Migration of gall stones.

The factors influencing the migration of gall stones are ill understood. Altogether 331 patients undergoing cholecystectomy were studied prospectively. The diameters of the cystic and common bile ducts and of stones in the gall bladder and bile ducts were measured. Increasing pressure was applied to the freshly excised gall bladder in an attempt to evacuate stones through the cystic duct. Stones passed in 33 (60.0%) of patients with choledocholithiasis, 45 (67.2%) of patients with pancreatitis, and 7 (3.2%) of patients without either pancreatitis or choledocholithiasis. Stones migrated in 6 (3.0%) who had a normal cystic duct diameter (less than or equal to 4 mm) and in 46 (32.5%) with a duct over 4 mm diameter. Common bile duct stones were often larger than the diameter of the cystic duct and when reintroduced into the gall bladder would not migrate. The passage of debris (less than or equal to 1 mm) through the cystic duct bore no relation to the presence or absence of choledocholithiasis or a dilated cystic duct. Small stones (1-4 mm diameter) must migrate to initiate and facilitate further migration; some must increase in size in the common bile duct. Increased biliary pressure consequently dilates the duct system retrogradely, allowing larger stones to follow. Patients at risk of stone migration and thereby pancreatitis and jaundice have large ducts that can be detected by ultrasound assessment.     

Gall stones in sickle cell disease in the United Kingdom.

The prevalence of gall stones was studied prospectively by abdominal ultrasound examination in 131 patients with sickle cell disease aged 10-65 years. Of 95 patients with homozygous sickle cell disease, 55 (58%) had gall stones or had had a cholecystectomy. Gall stones were present in four out of 24 (17%) patients with haemoglobin S + C disease and two out of 12 (17%) with haemoglobin S beta thalassaemia. The presence of gall stones was not related to sex, geographical origin, or haematological variables and was not associated with abnormal results of liver function tests. Symptoms typical of biliary colic were reported by 32 out of 47 adult patients with gall stones, and cholecystitis or cholestasis was diagnosed in 18. Cholecystectomy was performed in 29 patients with good relief of symptoms in most cases. Postoperative complications were common, occurring in 10 of the 28 patients who could be evaluated, but not generally serious; they were considerably lessened by a preoperative exchange transfusion that reduced the haemoglobin S concentration to below 40%. It is suggested that all patients with sickle cell disease should be screened for gall stones and that elective cholecystectomy should be performed in those with symptoms or complications.     

复发性胆源性胰腺炎的临床特征及危险因素分析

目的:研究复发性胆源性胰腺炎(RGP)的临床特征及危险因素。方法:选择从2012年1月至2017年1月在本院接受治疗的80例RGP患者作为观察组,另选同期在本院接受治疗的胆源性胰腺炎(GP)患者86例作为对照组,分析观察组患者的临床特征及两组患者的致病因素,采用Logistic回归分析RGP的危险因素。结果:在RGP患者的临床特征中,复发次数均较多,平均达到(3.21±0.23)次。发病诱因则主要是胆囊结石、胆总管结石及高脂血症;临床症状主要是黄疸、呕吐、恶心、腹痛、腹胀;并发症主要包括胆管炎、胰腺脓肿以及腹水;临床体征主要有出血征象、腹肌紧张、腹部压痛等。观察组的男性、重度胰腺炎、合并胆总管结石、胆胰管开口狭窄、有高脂血症、手术治疗的患者致病率分别高于对照组,并且观察组急性生理与慢性健康评分(APACHE-Ⅱ)明显高于对照组,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05)。由多因素Logistic回归分析可知,导致RGP的危险因素有男性、高APACHE-Ⅱ评分、重度胰腺炎、合并胆总管结石、胆胰管开口狭窄、有高脂血症以及手术治疗。结论:RGP患者的临床特征具有一定的规律性,其中男性、高APACHE-Ⅱ评分、重度胰腺炎、合并胆总管结石、胆胰管开口狭窄、有高脂血症以及手术治疗是导致RGP发生的危险因素。     

Non-operative removal of bile duct stones by duodenoscopic sphincterotomy in the elderly.

