Biomedical subjects

Luca Gianotti

Publications and source records attributed to Luca Gianotti.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Nutrition and infections.

BACKGROUND: Patients with cancer suffer alterations of their metabolic state and nutritional depletion. This review was designed to evaluate the effect of different nutritional regimens on surgical outcomes. METHOD: Review of the literature on parenteral and enteral nutrition and immunonutrition in patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing major surgery. The outcome measures were postoperative complication rate and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: Postoperative enteral nutrition reduced significantly the rate of postoperative complications compared with parenteral feeding only in malnourished subjects. Several metaanalyses and randomized trials showed that preoperative and perioperative use of an enteral formula containing arginine and omega-3 fatty acids has a significant beneficial effect on surgical outcome in both well-nourished and malnourished patients. CONCLUSIONS: Enteral immunonutrition should represent the first choice to nourish surgical subjects.

Diet↗

PubMed2006

Impact of postoperative infections on survival in colon cancer patients.

PURPOSE: We investigated the prognostic significance of postoperative infections for the outcome of 192 patients with colon cancer. METHODS: The 5-year survival rates were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier technique. Univariate and multivariate analyses were done to evaluate prognostic variables using Cox's proportional hazard model. RESULTS: Forty-three patients developed deep incisional or organ/space surgical site infections. The groups with and without infection were comparable. Multivariate analysis showed that only Dukes' stage (p=0.048) and postoperative infection (p=0.011) were independently associated with outcome. In patients with infective complications, the survival rate was significantly lower than in subjects without infection (log rank p=0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: These results stress the importance of evaluating variables other than the classical tumor stage in predicting long-term cancer outcome.

Colectomy↗

PubMed2002

Nutritional approach in malnourished surgical patients: a prospective randomized study.

HYPOTHESIS: Perioperative administration of a supplemented enteral formula may decrease postoperative morbidity. DESIGN: Randomized clinical trial. SETTING: Department of surgery at a university hospital. PATIENTS: One hundred ninety-six registered malnourished patients (weight loss > or = 10%) who were candidates for major elective surgery for malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract. INTERVENTION: After randomization (n = 150), one group received postoperative enteral feeding with a standard diet within 12 hours of surgery (control group; n = 50). Another group orally received 1 L/d for 7 consecutive days of a liquid diet enriched with arginine, omega-3 fatty acids, and RNA (preoperative group; n = 50). After surgery, patients were given the same standard enteral formula as the control group. A third group orally received 1 L/d for 7 consecutive days of the enriched liquid diet. After surgery, patients were given enteral feeding with the same enriched formula (perioperative group; n = 50). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Postoperative complications and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: The 3 groups were comparable for baseline demographics, biochemical markers, comorbidity factors, and surgical variables. The intent-to-treat analysis showed that the total number of patients with complications was 24 in the control group, 14 in the preoperative group, and 9 in the perioperative group (P =.02, control group vs perioperative group). Postoperative length of stay was significantly shorter in the preoperative (13.2 days) and perioperative (12.0 days) groups than in the control group (15.3 days) (P =.01 and P =.001, respectively, vs the control group). CONCLUSION: Perioperative immunonutrition seems to be the best approach to support malnourished patients with cancer.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed2002

Metabolic and functional results after laparoscopic colorectal surgery: a randomized, controlled trial.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to compare metabolic and functional results after laparoscopic and open colorectal resection. METHODS: Seventy-nine patients were randomly assigned to laparoscopic (n = 40) or open (n = 39) colorectal resection. Before and after operation, the following parameters were determined: respiratory function (spirography and blood gas); serum level of cortisol, lactate, and C-reactive protein; total lymphocyte count; and CD4 and CD8 lymphocyte subsets. Intraoperative core temperature was measured by a bladder probe. Postoperative pain and analgesic consumption were also monitored. RESULTS: Mild operative hypothermia, a trend to postoperative reduction of total lymphocyte count, and significant impairment of respiratory function early after surgery were found in both groups. Laparoscopy showed a higher CD4/CD8 ratio (P = 0.01) on postoperative Day 1 and a faster return of C-reactive protein to preoperative values (P = 0.01) than in the open colorectal resection group. Morphine consumption in the first 48 hours after surgery was lower in the laparoscopic than in the open group (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopy was associated with a less pronounced immunosuppression and inflammatory response and a lower consumption of analgesic drugs than open surgery. Moreover, our data did not show any additional detrimental effect of laparoscopy on either operative core temperature or early postoperative respiratory function.

