications for resource allocation in the future; indeed, this approach has been continued within our unit even as clinic capacity has increased and been rolled out to patients with inguinal or para-umbilical hernia. Use of a green site away from the acute NHS hospital allowed elective surgery for non-urgent pathology to continue with acceptable waiting times even during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic though patients who were not suitable have had markedly worse experiences and waiting times.

P-BN29 Laparoscopic cholecystectomy during the era of a Covid-19 pandemic; a cohort study

Background The Covid-19 era has created a lot of uncertainty for management of common emergency and elective surgical conditions such as acute cholecystitis and other gallstone disease related emergency admissions. At our centre we continued to provide early operative intervention for patients presenting with biliary disease and acute cholecystitis throughout the Covid-19 era during both the 1st and the 2nd waves, despite a significant local surge in Covid-19 hospital admissions impacting on the available resources. Here we present the outcomes of our experience of managing such patients during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 of both 1st and 2nd waves. Methods A retrospective observational study was performed on all patients presenting with acute cholecystitis and biliary disease who underwent elective and emergency surgical intervention at UHNM (University Hospital of North Midlands) during the second wave of the Covid pandemic (2nd CW) between 14/10/2020 and 14/01/2021). These were then compared with patients who presented in the first Covid wave (1st CW) of 1/03/020 – 30/06/2020,) and a control group pre-covid (CG) 1/03/2019 – 30/06/2019, Patients were identified using ICD-10 codes K80 (Cholelithiasis) and K81 (Cholecystitis) and OPCS codes.J18.1 – J18.5. Primary endpoints were length of stay, 30 day readmission rates, mortality and morbidity. Results A total of 146 patients were identified who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy during the study time period (2ndCW). In comparison to 104 patients during the first covid wave cohort (1st CW) and the control group (CG) of 217 patients in the preceding non covid year. Length of stay (LOS) was significantly lower in the 2ndCW cohort in comparison to both the previous 1st CW cohort and the CG cohort (p < 0.0001), with readmissions also being statistically lower (5% vs 15% and 12% respectively p = 0.027). There was no statistical difference in outcomes for post-operative complications as per Clavien-Dindo classification. Conclusions Overall our study demonstrates that the recommended good practice of early surgical intervention in both emergency and elective gallstone disease can continue during the pandemic periods without any significant impact on patient care & outcomes. Also during this period length of stay was significantly shorted and lower 30 day readmission rates which are likely to be multifactorial but where lessons could be potentially learnt.

P-EGS30 Audit of the management of patients presenting with gallstone pancreatitis during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background In the UK around 50% of cases of pancreatitis are caused by gallstones. BSG guidelines recommend ERCP is undertaken within 72h of onset of pain and patients should undergo definitive treatment with cholecystectomy if fit enough during the index admission or within two weeks of discharge to avoid the risk of potentially fatal recurrent pancreatitis. A national audit in 2015 showed that 34.2% of patients receive definitive treatment. During the first COVID-19 wave our surgical service was forced to modify practice including more conservative/non operative management potentially increasing the possibility of recurrent pancreatitis and thus complications. Methods We performed a retrospective audit of patients presenting to our unit with gallstone pancreatitis during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic from March to August 2020 (COVID) and compared this to the same period in 2019 (pre-COVID). Patients were filtered from a larger dataset of all admissions with an ICD-10 coding of any biliary disease. Patient demographics, admission details, investigations, surgical management and post-operative complications were recorded. This was then audited against the standards in the BSG guidelines for the management of pancreatitis. Results Conclusions There were significant differences in the management of the groups. Most significantly in the number of hot procedures and number of patients receiving definitive treatment, a consequence of the conservative approach during COVID. Our pre-COVID results are similar to our previous audit in 2016; 76% received definitive treatment. Those that didn’t have definitive treatment were generally due to frailty/co-morbidities. Majority of ERCP delays were due to weekend effect. Of the 40 patients who didn’t receive definitive treatment 16 have represented with biliary flares/pancreatitis in the year following the study period highlighting the importance of definitive treatment.

P-BN13 How has the COVID pandemic affected outcomes in Elective Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy?An observational study in a UK Upper GI Surgical Unit

Background COVID-19 has a significant impact on elective surgery for benign disease. When routine services resumed in April 2021, surgeons were faced with higher number of complicated cases. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of COVID-19 related delays on the outcomes of patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in an upper gastrointestinal unit in the UK. Methods Data were collected retrospectively on consecutive patients undergoing elective LC between 1/3/19 to 1/5/19 (Pre-COVID) and 1/4/21 to 11/6/21 (resumption of elective operating following COVID). The indications for surgery, intraoperative details, postoperative complications, length of stay (LoS) and 30- day readmission were compared between the two cohorts. We divided indications for surgery as inflammatory (acute cholecystitis, gallstone pancreatitis, CBD stone with cholangitis) vs non-inflammatory (biliary colic, gallbladder polyps, CBD stone without cholangitis). Data were analysed using the Mann-Whitney U-test and Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test. A p value of < 0.05 was used for statistical significance. Results 159 patients were analysed, 106 in Pre-COVID vs 53 in Post-COVID. Both cohorts had similar age, gender, ASA-grade, BMI. 68 (64.2%) of the pre-COVID cohort were operated for a non-inflammatory pathology compared to 19(35.8%) of the post-COVID cohort (p < 0.001). Less patients had total cholecystectomy (subtotal and failed surgery) in the post-COVID cohort [49(92.5%) vs 159 (100%) p = 0.01]. There was no difference in the operating time, conversion to open surgery, the need for drains, and no difference in the Clavien-Dindo grade complications. Two patients in pre- COVID cohort (1.8%) required re-operation for bile-leak and bowel injury and two in the post COVID cohort (3.7%) for bleeding and CBD-injury. There was no difference in day case discharge or 30-day readmission rate. Conclusions Surgery in the post-COVID cohort was associated with a higher incidence of inflammatory biliary disease, subtotal cholecystectomy and procedure abandoned. Although the numbers in our study are small they highlight the need for enhanced preoperative assessment in elective biliary surgery as the NHS emerges from the acute phase of the pandemic.