Between January 1975 and December 1979, 71 patients over the age of 70 underwent attempted duodenoscopic sphincterotomy for stones in the common bile duct. Fifteen patients still had gall bladders in situ. Sphincterotomy was possible in 69 of the patients and in 65 of these duct clearance was achieved, giving an overall success rate of 92%. Failure to achieve sphincterotomy in two cases was due to substantial peripapillary diverticula. Duct clearance failed in four patients, mostly due to the size of the retained stones. The largest stone extracted was 24 mm diameter. There were no deaths but complications occurred in nine patients (13%); these were haemorrhage in four (requiring surgery in one), cholangitis in four (two of whom required surgical extraction of stones), and pancreatitis in one. The average duration of hospital stay in successful cases was 11 days (range three to 30). Clinical follow-up of 55 patients one to five years after sphincterotomy showed no evidence of stones or of stenosis of the sphincter. Duodenoscopic sphincterotomy is a major advance in the management of elderly patients with stones in the common bile duct.     

Pilot study of combination treatment for gall stones with medium dose chenodeoxycholic acid and a terpene preparation.

Thirty patients with radiolucent stones in a radiologically functioning gall bladder were treated for up to two years with a combination of Rowachol (one capsule twice daily), a mixture of cyclic monoterpenes, and chenodeoxycholic acid (7.0-10.5 mg/kg/day). The patients were not selected for body weight or size of stones. All complete dissolutions diagnosed by oral cholecystography were confirmed or refuted by ultrasound examination. Control of symptoms was excellent, only one patient withdrawing from the study because of persistent biliary pain. No evidence of hepatotoxicity was detected biochemically, and diarrhoea due to chenodeoxycholic acid was minimal at this dose. Stones disappeared completely in 11 patients (37%) within one year and in 15 (50%) within two years. These results compared favourably with those obtained with similar doses of chenodeoxycholic acid alone, in particular those of the National Co-operative Gallstone Study (complete dissolution in 13.5% of patients at two years). Treatment with a combination of medium dose chenodeoxycholic acid with Rowachol for radiolucent gall stones is economical, effective, and likely to minimise persistent symptoms and adverse effects of treatment.     

Epidemiology of typhoid carriers among blood donors and patients with biliary, gastrointestinal and other related diseases

Enteric fever due to Salmonella Typhi is a major public health problem. Typhoid carriers have high titres of Vi agglutinins in their sera. We worked out the baseline data for Vi agglutinins from 705 healthy blood donors (controls) by ELISA and compared it with 446 patients with biliary, gastrointestinal and other related diseases (cases). The samples were divided into five groups based on the disease condition of the patients from whom they were collected. Group A (n=196) consisted of patients with stones in the gall bladder/common bile duct and Group B (n=27) with gall bladder carcinoma. Group C (n=33) comprised patients with carcinoma of the pancreas/ampulla, obstructive jaundice and/or cholangiocarcinoma. Group D (n=112) had patients with acute/chronic pancreatitis, abdominal pain, intestinal obstruction, peritonitis, carcinoma oesophagus, chronic diarrhoea, gastrointestinal bleeding and dyspepsia. Group E (n=78) included patients with miscellaneous diseases. The mean absorbance value obtained for healthy subjects +3 standard deviations was taken as the cut-off value for a positive typhoid carrier. In Group A, 10.2% samples were positive; in Group B, 7.4%; in Group C, 12.0%; in Group D, 9.8% and in Group E, 9.0%. There was a highly significant (P <0.001) increase in the presence of Vi agglutinins in the cases compared to the controls. High prevalence of typhoid carriers occurs in patients with biliary, gastrointestinal and other related diseases. Vi serology employing highly purified Vi antigen offers a practical and cost-effective way of screening for S. Typhi carriers.     

Diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and disorders of glucose tolerance in patients after acute pancreatitis

The study aimed at evaluating an incidence of diabetes mellitus and carbohydrate tolerance disorders as well as insulinemia in patients with the history of the acute pancreatitis. Baseline glycemia was determined in 50 patients with a history of the acute pancreatitis and in 15 healthy individuals (aged between 18 and 65 years). Blood sugar was then determined 30, 60, 90 and 180 minutes following loading with 75 g of glucose. Fasting insulinemia and that following loading with 75 g glucose were determined at the same time period. Diabetes mellitus was diagnosed in 6 patients (12%) whereas carbohydrate tolerance in 4 patients (8%). A decrease in insulin response to carbohydrates was noted in 36 patients (72%) with a history of the acute pancreatitis in comparison with the control group. The obtained results suggest that the acute pancreatitis significantly decreases endocrine functioning of the pancreas. Therefore, metabolism of carbohydrates should be checked particularly in the individuals with a history of the acute pancreatitis without the symptoms of both diabetes mellitus and sugar tolerance disorders but with the signs of decreased insulin response to carbohydrates.     