C-Reactive Protein↗

PubMed2002

A randomized controlled trial of preoperative oral supplementation with a specialized diet in patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Perioperative nutrition with specialized enteral diets improves outcome when compared with standard formulas. A post-hoc analysis suggested preoperative administration as the most important period. Thus, we designed a study to understand prospectively whether preoperative supplementation could be as efficacious as the perioperative approach and superior to a conventional treatment (no artificial nutrition) in reducing postoperative infections and length of hospital stay. METHODS: A total of 305 patients with preoperative weight loss <10% and cancer of the gastrointestinal tract were randomized to receive the following: (1) oral supplementation for 5 days before surgery with 1 L/day of a formula enriched with arginine, omega-3 fatty acids, and RNA, with no nutritional support given after surgery (preoperative group, n = 102); (2) the same preoperative treatment plus postoperative jejunal infusion with the same enriched formula (perioperative group, n = 101); and (3) no artificial nutrition before and after surgery (conventional group; n = 102). RESULTS: The 3 groups were comparable for all baseline and surgical characteristics. Intention-to-treat analysis showed a 13.7% incidence of postoperative infections in the preoperative group, 15.8% in the perioperative group, and 30.4% in the conventional group (P = 0.006 vs. preoperative; P = 0.02 vs. perioperative). Length of hospital stay was 11.6 +/- 4.7 days in the preoperative group, 12.2 +/- 4.1 days in the perioperative group, and 14.0 +/- 7.7 days in the conventional group (P = 0.008 vs. preoperative and P = 0.03 vs. perioperative). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative supplementation is as effective as perioperative administration in improving outcome. Both strategies seem superior to the conventional approach.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Preoperative oral arginine and n-3 fatty acid supplementation improves the immunometabolic host response and outcome after colorectal resection for cancer.

BACKGROUND: Previous trials showed that perioperative immunonutrition improved outcome in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. This study was designed to appraise the impact of the simple preoperative oral arginine and n-3 fatty acids supplementation on immune response, gut oxygenation, and postoperative infections. METHODS: Two hundred patients with colorectal neoplasm were randomized to: (a) oral intake for 5 days before surgery of a formula enriched with arginine and n-3 fatty acids (pre-op group; n = 50); (b) same preoperative treatment prolonged after surgery by jejunal infusion (peri-op group; n = 50); (c) oral intake for 5 days before surgery of a standard isoenergetic, isonitrogenous formula (control group; n = 50); and (d) no supplementation before and after operation (conventional group; n = 50). The immune response was measured by phagocytosis ability of polymorphonuclear cells and delayed hypersensitivity response to skin tests. Gut oxygenation and microperfusion were assessed by polarographic probes and laser Doppler flowmetry, respectively. RESULTS: The 4 groups were comparable for demographics, comorbidity, and surgical variables. The 2 groups receiving immunoutrients (pre-op and peri-op) had a significantly better immune response, gut oxygenation, and microperfusion than the other 2 groups. Intent-to-treat analysis showed an overall infection rate of 12% in pre-op, 10% in peri-op, 32% in control, and 30% in conventional groups (P <.04 pre-op and peri-op vs control and conventional). CONCLUSION: Preoperative oral arginine and n-fatty acids improves the immunometabolic response and decreases the infection rate. Postoperative prolongation with such supplemented formula has no additional benefit.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed2002

Laparoscopic versus open colorectal surgery: a randomized trial on short-term outcome.

