Risk factors for morbidity in walled-off pancreatic necrosis and performance of continuous postoperative lavage: A single-center experience.

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk factors for morbidity in cases of walled-off pancreatic necrosis (WOPN) and the performance of continuous postoperative lavage (CPL) for patients who demonstrated resistance to a minimally invasive approach.

METHODS

The study enrolled 19 of 28 consecutive patients with WOPN who underwent surgical treatment or an endoscopic necrosectomy at Sakarya University Education and Research Hospital. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the length of time from the first diagnosis of acute pancreatitis (AP) (Group 1, n=19) to preoperation or endoscopic necrosectomy (Group 2) (n=19). All of the cases were retrospectively evaluated and compared in terms of demographic features, operative features, and complications.

RESULTS

No statistically significant difference was found between the number of complications or the duration of hospital stay in terms of age, body mass index, size of the walled-off pancreatic necrosis, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, Ranson's criteria, operation time, and duration from AP to endoscopic necrosectomy or operation (p>0.05). Performance of an endoscopic necrosectomy was determined to be correlated with a decrease in the number of complications (B=-0.626, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.956 to -0.296; p<0.001), and when a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was detected at first admission, the number of complications was greater (B=0.032, 95% CI: 0.009-0.055; p=0.01). Reproduction in a culture and male gender were found to be risk factors for a prolonged hospital stay (B=0.669, 95% CI: 0.365-0.973; p<0.001), (B=0.484, 95% CI: 0.190-0.778; p=0.003), respectively.

CONCLUSION

CPL is a safe and effective surgical treatment approach for WOPN. Reproduction in a culture, male gender, and a high NLR on first admission and a negative or not-available endoscopic necrosectomy were determined to be risk factors for a poor prognosis.