乌司他丁治疗急性胰腺炎的临床疗效及机制研究

目的:探讨乌司他丁对急性胰腺炎患者的临床疗效及可能机制。方法:收集我院收治的重症急性胰腺炎患者66例,随机分为实验组和对照组。所有患者均给予禁食水、充分补液、纠正电解质紊乱等常规支持对症治疗。对照组予奥曲肽,实验组予乌司他丁,共治疗7天。测定两组患者治疗前、后各血清白介素-6(IL-6)、白介素-8(IL-8)及肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)水平;治疗前、治疗第1、3天及治疗后进行血常规检测,观察白细胞计数(WBC),并进行血淀粉酶(AMS)、尿淀粉酶(UAMY)测定;分别记录两组患者临床症状及体征恢复时间,判定临床疗效。结果:1治疗后,两组患者血清IL-6、IL-8及TNF-α水平均较治疗前显著下降,且实验组较对照组下降更明显(P0.05);2治疗后,两组患者白细胞计数及血、尿淀粉酶水平均较治疗前明显下降,且实验组较对照组下降更明显(P0.05);3治疗后,实验组各项临床症状及体征消失时间均明显短于对照组(P0.05)。结论:乌司他丁可有效改善急性胰腺胰腺炎患者的各项临床症状,这可能与其显著降低其血清IL-6、IL-8、TNF-α、淀粉酶水平、白细胞计数及尿淀粉酶水平有关。     

Linfoma esplénico presentado como pancreatitis aguda en una paciente de 84 años: reporte de un caso

A case is presented of an 84 year-old woman who was admitted to the Emergency Department due to an episode of non-calculous acute pancreatitis. In the aetiological study, the presence of a splenic lymphoma was documented, which had a compressive effect on the pancreas. After resolving the symptoms, she was scheduled for a splenectomy with a good technical result. At six months after admission the patient was in an excellent clinical and functional condition. This case highlights the unusual clinical presentation of this haematological disease, and the need to evaluate all the available therapeutic options in selected elderly patients.     

Splenic lymphoma presenting as acute pancreatitis in an 84 year-old patient. A case report

A case is presented of an 84 year-old woman who was admitted to the Emergency Department due to an episode of non-calculous acute pancreatitis. In the aetiological study, the presence of a splenic lymphoma was documented, which had a compressive effect on the pancreas. After resolving the symptoms, she was scheduled for a splenectomy with a good technical result. At six months after admission the patient was in an excellent clinical and functional condition. This case highlights the unusual clinical presentation of this haematological disease, and the need to evaluate all the available therapeutic options in selected elderly patients.     

Looking for gall bladder disease in the patient's iris.

In alternative health care iridology is used as a diagnostic aid. The diagnosis of gall bladder disease was used to study its validity and interperformer consistency. The presence of an inflamed gall bladder containing gall stones is said to be easily recognised by certain signs in the lower lateral part of the iris of the right eye. Stereo colour slides were made of the right eye. Stereo colour slides were made of the right eye of 39 patients with this disease and 39 control subjects of the same sex and age. The slides were presented in a random order to five leading iridologists without supplementary information. The prevalence of the disease was estimated at 56%. The median validity was 51% with 54% sensitivity and 52% specificity. These results were close to chance validity (iota = 0.03). None of the iridologists reached a high validity. The median interperformer consistency was 60%. This was only slightly higher than chance consistency (kappa = 0.18). This study showed that iridology is not a useful diagnostic aid.     

