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Background: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, a multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria (GNB), is an emerging nosocomial pathogen. This study assessed the clinical outcomes of GNB infections in surgical intensive care unit (SICU) patients post-abdominal surgery, focusing on the differences between S. maltophilia and other GNBs, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on SICU patients at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital from 2010 to 2020, who developed GNB infections following abdominal surgery. Results: Of 442 patients, 237 had S. maltophilia and 205 had non-S. maltophilia GNB infections (including 81 with P. aeruginosa). The overall mortality rate was 44.5%, and S. maltophilia infection emerged as a significant contributor to the mortality rate in patients with GNB infections. S. maltophilia patients had longer mechanical ventilation and SICU stays, with a 30-day mortality rate of 35.4%, higher than the non-S. maltophilia GNB (22.9%) and P. aeruginosa (21%) groups. In-hospital mortality was also higher in the S. maltophilia group (53.2%) compared to the non-S. maltophilia GNB (34.6%) and P. aeruginosa groups (29.6%). Risk factors for acquiring S. maltophilia included a higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score and prior broad-spectrum antibiotics use. Older age, polymicrobial infections, and elevated bilirubin were associated with increased 30-day mortality in S. maltophilia patients. Conclusion: S. maltophilia infections in post-abdominal surgery patients are linked to higher mortality than non-S. maltophilia GNB and P. aeruginosa infections, emphasizing the need for early diagnosis and treatment to improve outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary For pediatric living donor liver transplantation, portal vein complications cause significant morbidity and graft failure. Routine intra-operative Doppler ultrasound is performed after graft reperfusion to evaluate the flow of portal vein. This retrospective study reviewed 65 children who had undergone living donor liver transplantation. Seven patients were detected with suboptimal portal vein flow velocity following vascular reconstruction and abdominal closure. They underwent immediate on-table interventions to improve the portal vein flow. Both surgical and endovascular modalities were employed, namely, graft re-positioning, collateral shunt ligation, thrombectomy, revision of anastomosis, inferior mesenteric vein cannulation, and endovascular stenting. The ultrasonographic follow-up assessment for all seven patients demonstrated patent portal vein and satisfactory flow. We reviewed our experience on the different modalities and proposed an approach for our future intra-operative management to improve portal vein flow at the time of liver transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endoscopic injection sclerotherapy (EIS) is a life-saving procedure for pediatric patients with bleeding gastric varices (GV) associated with advanced liver cirrhosis and severe portal hypertension. Because of the lack of an endoscopic banding ligation device for pediatric patients, EIS is usually performed for bleeding esophageal varices (EV) in infants with congenital biliary atresia.Case Presentation: We present a case of a 15-month-old female infant with type I biliary atresia with jaundice (total serum bilirubin, 22.2 mg/dL), hypoalbuminemia (serum albumin level, 2.58 g/dL), coagulopathy (prothrombin time > 20 s compared with that of a normal control), ascites, splenomegaly, portal hypertension (portal vein velocity, 3.9-5.6 cm/sec of hepatopetal flow), and repeated bleeding of the varices after receiving three doses of intravascularly administered Histoacryl 1 ampoule mixed with Lipiodol UF 8 mL in the EV. Prominent GV and EV were occluded by EIS. The sclerosing agent was also present in the main portal vein, splenic mesenteric junction, and splenic vein, causing an engorged inferior mesenteric vein. The patient underwent total hepatectomy and living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) by left lateral segment graft (segments 2, 3, and 4 of the middle hepatic vein trunk) and left portal vein graft to the recipient inferior mesenteric vein anastomosis. Portal vein stent placement via segment 4 of the portal vein stump was performed from the inferior mesenteric vein to the umbilical portion of the left portal vein. The patient is still alive and doing well after the LDLT.Conclusions: EIS is a life-saving procedure in cases involving bleeding EV complicated by gastric, main portal vein, splenic mesenteric junction, and splenic vein occlusions; hence, it should be kept in mind as a treatment for EV complications in pediatric patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) in trauma patients carries significant morbidity and mortality. We previously described how titrating enoxaparin dosing by anti-Xa trough levels was associated with a lower VTE rate. We combined this strategy with a higher initial enoxaparin dose for a majority of patients and modified the electronic medical record (EMR) to encourage immediate dosing. We sought to determine if this systems-based approach was associated with a decrease in VTE rate. Study Design: A retrospective review was conducted of all trauma patients on prophylactic enoxaparin at an academic, Level I Trauma Center from 01/2013 to 05/2014 (PRE) and 06/2015 to 02/2018 (POST). The patients in PRE were prescribed enoxaparin 30 mg twice daily without dose adjustments. The patients in POST received 40 mg twice daily unless exclusion criteria applied, with doses titrated to maintain anti-Xa trough levels between 0.1 and 0.2 IU/mL. Results: There were 478 patients in the PRE and 1306 in the POST. Compared to PRE, POST patients were of similar age and