Patients undergoing abdominal surgery often develop delirium, which greatly influences their postoperative course of clinical recovery and length of hospital stay (LOS).^1-3 Delirium affects 13% to 50% of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery,⁴ and the health care costs attributable to delirium are more than $164 billion per year in the United States.^5,6 Older surgical patients (≥65 years of age) have a particularly high risk for developing delirium, with detrimental effects on their recovery.⁶ Delirium has been associated with alterations in cholinergic activity, inflammatory processes induced by neural signaling, and excessive depth of anesthesia and sedation.^7,8 Delirium may also be precipitated by factors such as infection, malnutrition, electrolyte and fluid imbalances, anemia, and social isolation.^4,9,10 Nevertheless, 30% to 40% of cases of delirium are preventable¹¹; thus, implementing effective interventions to prevent incident delirium and reduce LOS is a clinical priority.

Pancreatic cancer has an extremely high mortality rate due to its aggressive metastatic nature. Resolving the underlying mechanisms will be crucial for treatment. Here, we found that overexpression of IL-17B receptor (IL-17RB) strongly correlated with postoperative metastasis and inversely correlated with progression-free survival in pancreatic cancer patients. Consistently, results from ex vivo experiments further validated that IL-17RB and its ligand, IL-17B, plays an essential role in pancreatic cancer metastasis and malignancy. Signals from IL-17B–IL-17RB activated CCL20/CXCL1/IL-8/TFF1 chemokine expressions via the ERK1/2 pathway to promote cancer cell invasion, macrophage and endothelial cell recruitment at primary sites, and cancer cell survival at distant organs. Treatment with a newly derived monoclonal antibody against IL-17RB blocked tumor metastasis and promoted survival in a mouse xenograft model. These findings not only illustrate a key mechanism underlying the highly aggressive characteristics of pancreatic cancer but also provide a practical approach to tackle this disease.

Background: Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a distinct disease entity of chronic pancreatitis. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) is a key negative regulator of the T-cell immune response, and its gene is highly polymorphic. Many positive associations between cytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated protein 4 (CTLA4) single-nucleotide polymorphisms and various autoimmune diseases have been identified. We investigated possible genetic associations of CTLA4 in a Chinese population with AIP.Methods: We performed genotyping for CTLA4 (49 A/G, −318 C/T, and CT60 A/G) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α promoter (−857 C/T, −863 C/A, and −1031 C/T) by use of PCR sequence-specific primers and direct sequencing, respectively, in 46 patients with AIP, 78 patients with chronic calcifying pancreatitis (CCP), and 200 healthy individuals.Results: We found a significant increase in CTLA4 49A carriers in patients with AIP compared with healthy individuals (78.3% vs 48%; P <0.0001). The frequency of CTLA4 49A was also significantly higher in patients with AIP compared with CCP (78.3% vs 37.1%; P <0.0001). CTLA4 49A conferred a higher risk of AIP [with CCP, odds ratio (OR) 7.20; P <0.0001]. The −318C/+49A/CT60G haplotype was associated with a higher susceptibility to AIP (OR 8.53; P = 0.001). The TNF-α promoter −863A was associated with extrapancreatic involvement in patients with AIP.Conclusion: CTLA-4 49A polymorphism and −318C/+49A/CT60G haplotype are associated with AIP in a Chinese population.

Postsurgical functional decline is common in older patients and can lead to frailty and increased mortality. Comprehensive interventions such as the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) have been shown to be effective, but modifying the HELP to include only 3 key interventions might prove cost-effective for surgical patients. Consecutive patients from August 2007 through April 2009 (n = 179) were enrolled if they had undergone common elective abdominal surgical procedures, such as gastrectomy, cholecystectomy, and Whipple surgery. A modified HELP intervention consisting of early mobilization, nutritional assistance, and therapeutic (cognitive) activities implemented by a trained nurse was introduced on a surgical ward in May 2008. Patients enrolled before May 2008 received usual care and served as controls (n = 77). Those enrolled after the modified HELP intervention constituted the experimental group (n = 102). Changes in performance of activities of daily living, nutritional status, and cognitive function between admission and discharge were the primary end points. Independent of baseline functions, education, periampullary diagnosis, comorbidity, surgical procedure, and duration of surgery, patients in the HELP group declined significantly less on activities of daily living performance and nutritional status (p < 0.001) than controls. The delirium rate was also significantly lower in the HELP group (0%) than in the control group (16.7%) (p < 0.001). The modified HELP intervention effectively reduced older surgical patients' functional decline and delirium rates by hospital discharge. This program, conducted by a trained nurse, was not costly but did require commitment and ongoing cooperation between physician and nursing leadership to achieve compliance with the protocols.

Most pancreatic leaks after pancreaticoduodenectomy were initially treated conservatively, and for the most part, they were self-limiting and closed spontaneously. But in a few patients, hemorrhage occurred 1 to 3weeks postoperatively and remained a fatal complication after pancreaticoduodenectomy. To identify possible risk factors for massive bleeding, the medical records of 402 patients who had pancreaticoduodenectomies were reviewed for leak complications and analyzed for associations between the occurrence of massive bleeding and preoperative, intraoperative, postoperative, and pathologic parameters. In univariate logistic regression analysis, infectious clinical signs (p=0.021, odds ratio [OR]=7.06, 95% CI=1.34, 37.12) and bile in the drainage fluid (p=0.036, OR=5.89, 95% CI=1.13, 30.86) were associated with the risk of developing massive hemorrhage. This combination provided the highest estimate of massive bleeding after pancreatic leak (p=0.005, OR=8.57, 95% CI=1.92, 38.35). Both infectious clinical signs and bile content in the drainage fluid considerably increase the risk of massive bleeding after pancreatic leak. Close observation of patients with these ominous signs is warranted.

BACKGROUND: Characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has been used to provide prognostic, predictive, and pharmacodynamic information in many different cancers. However, the clinical significance of CTCs and circulating tumor microemboli (CTM) in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has yet to be determined. METHODS: In this prospective study, CTCs and CTM were enumerated in the peripheral blood of 63 patients with PDAC before treatment using anti-EpCAM (epithelial cell adhesion molecule)–conjugated supported lipid bilayer–coated microfluidic chips. Associations of CTCs and CTM with patients' clinical factors and prognosis were determined. RESULTS: CTCs were abundant [mean (SD), 70.2 (107.6)] and present in 81% (51 of 63) of patients with PDAC. CTM were present in 81% (51 of 63) of patients with mean (SD) 29.7 (1101.4). CTM was an independent prognostic factor of overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS). Patients were stratified into unfavorable and favorable CTM groups on the basis of CTM more or less than 30 per 2 mL blood, respectively. Patients with baseline unfavorable CTM, compared with patients with favorable CTM, had shorter PFS (2.7 vs 12.1 months; P < 0.0001) and OS (6.4 vs 19.8 months; P < 0.0001). Differences persisted if we stratified patients into early and advanced diseases. The number of CTM before treatment was an independent predictor of PFS and OS after adjustment for clinically significant factors. CONCLUSIONS: The number of CTM, instead of CTCs, before treatment is an independent predictor of PFS and OS in patients with PDAC.