急性胰腺炎患者腹腔镜胆囊切除术的时机研究

目的：探讨急性胰腺炎胆囊切除术的有效性及时机。方法：分别对患有急性胰腺炎而进行腹腔镜胆囊切除的38例患者的临床信息进行了研究。结果：首先对38例病人进行了3-15天非手术的保守治疗,当临床症状和表征基本消失,血、尿中的淀粉酶接近正常水平时,进行胆囊切除。手术时间为30分钟到90分钟（平均时间60分钟）,手术中无转化和严重并发症症状发生。对这38例病人随访6到56周后无复发现象发生。结论：当临床症状和表征基本消失,血、尿中的淀粉酶接近正常水平时,急性胰腺炎胆囊切除术是有效且可行的。在中国患有急性胰腺炎的患者中,进行腹腔镜胆囊切除的占50％～70％。胆结石治疗取决于患者胰腺炎的严重性,及患者是否患有梗阻性黄疸。对于非梗阻性胰腺炎的患者,早期是否要进行明确的手术治疗尚无定论。我院患有急性胰腺炎的38例患者进行腹腔镜胆囊切除术（2004年2月到2009年4月之间）后取得了满意的效果。详情如下。     

Perfusion-CT - Can We Predict Acute Pancreatitis Outcome within the First 24 Hours from the Onset of Symptoms?

Purpose

Severe acute pancreatitis (AP) is still a significant clinical problem which is associated with a highly mortality. The aim of this study was the evaluation of prognostic value of CT regional perfusion measurement performed on the first day of onset of symptoms of AP, in assessing the risk of developing severe form of acute pancreatitis.

Material and Methods

79 patients with clinical symptoms and biochemical criteria indicative of acute pancreatitis (acute upper abdominal pain, elevated levels of serum amylase and lipase) underwent perfusion CT within 24 hours after onset of symptoms. The follow-up examinations were performed after 4–6 days to detect progression of the disease. Perfusion parameters were compared in 41 people who developed severe form of AP (pancreatic and/or peripancreatic tissue necrosis) with parameters in 38 consecutive patients in whom course of AP was mild. Blood flow, blood volume, mean transit time and permeability surface area product were calculated in the three anatomic pancreatic subdivisions (head, body and tail). At the same time the patient''s clinical status was assessed by APACHE II score and laboratory parameters such as CRP, serum lipase and amylase, AST, ALT, GGT, ALP and bilirubin were compared.

Results

Statistical differences in the perfusion parameters between the group of patients with mild and severe AP were shown. Blood flow, blood volume and mean transit time were significantly lower and permeability surface area product was significantly higher in patients who develop severe acute pancreatitis and presence of pancreatic and/or peripancreatic necrosis due to pancreatic ischemia. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of evaluated on admission severity of pancreatitis assessed using APACHE II score and laboratory tests.

Conclusions

CT perfusion is a very useful indicator for prediction and selection patients in early stages of acute pancreatitis who are at risk of developing pancreatic and/or peripancreatic necrosis already on the first day of the onset of symptoms and can be used for treatment planning and monitoring of therapy of acute pancreatitis. Early suspicion of possible pancreatic necrosis both on the basis of scores based on clinical status and laboratory tests have low predictive value.     

Computer-aided prediction of gangrenous and perforating appendicitis.

The clinical details of 100 patients with proved acute appendicitis were compared with those of 100 patients with perforating or gangrenous appendicitis. Twenty features were found to be significantly different between the two groups. This information was incorporated into a computer data base and used in the differential diagnosis of abdominal pain. A program written to predict the probability that gangrene or perforation was present in patients with appendicitis gave a diagnostic accuracy over 91%. A clinical scoring index, which accurately predicted the state of the appendix in 88% of patients, was constructed from the significant differences between the two groups. When clinical scoring or computer analysis predicts a high probability of perforation or gangrene in patients with appendicitis, surgery should be performed without delay.     

Effect of vegetarianism on development of gall stones in women.

Real time ultrasonography was used to compare the prevalence of gall stones in two groups of women aged 40-69: 632 women recruited from general practice registers and 130 vegetarians. One hundred and fifty-six (25%) of the 632 women who ate meat and 15 (12%) of the 130 vegetarian women either had gall stones visible on ultrasonography or had previously undergone cholecystectomy (p less than 0.01). The prevalence of gall stones was found to increase with age and body mass index. The 2.5 fold increase in risk of developing gall stones in non-vegetarians compared with vegetarians was reduced to 1.9 when controlling for these two potentially confounding factors, but remained significant. A family history of gall stones was reported more often by women with gall stones, but no association was found with parity or use of exogenous oestrogens. Thus the importance of age and obesity to determine the prevalence of gall stone was confirmed, and a dietary factor associated with vegetarianism may prevent this common condition.     