were as likely to present after blunt trauma, although POST patients had lower injury severity scores (10 vs. 9, p < 0.01). The overall VTE rate was lower in POST (6.9% vs. 3.6%, p < 0.01). The adjusted risk of VTE (AOR 0.61, adjusted p = 0.04) was lower in POST and POST was independently protective for VTE (AOR 0.54; p = 0.01). Conclusion: By implementing system changes to improve enoxaparin dosing after trauma, a significant reduction in VTE rate was observed. Wider application of this strategy should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) directly invading the gastrointestinal (GI) organs is rare and is associated with poor survival outcome. We report two patients with good long-term outcome following resection of HCC that invaded the stomach and duodenum, respectively. A literature review was conducted to elucidate the course of patients with this pathology. Two cases (57-year-old and 72-year-old males) with enlarged hepatic tumors directly invading the stomach and duodenum underwent hepatectomies with en-bloc resection of the involved organs. Both patients are still alive at 80 and 68 months following the surgery. Our literature review showed that most of the patients with this pathology have manifested, and died of persistent GI bleeding. Patients who were treated surgically had a statistically significant longer survival than those who were treated with non-surgical palliative treatments (P < 0.001). In addition, patients who were treated with surgery with curative intent tend to have a longer survival times than those who were treated with surgery to palliate the bleeding but the difference was not statistically significant (P < 0.174). Removing the tumor completely could significantly prolong the survival of patients with HCC invading the GI tract. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently develop leukocytosis, fever, and tachycardia that may lead to extensive medical investigations to rule out an infectious process. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is often acquired during this workup, however, the utility of this practice has not been studied previously. We hypothesized that CSF cultures would unlikely yield positive results in patients with TBI. Patients and Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of all patients with TBI admitted to two level 1 trauma centers at urban, academic institutions from January 2009 to December 2016. Data collected included patient demographics, presenting Glasgow Coma Score (GCS), injury profile, injury severity scores (ISS), regional abbreviated injury scale (AIS), hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS), ventilator days, and culture results. For purposes of the analysis, CSF cultures with Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, or Candida underwent a chart review and were considered contaminates if indicated. Results: There were 145 patients who had CSF cultures obtained with a median age of 39 years; 77.2% were male. The majority of patients presented after blunt trauma with median GCS of 6, head AIS of 4, and ISS of 25. These patients had prolonged median ICU and hospital stays at 13 and 22 days, respectively. Six (4.1%) CSF cultures demonstrated growth. Four (2.8%) were deemed contaminants, with two growing Staphylococcus epidermidis only, one with both Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus, and one with Candida. Two cultures (1.4%) were positive and grew Enterobacter cloacae. Of note, both patients had prior instrumentation with an external ventricular drain. Conclusion: Obtaining CSF cultures in patients with TBI is of low yield, especially in patients without prior external ventricular drain. Other sources of infectious etiologies should be considered in this patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trauma patients have a high risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) such that an increased enoxaparin dose is necessary to reduce related complications. Given that most trauma patients require an enoxaparin dose of at least 40 mg every 12 hours for VTE prophylaxis, we sought to identify which patients require enoxaparin 30 mg every 12 hours and hypothesized that both weight and low creatinine clearance (CrCl) would more likely determine enoxaparin dosing than age, body mass index (BMI), or body surface area (BSA). Single institution data were collected on trauma patients between August 2014 and February 2018 to compare trauma patients who required enoxaparin 30 mg to those who required ≥40 mg every 12 hours. Of the 245 patients included, 86 (35.1%) required enoxaparin at 30 mg to achieve the goal anti-factor Xa trough level. Factors associated with low dose enoxaparin were older age (59.6 vs. 46.2 years, P ≤ .01) and lower CrCl (81.5 mL/min vs. 93.7 mL/min, P ≤ .01). Weight, BSA, and BMI did not alter the dose of enoxaparin. A regression model determined that only CrCl predicted the need for low dose enoxaparin (adjusted odds ratio .982, 95% CI: .975-.990, P < .01). Although an initial dose of enoxaparin 40 mg is appropriate for most trauma patients, patients with low CrCl should receive 30 mg. Increased age and low weight were not associated with the need for a lower enoxaparin dose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Electric scooters are popular in Southern California due to their ease of use, affordability, and availability. The objective of this study was to characterize how hospital admissions and outcomes varied due to electric scooter injury among Southern California trauma centers.Study Design: Trauma registry data from 9 urban trauma centers were queried for patients sustaining injury while operating an electric scooter from January to December 2018. Data collection included patient demographics, diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes.Results: During the 1-year study period, 87 patients