Archives of Clinical Gastroenterology Hassaan Bari*, Muhammad Rizwan Khan and Amir Hafeez Shariff The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan Dates: Received: 27 April, 2016; Accepted: 30 May, 2016; Published: 02 June, 2016 *Corresponding author: Hassaan Bari, FCPS, Fellow in general surgery, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, 36, Phase IV, Defence Housing Authority, Karachi, Pakistan, Tel: 0092 2134864751; 0092 3002281357; E-mail: www.peertechz.com ISSN: 2455-2283 Keywords: Acute cholecystitis; Antibiotics; Tokyo guidelines; Outcomes
Research Article
Use of Antibiotics in Acute Calculous Cholecystitis - Do Tokyo Guidelines Improve the Outcomes? Abstract Introduction: The current treatment for acute cholecystitis consists of antibiotics followed by surgery. We conducted a study to audit our practices of perioperative antibiotic use in patients with acute cholecystitis and to compare the outcomes after implementation of Tokyo guidelines. Methods: All patients with histologically proven acute calculous cholecystitis managed at Aga Khan University Hospital during the year 2009 were enrolled in the study. Subsequently, the hospital staff was educated about Tokyo guidelines on various educational forums. The data were collected again for the year 2014 and compared with the previous data. The major variables included patient’s demographics, antibiotics used and surgical outcomes. Results: The study population consisted of 356 patients including 96 patients in 2009 and 260 patients in 2014. Mean age was 48.9 + 14 years and 52% were females. Comparison of the data from 2 years showed no difference in gender, ASA level grade of acute cholecystitis and frequency of use of empiric antibiotics. However, there was significantly less use of combination therapy (43.8 vs. 69.8%, p=0.00), and metronidazole (37.7% vs. 66.7%, p=0.00) in the year 2014. Interval cholecystectomy was significantly less practiced in 2014 (8.1% vs. 16.7%, p=0.03) resulting in shorter hospital stay (p=0.00). Despite improvement in antibiotics usage practices, postoperative infection rates remained the same in both the groups (6.3% vs. 4.6%, p=0.58). Conclusion: Our data suggests that implementation of Tokyo guidelines simplified and standardized the choice of antibiotics in patients with acute cholecystitis without compromising the outcomes.
Introduction Acute cholecystitis (AC) is a common complication of gallstone disease and accounts for 3 - 9 % of all hospital admissions for acute abdominal pain [1,2]. In a systematic review, acute cholecystitis was seen in 6 to 11 percent of patients with symptomatic gallstones over a median follow-up of 7 to 11 years [3]. The patients with acute cholecystitis may present with varying degree of disease severity, usually dictated by the duration of obstruction by gallstones and the presence of secondary infection [4]. Associated co-morbid conditions may also influence the clinical presentation, for example, diabetic patients are more prone to develop acute gangrenous cholecystitis, as compare to non-diabetic patients [5]. The usual treatment plan for patients with acute cholecystitis consists of antibiotics followed by surgical intervention. The choice and duration of antibiotics usually remain a contentious issue in this situation. Updated Tokyo guidelines classified the patients with acute cholecystitis into three broad groups on the basis of severity of infection and provide recommendations for the antibiotic regimen and duration of therapy in each category [6]. Regarding surgical treatment, early laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the operation of choice for mild and moderate acute cholecystitis. For severe cholecystitis, Tokyo guidelines recommend draining the gall bladder initially, and plan delayed cholecystectomy [7].
We are a tertiary care university hospital from a developing country. We are trying to follow and implement Tokyo guidelines at our hospital for the last few years. The objective of this study is to audit our practice of antibiotic use in acute calculus cholecystitis before and after implementing Tokyo guidelines. We compared the data from two non-consecutive years to audit our practices after implementation of Tokyo guidelines.
Materials and Methods A retrospective descriptive study was performed by reviewing the medical records of all patients with the diagnosis of acute calculus cholecystitis, admitted at the Department of Surgery of Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi. All adult patients who presented to our hospital with symptoms of right upper quadrant pain and diagnosed to have acute calculus cholecystitis on the basis of clinical and radiological signs and underwent cholecystectomy were included in this study. Acute calculus cholecystitis was finally confirmed on the basis of histopathology. Patients with incomplete data and acalculus cholecystitis were excluded. The data were collected for all the patients admitted during the year 2009 and subsequently compared with the patients admitted in the year 2014. During this period, the general surgery faculty members and residents at our hospital were repeatedly educated in evidence base and core curriculum sessions, morbidity and mortality meetings and grand round presentations regarding Tokyo guidelines and its implications.
Citation: Bari H, Khan MR, Shariff AH (2016) Use of Antibiotics in Acute Calculous Cholecystitis - Do Tokyo Guidelines Improve the Outcomes?. Arch Clin Gastroenterol 2(1): 027-031. DOI: 10.17352/2455-2283.000015
027