OBJECTIVE: The primary endpoint was to compare the impact of laparoscopic and open colorectal surgery on 30-day postoperative morbidity. Lymphocyte proliferation to mitogens and gut oxygen tension were surrogate endpoints. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Evidence-based proof of the effect of laparoscopic colorectal surgery on immunometabolic response and clinically relevant outcome variables is scanty. Further randomized trials are desirable before proposing laparoscopy as a superior technique. METHODS: Two hundred sixty-nine patients with colorectal disease were randomly assigned to laparoscopic (n = 136) or open (n = 133) colorectal resection. Four trained members of the surgical staff who were not involved in the study registered postoperative complications. Lymphocyte proliferation to Candida albicans and phytohemagglutinin was evaluated before and 3 and 15 days after surgery. Operative gut oxygen tension was monitored continuously by a polarographic microprobe. RESULTS: In the laparoscopic group the conversion rate was 5.1%. The overall morbidity rate was 20.6% in the laparoscopic group and 38.3% in the open group. Postoperative infections occurred in 15 of the 136 patients in the laparoscopic group and 31 of the 133 patients in the open group. The mean length of hospital stay was 10.4 +/- 2.9 days in the laparoscopic group and 12.5 +/- 4.1 days in the open group. On postoperative day 3, lymphocyte proliferation was impaired in both groups. Fifteen days after surgery, the proliferation index returned to baseline values only in the laparoscopic group. Intraoperative gut oxygen tension was higher in the laparoscopic than in the open group. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic colorectal surgery resulted in a significant reduction of 30-day postoperative morbidity. Lymphocyte proliferation and gut oxygen tension were better preserved in the laparoscopic group than in the open group.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Hospital resources consumed for surgical morbidity: effects of preoperative arginine and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on costs.

OBJECTIVE: Costs related to postoperative complications continue to be a major burden on any health care system. The aim of the present study was to calculate hospital costs for postoperative complications and to evaluate whether preoperative supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids and arginine (specialized diet) might lead to cost savings in patient care. METHODS: Blind analysis of costs performed on data gathered from a randomized clinical trial carried out on 305 patients with gastrointestinal cancer showed that an oral preoperative specialized diet decreased postoperative morbidity compared with conventional treatment (no supplementation). Estimates of complication costs were based on resources used for treatment and on additional length of hospital stay. Cost-comparison and cost-effectiveness analyses were then carried out. RESULTS: The mean cost of postoperative complications was 4492 pounds sterlings. The greatest amount of resources was consumed by 19 anastomotic leaks (159,803 pounds sterlings), 18 abdominal abscesses (112,921 pounds sterlings), and 18 pancreatic fistulae (106,516 pounds sterlings). The mean costs per complication were 6178 pounds sterlings in the conventional group and 4639 pounds sterlings in the preoperative group (P = 0.05). The mean total costs of patients with complications were 10,494 pounds sterlings in the conventional group and 8793 pounds sterlings in the preoperative group. The mean cost per randomized patient was 3122 pounds sterlings in the conventional group versus 1872 pounds sterlings in the preoperative group (P = 0.04). Effectiveness values were 50.0% in the conventional group and 62.8% in the preoperative group (P = 0.03). Total costs consumed 93% of the diagnosis-related group reimbursement rate in the conventional group and 78% in the preoperative group. CONCLUSIONS: The costs of postoperative morbidity consumed a large amount of the diagnosis-related group reimbursement rate. Preoperative supplementation with the specialized diet appears to be a cost-effective treatment.

