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Surgical site infections (SSI) in open Hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) surgery are common complications. They worsen patients’ outcomes and prolong hospital stays. Their economic significance in the German diagnosis related groups (DRG) system is mostly unknown. To investigate their economic importance, we evaluated all cases for SSIs as well as clinical and financial parameters undergoing surgery in our centre from 2015 and 2016. Subsequently, we carried out a cost‐revenue calculation by assessing our billing data and the cost matrix of the InEK (German Institute for the Payment System in Hospitals). A total of 13.5% of the patients developed a superficial, 9% a deep incisional, and 2.4% of the patients an organ space SSI. Compared with Patients without SSI, Patients with SSI had more comorbidities, were older, and their average length of stay was extended by 19 days (P

Expectations on mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) treatment are high, especially in the fields of sepsis, transplant medicine, and autoimmune diseases. Various pre-clinical studies have been conducted with encouraging results, although the mechanisms of action behind the observed immunomodulatory capacity of mesenchymal stem cells have not been fully understood. Previous studies have demonstrated that the immunomodulatory effect of MSCs is communicated via MSC-secreted cytokines and has been proven to rely on the local microenvironment as some of the observed effects depend on a pre-treatment of MSCs with inflammatory cytokines. Nonetheless, recent findings indicate that the cytokine-mediated effects are only one part of the equation as apoptotic, metabolically inactivated, or even fragmented MSCs have been shown to possess an immunomodulatory potential as well. Both cytokine-dependent and cytokine-independent mechanisms suggest a key role for regulatory T cells and monocytes in the overall pattern, but the principle as to why viable and non-viable MSCs have similar immunomodulatory capacities remains elusive. Here we review the current knowledge on cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in MSC-mediated immunomodulation and focus on the viability of MSCs, as there is still uncertainty concerning the tumorigenic potential of living MSCs.

The clinical interest in the therapeutic use of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSC) is further increasing as their versatility in animal trial settings becomes more and more obvious. Indeed, screening the official review site for clinical trials (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov) using the search term “Mesenchymal Stem Cells” reveals 611 records (September, 2017). The large diversity of medical indications for treatment with MSC comprises hematological malignancies, diabetes type 1, neurologic diseases, joint and bone diseases, organ transplantation, or liver diseases, just to mention a small selection. This indicates the big potential of MSC to act beneficially both on chronic and acute diseases of either local or systemic origin. However, albeit we are only starting to understand the mode of action of MSC in certain disease conditions, there is still hesitation on the safety, upscale feasibility and, effectiveness of clinical MSC application.