required trauma surgeon care due to scooter-related injury, with a mean age of 35.1 years; 71.3% were male with 20.7% and 17.2% of patients requiring ICU admission and a surgical intervention, respectively. One (1.1%) patient died. The head and face were most commonly injured, followed by the extremities. Helmet use was uncommon (71.3%). High variability in patient volume was noted, with 2 centers considered high-incidence and the remaining low-incidence.Conclusions: Injuries from electric scooter crashes are primarily to the head, face, and extremities, with approximately 1 in 5 patients requiring ICU admission and/or a surgical intervention. There is significant variation in patient volume among Southern California trauma centers that could affect the delivery of care with the abrupt introduction of this technology. Targeted public health interventions and policies might better address community use of the electric scooter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has been developed as one of gold standard treatments for end-stage liver disease. Mental health is a required selection criterion for adult living liver donors and may influence the quality of life after operation. Patients and methods: A total of 1,210 potential living donor candidates for liver transplantation (LT) underwent psychosocial evaluation that included a semi-structured interview, multi-choice self-reported inventory (Beck Depression Inventory-2nd edition [BDI-II], Beck Anxiety Inventory [BAI]), and the family APGAR (Adaptability, Partnership, Growth, Affection, Resolve) index. The test results were compared by family relationships, and subgroups were classified based on the donation type: 1) parents to children, 2) grown children to parents, 3) siblings to siblings, 4) spouses to spouses, and 5) other relatives to other relatives. Results: The BDI-II (P < 0.001) and BAI differed considerably according to the donation type in potential donor candidates. Compared with other subgroups, parents donating to their children suffered the most severe psychological stress before LDLT and exhibited more depressive (P < 0.001) and anxiety symptoms. However, the stress associated with grown children donating to their parents, siblings, and spouses was not significantly higher than it was for other relatives. Furthermore, a significant negative correlation existed between family APGAR scores and the severity of depression and anxiety (P < 0.001) among potential donor candidates. Conclusion: These results indicate the importance of understanding potential donor candidates' psychological characteristics before LT. Greater anxiety and depression may be exhibited by parent donors due to the distress from fears of death or illness of the recipients, or their guilty feeling for their child. Additionally, family dysfunction also revealed more depression and anxiety. Such donor candidates should be given more extensive pre-donation counseling for minimizing pre-LDLT psychological stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Surgical management of centrally located hepatocellular carcinoma (CL-HCC) poses a great challenge. Major hepatectomy (MH) might compromise future remnant liver volume (FRLV), while the long-term benefits of central hepatectomy (CH) had not been well demonstrated. Methods: Consecutive patients with early-stage CL-HCC who underwent liver resection were enrolled. Fifteen patients underwent CH, while thirty-three were subjected to MH. All relevant clinicopathological variables were analyzed. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of both groups were compared. Results: There were no differences between CH and MH in terms of predisposing liver disease, tumor size, blood loss, complication rate and vascular invasion. Mean FRLV increased from 40.9 to 69.2% by using CH resection lines. The parenchymal transection time is longer in CH. There were no differences of DFS between two groups. The 5-year OS rates of CH and MH were 93.3 and 62.6%, respectively. MH was a poor prognostic factor. Conclusions: CH is a relatively time-consuming and technique-demanding procedure, but excellent long-term survival could be achieved. CH could increase liver volume preservation without compromising intra-hepatic recurrence. In an endemic area of hepatitis and cirrhosis, CH should still play an important role in surgical treatment of CL-HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The thymus gland possesses the ability to regrow in children leading to a newly developed anterior mediastinal mass. This condition may represent a rebound phenomenon during recovery from a stressful event such as post‐chemotherapy and hence was described as RTH. RTH after LT has not been well documented. We are reporting an infant with BA who underwent LT and presented with a symptomless anterior mediastinal mass, detected on follow‐up imaging 6 months thereafter. Surgical partial excision was performed to rule out other differential diagnoses of a solid mass in the anterior mediastinum of an infant particularly lymphoma—that may arise as post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disorder—and teratoma, as well as the other aggressive lesions such as thymoma and thymic carcinoma. The final pathological analysis revealed true thymic hyperplasia, consistent with RTH. The diagnosis of RTH should be considered for a child presenting by anterior mediastinal mass after LT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adhesions are abnormal fibrous bands of scar tissue between internal organs and tissues. With respect to recipient hepatectomy in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), we defined extensive adhesions as adhesions in at least two separate locations that required more than 5 % of the total surgical time to lyse. We aimed to identify the etiology and consequences of this preventable burden. Methods: A simple