Paolo Carcoforo

Emergency General Surgery (EGS) was identified as multidisciplinary surgery performed for traumatic and non-traumatic acute conditions during the same admission in the hospital by general emergency surgeons and other specialists. It is the most diffused surgical discipline in the world. To live and grow strong EGS necessitates three fundamental parts: emergency and elective continuous surgical practice, evidence generation through clinical registries and data accrual, and indications and guidelines production: the LIFE TRIAD.

Objective Transanal hemorrhoidal artery ligation with mucopexy (ligation anopexy [LA]) and open hemorrhoidectomy (OH) can both be performed under local anesthesia. The aim of the present study was to analyze the impact and the cost-effectiveness of performing these techniques in an ambulatory setting of an Italian academic center on the postoperative outcome. Methods A series of 122 consecutive patients with grades II and III hemorrhoidal disease undergoing ambulatory surgical treatment of hemorrhoids in 2015 to 2018 (group A) was compared with 122 patients operated at the same institution in the same period (group H) in a hospital setting.The primary outcome was the number of days required to return to work/daily activities. Secondary outcomes included postoperative pain and complications, cost-effectiveness, patient satisfaction, and recurrence at 12 months. In group A, all the procedures were performed under local anesthesia with early discharge. In group H, the procedures were performed under general or loco-regional anesthesia with hospital admission. Results The mean number of days required to return to work/daily activities was 8.4 ± 4.8 days in group A, compared with 12.5 ± 3 days in group H (p < 0.001). The visual analog scale (VAS) pain score at 1 week, 2 and 3 weeks, and 1 month after surgery was lower for patients undergoing LA in the ambulatory setting (p < 0.01). We observed more postoperative complications in hospitalized (12.5%) than in ambulatory patients (7.5%) (p < 0.001). The total mean direct costs per patient were significantly lower in the ambulatory setting versus the hospital stay group (351.3 versus 1,746 euros). Conclusion Implementing ambulatory surgery for hemorrhoids is feasible, safe, and cost-effective.

Circulating miR-106b-3p, miR-101-3p and miR-1246 as diagnostic biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma Circulating miR-106b-3p, miR-101-3p and miR-1246 as diagnostic biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma

The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on the prognosis of patients with invasive malignant melanoma (MM) incident from 1991 to 2011 in the province of Ferrara, northern Italy. A total of 750 patients provided by the Area Vasta Emilia Centrale Cancer Registry were included in this retrospective cohort study. Prognosis was analysed in terms of overall survival and specific survival. The study determinants were the patients’ SES and district of residence. The confounding effect of sex, age, period and TNM stage at diagnosis was evaluated. In the study population, neither overall survival nor specific survival showed significant differences among different layers of SES and districts of residence. The risk for death from MM was lower for the female sex [hazard risk (HR)=0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.50–0.94] and for diagnoses made in the most recent period (2005–2011: HR=0.56, 95% CI: 0.36–0.89 with respect to 1991–1997). A worse prognosis was observed in patients older than 70 years at the time of diagnosis (HR=2.33, 95% CI: 1.39–3.91 with respect to the <40-year age group) and in patients with more than pT1 tumours (up to 20 times for pT4 tumours). SES and district of residence did not constitute prognostic factors for MM patients residing in the province of Ferrara. Homogeneity in MM staging, treatment and follow-up strategies due to the relatively small extent of the study area and the presence of a single university hospital of reference, as well as less marked social and economic differences among the study patients in comparison with other previously analysed populations, may account for this finding.