View clinical trials related to Diverticular Disease.
Filter by:Diverticular disease is a chronic pathology, characterized by recurrent abdominal symptoms and a high social impact, with a high prevalence in developed countries, especially among the elderly. Diverticula are thought to develop from age-related degeneration of the mucosal wall and segmental increases in colon pressure resulting in bulging at points of weakness, typically at the insertion of the vasa recta. Classification of diverticular disease is largely based on symptoms: it begins with the development of diverticulosis, to asymptomatic disease, to symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD) and finally to complicated disease when patients develop abscesses, phlegmon, bleeding, fistula and sepsis. Approximately the 20% of the patients with diverticular disease has symptoms, such as abdominal pain, fever and altered bowel movement and, in the last decades, a significant increase of the incidence of complications related to the disease has been recorded, in particular of intestinal perforation. Lactoferrin (Lf) is a glycoprotein present in several secretory liquids - i.e. milk, saliva and tears - with antimicrobial properties that it exert to seizing iron, thus preventing the use by the pathogens, or altering their plasma membrane through its highly cationic charge. The investigators hypothesize that the antimicrobial and immunoregulatory characteristics of the Lf can be used to maintain an adequate homeostasis of the intestinal mucosa in patients with SUDD resulting in an improvement of both symptoms and quality of life.
In colorectal surgery, anastomotic leak and its septic consequences still remain as the most concerning complications resulting in substantial morbidity and mortality. A common determining factor for assessing the viability of a bowel anastomosis is adequate arterial perfusion to ensure sufficient local tissue oxygenation. Intraoperative near-infrared fluorescence (INIF) imaging using indocyanine green (ICG) dye is a novel technique which allows the surgeon to choose the point of transection at an optimally perfused area before creating a bowel anastomosis. Recently, the INIF imaging system has been installed on the robotic systems and this helps identify intravascular NIF signals in real time. Although reports from several case series and retrospective cohorts have described the feasibility and safety of this imaging system during robotic colorectal surgery, to date, no studies have addressed more systematically the outcomes of this technique in robotic surgery. Considering the limitations of these reports, investigators aim to conduct a prospective randomized trial to compare robotic procedures with or without INIF imaging in patients undergoing colorectal surgery.
Transrectal Hybrid natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery sigmoidectomy has gained popularity. It is an appealing technique as a minilaparotomy in order to retrieve the specimen is avoided. Therefore less postoperative pain and a better cosmetic result are expected. The feasibility of the technique has been demonstrated. Still an open question is the risk of intraperitoneal contamination as in this procedure the colon has to be opened. This is the case for (a) retrieval of the specimen thru the opened rectal stump and (b) for intracorporeal insertion of the anvil of the circular stapler in order to fashion an anastomosis. In this study the bacterial contamination in the rectal stump as well as in the peritoneal cavity is assessed. The results are compared to bacteriological samples taken in a comparison group consisting of conventional laparoscopic assisted sigmoidectomies.
Conventional multi-port laparoscopic surgery (CL) is now a standard approach to colorectal resections, due to it's short-term benefits over conventional open surgery. In recent years, several studies have demonstrated that - in suitable patients - single-port access surgery (SPA) has similar clinical outcome compared to CL, with additional cosmetic benefits. It remains, however, unclear whether the trauma of surgery is also less for SPA compared to CL. In this study, the investigators aim to randomise patients who are deemed suitable for SPA surgery to either SPA approach, or CL; in addition to clinical outcomes including length of operating time, post-operative pain scores, complications, quality of life indicators and cosmetic appearance, the investigators aim to compare the physiological response to trauma through biochemical markers (including C-reactive protein, White Blood Cell count) and cytokine expression (i.e. Interleukins IL-6 and IL-8). Patients will be analysed according to intention-to-treat analysis, with 25 patients in the SPA and 25 patients in the CL group. The patients will be operated by surgeons proficient in both CL and SPA surgery, and followed-up for the duration of their hospitalisation as well as at their routine out-patient visits, using questionnaires.
The aim is to ascertain which method out of epidural, spinal or patient controlled analgesia (PCA) is the most appropriate in fluid optimised patients after laparoscopic colorectal surgery in terms of pain control, length of hospital stay and time for gut recovery. The second aim is to assess the physiological changes that occur when the patient is placed in steep trendelenberg position together with the creation of the pneumoperitoneum.