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Background: Emergency laparotomy, a critical surgery for acute abdominal emergencies, presents significant risks of complications and mortality. Accurately predicting outcomes remains challenging, impacting resource allocation and tailored post-operative care. This study investigates serum albumin, a key blood protein, as a potential predictive marker in emergency laparotomy patients. Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled 62 emergency laparotomy patients at IGOT hospital Bengaluru between May and August 2023. Data on demographics, surgical indications, procedures, pre-operative, post operative albumin levels, and post-operative complications were collected. Complications were categorized using the Clavien-Dindo classification. Statistical analysis assessed the relationship between albumin levels and outcomes. Results:Patients averaged 46.67 years old, predominantly male (64%). Gastric perforation was the most common surgical indication (24%), followed by ileal perforation and intestinal obstruction (16% each). Pre-operative hypoalbuminemia (albumin < 3.5 g/dL) was associated with a higher complication rate (58%) compared to normal levels (38%). Severity of complications correlated with post-surgery albumin decrease. Pre-operative albumin inversely correlated with hospital stay duration, while post-operative albumin drop positively correlated with stay length. Discussion: This study underscores serum albumin's potential as a predictor of post-operative outcomes in emergency laparotomy. High hypoalbuminemia prevalence (62%) and its complication association emphasize nutritional status's critical role. Lower pre-operative albumin and greater post-operative decrease were linked to increased complication risk and severity, suggesting albumin's value in risk stratification and targeted post-operative care for potentially improved outcomes. Conclusion: This study provides compelling evidence for serum albumin's potential as a predictor of post-operative complications in emergency laparotomy. Optimizing pre-operative albumin levels may be crucial for reducing complications and enhancing patient recovery. Further research is warranted to explore albumin level monitoring's clinical utility and interventions to improve albumin status for better surgical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Computed tomography (CT)-guided biopsy is emerging as a preferred and safe method for obtaining tissue samples in pleural diseases. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic yield and safety of percutaneous CT-guided biopsy in pleural diseases and to find CT findings predictive of malignant neoplastic pleural disease. Material and Methods: This retrospective study included 77 patients with pleural disease who underwent CT-guided pleural biopsies from July 2013 to May 2020. All procedures were performed with a coaxial semi-automatic biopsy device. Histopathology was performed in all cases, and additional tests such as immunohistochemistry (IHC) or microbiological analysis were carried out depending on clinical suspicion. The correlation of CT findings with final diagnosis was performed by Chi-square, Fisher's exact test and logistic regression analysis. Results: The overall technical success rate of CT-guided pleural biopsy was 100% with a diagnostic yield of 96.1%. No major complication was encountered, with minor complications encountered in the form of minimal pneumothorax and chest pain. Malignant pleural conditions constituted the largest group including metastatic adenocarcinoma as the most common (31.2%), followed by metastatic squamous cell carcinoma and mesothelioma. Tubercular pleural involvement was the second most common category (16.9%). The cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CB-NAAT) assay had 90% sensitivity on pleural tissue in tubercular cases. CT features predictive of malignancy were irregular and nodular pleural thickening, mediastinal and diaphragmatic pleural involvement and mediastinal/chest wall invasion. There was a good correlation between higher pleural thicknesses with malignant outcome. Conclusion: Percutaneous CT-guided biopsy is a safe method for obtaining pleural tissue samples with high diagnostic yield. CT findings provide clues, which favour malignant pleural involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]