急性胰腺炎患者腹腔镜胆囊切除术的时机研究

目的:探讨急性胰腺炎胆囊切除术的有效性及时机。方法:分别对患有急性胰腺炎而进行腹腔镜胆囊切除的38例患者的临床信息进行了研究。结果:首先对38例病人进行了3~15天非手术的保守治疗,当临床症状和表征基本消失,血、尿中的淀粉酶接近正常水平时,进行胆囊切除。手术时间为30分钟到90分钟(平均时间60分钟),手术中无转化和严重并发症症状发生。对这38例病人随访6到56周后无复发现象发生。结论:当临床症状和表征基本消失,血、尿中的淀粉酶接近正常水平时,急性胰腺炎胆囊切除术是有效且可行的。在中国患有急性胰腺炎的患者中,进行腹腔镜胆囊切除的占50%~70%[1]。胆结石治疗取决于患者胰腺炎的严重性,及患者是否患有梗阻性黄疸。对于非梗阻性胰腺炎的患者,早期是否要进行明确的手术治疗尚无定论。我院患有急性胰腺炎的38例患者进行腹腔镜胆囊切除术(2004年2月到2009年4月之间)后取得了满意的效果。详情如下。     

Intermittent Secretion of Abnormal Bile in Patients with Cholesterol Gall Stones

Gall bladder and hepatic bile was sampled from 66 patients undergoing elective operations on the biliary tract. Fifty-one patients had cholesterol gall stones but only 59% of these were found to have bile which was supersaturated with cholesterol. Repeated sampling of hepatic bile from patients with T-tubes showed that the secretion of supersaturated bile was intermittent.These results indicate that it is impossible to separate patients with cholesterol stones from controls simply by examination of the lipid composition of their bile, since an appreciable number of bile samples from patients with cholesterol stones were unsaturated.The fact that cholesterol gall stones form when the bile is supersaturated with cholesterol only intermittently suggests that the gall bladder may also have a part in their formation.     

Indications for surgery in necrotizing pancreatitis.

The decision to operate on a patient with severe acute pancreatitis is often difficult and requires mature clinical judgment. Indications that are widely accepted include to establish the differential diagnosis, when the surgeon is concerned that the symptoms are due to a disease other than pancreatitis for which an operation is mandatory; in persistent and severe biliary pancreatitis, when an obstructing gallstone is lodged in the ampulla of Vater and cannot be managed endoscopically; in the presence of infected pancreatic necrosis; and to drain a pancreatic abscess, if percutaneous drainage does not produce the desired result. Other indications that are less well defined and somewhat controversial are the presence of sterile pancreatic necrosis involving 50% or more of the pancreas, when the pancreatitis persists despite maximal medical therapy, and when a patient''s condition deteriorates. For these last three indications, guidelines have been presented that permit a logical approach to management, although uncertainty remains. Surgeons should strive to describe in detail and precisely the clinical state of their patients at the time that an operation is done, as well as the findings and technical details of the operation. This should allow further refinement in the management of this vexing problem.     

Prevalence of gall stones in Dundee: a necropsy study.

Necropsy records from two large general hospitals in Dundee showed short-term fluctuations in the prevalence of gall stones that had not previously been described. There was no evidence of a rise in the standardised prevalence rate between 1902-9 and 1953-73. A spurious increase was apparent from the crude prevalence rates for these periods, which resulted simply from the increased age of the patients in the later period. Since there was no real increase in prevalence no conclusions can be drawn about dietary or other changes. Patients with stones in the common bile duct were likely to die from an associated cause. This related mainly to a high mortality rate in women. In patients with established epilepsy the prevalence of gall stones was greater than expected, which suggests that phenobarbitone does not diminish the likelihood of gall stones.     

Postprandial gall-bladder emptying in patients with gall stones.

Gall-bladder emptying in response to a standard meal was assessed in 34 patients with radiolucent gall stones and 34 matched controls. Percentage gall-bladder emptying, derived from volume measurements made on standardised oral cholecystography, was significantly higher at 15 minutes in the patients than the controls (mean +/- SE of mean 38.0 +/- 3.7% v 28.0 +/- 3.8%). This difference was maintained at 30 and 60 minutes. It is concluded that postprandial gall-bladder emptying is increased in patients with cholesterol gall stones, and that this may be the cause of the small bile-acid pool found in these patients.