Background and aim Several bariatric surgery worldwide surveys have been previously published to illustrate the evolution of bariatric surgery in the last decades. The aim of this survey is to report an updated overview of all bariatric procedures performed in 2014.For the first time, a special section on endoluminal techniques was added. Methods The 2014 International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) survey form evaluating the number and the type of surgical and endoluminal bariatric procedures was emailed to all IFSO societies. Trend analyses from 2011 to 2014 were also performed. Results There were 56/60 (93.3%) responders. The total number of bariatric/metabolic procedures performed in 2014 consisted of 579,517 (97.6%) surgical operations and 14,725 (2.4%) endoluminal procedures. The most commonly performed procedure in the world was sleeve gastrectomy (SG) that reached 45.9%, followed by Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) (39.6%), and adjustable gastric banding (AGB) (7.4%). The annual percentage changes from 2013 revealed the increase of SG and decrease of RYGB in all the IFSO regions (USA/Canada, Europe, and Asia/Pacific) with the exception of Latin/South America, where SG decreased and RYGB represented the most frequent procedure. Conclusions There was a further increase in the total number of bariatric/metabolic procedures in 2014 and SG is currently the most frequent surgical procedure in the world. This is the first survey that describes the endoluminal procedures, but the accuracy of provided data should be hopefully improved in the next future. We encourage the creation of further national registries and their continuous updates taking into account all new bariatric procedures including the endoscopic procedures that will obtain increasing importance in the near future.

Fungal infections, named mycosis, can cause severe invasive and systemic diseases that can even lead to death. In recent years, epidemiological data have recorded an increase in cases of severe fungal infections, caused mainly by a growing number of immunocompromised patients and the emergence of fungal pathogenic forms that are increasingly resistant to antimycotic drug treatments. Consequently, an increase in the incidence of mortality due to fungal infections has also been observed. Among the most drug-resistant fungal forms are those belonging to the Candida and Aspergillus spp. Some pathogens are widespread globally, while others are endemic in some areas only. In addition, some others may represent a health threat for some specific subpopulations and not for the general public. In contrast to the extensive therapeutic armamentarium available for the antimicrobial chemotherapeutic treatment of bacteria, for fungal infections there are only a few classes of antimycotic drugs on the market, such as polyenes, azoles, echinocandins, and a few molecules are under trial. In this review, we focused on the systemic mycosis, highlighted the antifungal drug compounds available in the pipeline, and analyzed the main molecular mechanisms for the development of antifungal resistance to give a comprehensive overview and increase awareness on this growing health threat.

Bariatric procedures can induce a massive weight loss that lasts for >15 years after surgery; in addition, they achieve important metabolic effects including diabetes resolution in the majority of morbidly obese patients. However, some bariatric interventions may cause gastroesophageal reflux disease and other serious complications. The aim of our study is to evaluate the risk of cancer after bariatric surgery. We conducted a review of the literature about the cases of gastric cancer arising after any bariatric procedure, including a case of adenocarcinoma incidentally discovered by the authors 6 months after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Globally, 17 case reports describing 18 patients were retrieved, including the case study by the authors. The diagnosis of tumor was at a mean of 8.6 years after bariatric surgery, 9.3 years after RYGB, and 8.1 years after restrictive procedures. The adenocarcinoma represented most cases (15 patients, 83%). In the patients with RYGB, the adenocarcinoma was localized in the excluded stomach in 5 patients (83%) and in the pouch in 1 patient (17%). After a restrictive procedure, the cancer was localized in the pouch in 5 patients (62.5%), in the pylorus in 2 patients (25%), and in lesser curvature only in 1 patient (12.5%). There is a lack of evidence about a connection between the late occurrence of gastric adenocarcinoma and the bariatric surgery. For this reason, although the preoperative upper endoscopy is still mandatory, there is no need for a regular endoscopic evaluation of patients after surgery.