Impact and Sustainability of Antibiotic Stewardship on Antibiotic Prescribing in Visceral Surgery

Background: Antibiotic stewardship (AS) ward rounds are a core element in clinical care for surgical patients. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the impact of surgical AS ward rounds on antibiotic prescribing, and the sustainability of the effect after the AS interventions are no longer provided. Methods: On four wards of the department of visceral surgery, we conducted two independent retrospective prescribing analyses (P1, P2) over three months each. During the study periods, the level of AS intervention differed for two of the four wards (ward rounds/no ward rounds). Results: AS ward rounds were associated with a decrease in overall antibiotic consumption (91.1 days of therapy (DOT)/100 patient days (PD) (P1), 70.4 DOT/100PD (P2)), and improved de-escalation rates of antibiotic therapy (W1/2: 25.7% (P1), 40.0% (P2), p = 0.030; W3: 15.4 (P1), 24.2 (P2), p = 0.081). On the ward where AS measures were no longer provided, overall antibiotic usage remained stable (71.3 DOT/100PD (P1), 74.4 DOT/100PD (P2)), showing the sustainability of AS measures. However, the application of last-resort compounds increased from 6.4 DOT/100PD to 12.1 DOT/100PD (oxazolidinones) and from 10.8 DOT/100PD to 13.2 DOT/100PD (carbapenems). Conclusions: Antibiotic consumption can be reduced without negatively affecting patient outcomes. However, achieving lasting positive changes in antibiotic prescribing habits remains a challenge.

Collateral effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on oncologic surgery in Bavaria

Background The ongoing SARS-COV-2 pandemic has severe implications for people and healthcare systems everywhere. In Germany, worry about the consequences of the pandemic led to the deferral of non-emergency surgeries. Tumor surgery accounts for a large volume in the field of visceral surgery and cannot be considered purely elective. It is not known how the SARS-COV-2 pandemic has changed the surgical volume in tumor patients. Methods Retrospective analysis of the amount of oncological surgeries in three academic visceral surgery departments in Bavaria, Germany, in 2020. Procedures were split into subgroups: Upper Gastrointestinal (Upper GI), Colorectal, Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB), Peritoneal and Endocrine. Procedures in 2020 were compared to a reference period from January 1st, 2017 to December 31st 2019. Surgical volume was graphically merged with SARS-COV-2 incidence and the number of occupied ICU beds. Results Surgical volume decreased by 7.6% from an average of 924 oncologic surgeries from 2017 to 2019 to 854 in 2020. The decline was temporally associated with the incidence of infections and ICU capacity. Surgical volume did not uniformly increase to pre-pandemic levels in the months following the first pandemic wave with lower SARS-COV-2 incidence and varied according to local incidence levels. The decline was most pronounced in colorectal surgery where procedures declined on average by 26% following the beginning of the pandemic situation. Conclusion The comparison with pre-pandemic years showed a decline in oncologic surgeries in 2020, which could have an impact on lost life years in non-COVID-19 patients. This decline was very different in subgroups which could not be solely explained by the pandemic.

Current Insights: The Impact of Gut Microbiota on Postoperative Complications in Visceral Surgery—A Narrative Review

Postoperative complications are a major problem occurring in up to 50% of patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. Occurrence of postoperative complications is associated with a significantly higher morbidity and mortality in affected patients. The most common postoperative complications are caused by an infectious genesis and include anastomotic leakage in case of gastrointestinal anastomosis and surgical site infections. Recent research highlighted the importance of gut microbiota in health and disease. It is plausible that the gut microbiota also plays a pivotal role in the development of postoperative complications. This narrative review critically summarizes results of recent research in this particular field. The review evaluates the role of gut microbiota alteration in postoperative complications, including postoperative ileus, anastomotic leakage, and surgical site infections in visceral surgery. We tried to put a special focus on a potential diagnostic value of pre- and post-operative gut microbiota sampling showing that recent data are inhomogeneous to identify a high-risk microbial profile for development of postoperative complications.

Ileo-Sigmoidian Node: About A Case in the Visceral Surgery Department of the Donka National Hospital

The aim of this study was to report a clinical case of ileocaecal node in the visceral surgery department of Donka. The ileosigmoid node or the ileosigmoid knot (ISK), is an exceptional clinical entity, it is a surgical emergency characterized by strangulation of the small intestine forming a knot around the base of the sigmoid colon with risk of rapid necrosis of the small intestine. And the colon. The preoperative diagnosis of this condition is difficult because of its rarity and atypical radiographic results. We report a case of an ileosigmoid node discovered in a 62-year-old subject who consulted in our department for an occlusive syndrome.

Efficacy of perioperative immunonutrition in visceral surgery: an umbrella review protocol

IntroductionImmunonutrition (IN) is generally used before major visceral surgery with the intent to reduce postoperative complications, especially infectious ones. However, the conclusions of published meta-analyses are conflicting. The purpose of this review is to synthesise the data of published systematic reviews on the effectiveness of IN.Methods and analysisThis protocol follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Protocols guidelines. This is an umbrella review of systematic reviews comparing IN (delivered orally 5–7 days preoperatively) with normal diet or isocaloric isonitrogenous feeding before visceral surgery performed on any of several viscera (colorectum, stomach, pancreas, liver, oesophagus). We search the systematic reviews included in the main bibliographic databases. To assess the efficacy of IN, several outcomes will be considered: the main outcome is infectious complications (surgical site infections, pulmonary infections or urinary infections) and secondary outcomes are overall morbidity, hospital length of stay and mortality. Identified reviews will be screened by two independent assessors. The methodological quality of relevant included reviews will be assessed using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) instrument. The data extracted from included reviews will be synthesised using the r-Metafor package considering separate groups according to the viscus of interest. Publication bias will be evaluated, and subgroup analyses will be performed according to the quality of studies and preoperative nutritional status.Ethics and disseminationAn umbrella review based on published data from systematic reviews needs no ethical approval. Furthermore, no patient will be involved in the review. Once terminated, the review will be submitted for publication in an open access journal to ensure wide dissemination of the findings.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42021255177.