Arginine↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Preoperative immunonutrition: cost-benefit analysis.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate whether preoperative immunonutrition might lead to a savings in patient care. Data on resources consumed to treat postoperative complications are scanty, but morbidity costs continue to be a major burden for any health care system. A recent randomized clinical trial carried out in well-nourished patients with gastrointestinal cancer showed that a 5-day preoperative oral immunonutrition reduced postoperative morbidity compared with conventional treatment (no supplementation). METHODS: The abovementioned trial was the basis for the economic evaluation. In-hospital related costs of routine surgical care and costs of nutrition were calculated. Estimates of complication costs were based on both resources used for treatment and additional length of hospital stay. Cost comparison and cost-effectiveness analysis were then carried out. RESULTS: Total cost of nutrition was 3407 euro in the conventional group and 14,729 euro in the preoperative group. In patients without complication, the cost of in-hospital routine care was similar in both groups. The mean cost of complication was 6178 euro in the conventional group and 4639 euro in the preoperative group (p = .05). Total cost of patients with complications was 535,236 euro in the conventional group and 334,148 euro in the preoperative group. Total costs consumed 93% of the diagnosis-related-group (DRG) reimbursement rate in the conventional group and 78% in the preoperative group. Cost-effectiveness was 6245 euro for the conventional group and 2985 euro for the preoperative group. CONCLUSIONS: The costs of postoperative morbidity consumed a large amount of the DRG reimbursement rate. Preoperative immunonutrition was cost-effective in our series.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Correlation between postoperative infections and long-term survival after colorectal resection for cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Predicting long-term survival and cancer recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer is difficult because of the many factors that may affect the prognosis. This study investigated the prognostic significance of postoperative infections for patient outcome. METHODS: From an electronic database we selected 192 patients undergoing elective radical surgery for Dukes' stage B and C colorectal adenocarcinoma. The five-year survival rates were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to evaluate the potential prognostic variables using the Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS: Forty-three patients developed deep incisional or organ/space surgical site infections, while the remaining 149 were complication free. The two groups were comparable for baseline, surgical and histopathological characteristics. At univariate analysis, Dukes' stage and infections were negative prognostic factors, while peritumoral infiltration of lymphocytes and eosinophils and fibrotic tissue appeared as protective variables. However, multivariate analysis showed that only Dukes' stage (P = 0.048) and occurrence of postoperative infectious complications (P = 0.011) were independently associated with outcome. In patients with infectious complications, the survival rate was significantly lower than in patients without infections (log-rank = 0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: The present results suggest the importance of evaluating other variables besides tumor stage in the prediction of long-term outcome. In prognostic studies more attention should be paid to postoperative infections.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Outcome of patients with cancer of the esophagogastric junction in relation to histology and surgical strategy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The impact of histologic type and surgical strategy on survival of patients with cancer of the esophagogastric junction is debated. Thus, we evaluated the relationship between cancer histologic type (adenocarcinoma vs. squamous cell carcinoma) on long-term survival and the results of two different surgical techniques on outcome. METHODOLOGY: Two hundred and one patients with neoplasm of the esophagogastric junction were prospectively observed, and 133 patients (66%) underwent operation with curative intent. The results of two resective techniques, total gastrectomy with a thoraco-abdominal approach and total gastrectomy with a trans-hiatal approach were also compared in a subgroup with Siewert's type II and III cancer. RESULTS: Seventy-seven patients had an adenocarcinoma and 56 a squamous cell carcinoma. The 5-year proportion of survival was 35% in the adenocarcinoma group versus 40% in the squamous group (log-rank = 0.92), and the mean length of survival was 35 +/- 3 months and 34 +/- 5 months, respectively. The overall incidence of postoperative morbidity and the length of hospital stay were both significantly lower in the trans-hiatal group than in the thoraco-abdominal group (31% vs. 51%; p = 0.04; and 15.6 days vs. 23.2 days; p = 0.02 respectively), while the 5-year patient survival was 37% thoraco-abdominal approach and 42% in the trans-hiatal approach (log-rank = 0.62). CONCLUSIONS: In the present population, histologic type of the esophagogastric cancer was not a determinant factor for long-term survival. The transhiatal approach resulted in a better postoperative outcome without compromising surgical radicality and patient survival.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Multiple abdominal trauma: therapeutical options].

OBJECTIVE: To revise a series of multiple abdominal trauma in order to evaluate the type of diagnosis process and therapy undertaken, the complication and patient survival rates. PATIENTS: Three hundred ten patients of whom 294 (94.8%) with a single abdominal organ injury associated or not with trauma of extra-abdominal organs (thorax, mediastinum, brain, bone) and 16 patients with a multiple abdominal injury (2 or more organs) associated or not with trauma of extra-abdominal organs. Age, gender, vital parameters, injury dynamics, number of organs, site of injury, Injury Severity Score (ISS), Abdominal Trauma Index (ATI) and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) have been recorded at admission. RESULTS: Multiple abdominal trauma represent 5% of all abdominal trauma. All trauma were closed ones: 14 street accident and 2 precipitations. A non operative management was undertaken in 6 patients, successfully completed in 2, while 4 patients required a surgical intervention to control bleeding within 12 hours of observation. Ten patients underwent immediate operation for unstable vital signs. The mean number of abdominal organs damaged was 2.8/patient. The mortality rate was 43.7% (7/16). All patients died during surgery. By comparing dead and surviving patient, initial haemodynamics and severity of ISS, GCS, and ATI scores were significant negative prognostic factors. The median length of hospitalisation of survivors was 12 days. CONCLUSIONS: Non operative management of multiple abdominal injury seems to be feasible in a small percentage and possibly only in selected cases.

Abdominal Injuries↗