retrospective case-control study of all cases with extensive adhesions from August 2011 to September 2014 matched by age, sex, and diagnosis at surgery. Results: A total of 380 cases were studied. Thirty-eight and five patients had extensive adhesions from surgical and non-surgical causes, respectively. The incidence and complications in pediatric patients were far less than in adults. In the adult group, the mean operative time was increased by 75 min (12.3 %) and blood loss by 2.5 L.The incidence of bowel perforation and biliary infections were increased in adults, while there was no significant difference in the rate of ascitic or wound infections. The 1-year survival was slightly less (92 %) than the control group (100 %). Conclusions: The most common cause of extensive adhesions at LDLT was prior liver resection. Extensive adhesions caused increased morbidity by increased blood loss, transfusion requirements, and increased cold ischemia time. There is also a higher risk of bowel perforation during enterolysis. The use of commercially available barrier techniques is advisable in adults at high risk of developing adhesions with a possibility of liver transplantation, such as liver resection for HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Liver transplantation is the only therapeutic modality for patients with acute-on chronic liver failure (ACLF). These patients are at high risk for bacterial infections while awaiting transplantation. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether an adequately treated bacterial infection influences the outcomes after transplantation in this patient population. Methodology/Principal Findings: 54 recipients (median age, 49.5 years [range, 22–60]) of adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant (LDLT) for ACLF were categorized as those with pretransplant infection (Group 1, n = 34) or without pretransplant infection (Group 2, n = 20) for retrospective analyses. With the exception of a higher male-female ratio (P = 0.046) and longer length of pretransplant hospital stay (P = 0.026) in Group 1, similar demographic, laboratory and clinical features were found in both groups. Patients in Group 1 (totally 42 pretransplant infection episodes) were adequately treated with effective antibiotic(s) before receiving LDLT. All included patients were followed up until one year after transplantation or death. Sixty-one posttransplant infection episodes were found in an overall of 44 ACLF patients (27 in Group 1 vs. 15 in Group 2; P = 0.352). Frequently encountered posttransplant infections were intraabdominal infection, pneumonia, bloodstream infection and urinary tract infection. Two patients died in each group (P = 0.622). No significant difference was found in the length of posttransplant ICU stay, and in one-year survival, graft rejection, and posttransplant infection rate between both groups. The longer overall hospital stay (mean day, 89.0 vs. 65.5, P = 0.024) found in Group 1 resulted from a longer pretransplant hospital stay receiving treatment for pretransplant infection(s) and/or awaiting transplantation. Conclusions: These data suggested that an adequately treated pretransplant infection do not pose a significant risk for clinical outcomes including posttransplant fatality in recipients in adult-to-adult LDLT for ACLF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the effective doses received by donors and recipients, identify effective dose contributions, and make risk assessments.Materials and Methods: It was a retrospective study. 100 Donors and 100 recipients were enrolled with an operative day from March 2016 to August 2017. The dose was analyzed for all radiation-related examinations over a period of 2 years, 1 year before and 1 year after the LDLT procedure. The effective doses of plain X-rays, CT, fluoroscopy, and nuclear medicine per patient were simulated by a Monte Carlo software, evaluated by the dose-length product conversion factors, evaluated by the dose-area product conversion factors, and evaluated by the activity conversion factors, respectively. The risks of radiation-induced cancer were assessed on the basis of the ICRP risk model.Results: The median effective doses were 71 (range: 30-186) mSv for donors and 147 (32-423) mSv for recipients. The radiation examinations were mainly performed in the last three months of preoperative period to first month of postoperative period for recipients and donors. The HCC recipients received a higher effective dose, 195 (64-423) mSv, than those with other indications. The median radiation-induced cancer risk was 0.38 % in male and 0.48 % in female donors and was 0.50 % in male and 0.58 % in female recipients.Conclusion: Donors and recipients received a large effective dose, mainly from the CT scans. To reduce effective doses should be included in future challenges in some living donor liver transplants centers that often use CT examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Introduction: b Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is associated with high short-term mortality and liver transplantation(LT) is the only curative option to treat these patients. However, the Result of living donor liver transplantation(LDLT) in ACLF is not well established, especially in high-Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score patients. [Extracted from the article]

B Introduction: b Hepatic venous outflow obstruction (HVOO) is a critical and life-threatening complication in pediatric living donor liver transplantation, especially in those with large-for-size graft without adequate drainage. B Conclusion: b Our triple hepatic venoplasty method demonstrated a promising graft survival in children undergoing pediatric living donor liver transplantation with a low incidence of hepatic vein outflow obstruction, even in large-for-size grafts. [Extracted from the article]