Intraperitoneal drain placement and outcomes after elective colorectal surgery: international matched, prospective, cohort study

Despite current guidelines, intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery remains widespread. Drains were not associated with earlier detection of intraperitoneal collections, but were associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased risk of surgical-site infections.Background Many surgeons routinely place intraperitoneal drains after elective colorectal surgery. However, enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines recommend against their routine use owing to a lack of clear clinical benefit. This study aimed to describe international variation in intraperitoneal drain placement and the safety of this practice. Methods COMPASS (COMPlicAted intra-abdominal collectionS after colorectal Surgery) was a prospective, international, cohort study which enrolled consecutive adults undergoing elective colorectal surgery (February to March 2020). The primary outcome was the rate of intraperitoneal drain placement. Secondary outcomes included: rate and time to diagnosis of postoperative intraperitoneal collections; rate of surgical site infections (SSIs); time to discharge; and 30-day major postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade at least III). After propensity score matching, multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to estimate the independent association of the secondary outcomes with drain placement. Results Overall, 1805 patients from 22 countries were included (798 women, 44.2 per cent; median age 67.0 years). The drain insertion rate was 51.9 per cent (937 patients). After matching, drains were not associated with reduced rates (odds ratio (OR) 1.33, 95 per cent c.i. 0.79 to 2.23; P = 0.287) or earlier detection (hazard ratio (HR) 0.87, 0.33 to 2.31; P = 0.780) of collections. Although not associated with worse major postoperative complications (OR 1.09, 0.68 to 1.75; P = 0.709), drains were associated with delayed hospital discharge (HR 0.58, 0.52 to 0.66; P < 0.001) and an increased risk of SSIs (OR 2.47, 1.50 to 4.05; P < 0.001). Conclusion Intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery is not associated with earlier detection of postoperative collections, but prolongs hospital stay and increases SSI risk

Enzymatic Activity Prediction Using Time-Domain Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (TD-NMR) and Multivariate Analysis: A Case Study Using Cassava Roots

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Processo FAPESP: 2016/00779-6Processo FAPESP: 2017/12864-0CNPq: 303837/2013-6CNPq: 445729/2014-7Time-domain nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been widely used in food science. In this work, we demonstrate that the NMR decay obtained with the Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill (CPMG) sequence can be used to estimate the peroxidase activity (PA) in cassava roots. This enzyme has been involved in post-harvest physiological deterioration (PPD), which limits the storage of fresh cassava to a few days. Cassava is a staple food for almost one billion people in tropical areas in Americas, Africa and Asia. A multivariate method using CPMG data and reference values of PA from a standard biochemical assay was built with 216 measurements for non-refrigerated and refrigerated samples of cassava roots. The figures of merit of the global partial least squares model using both types of roots showed a 0.06 μmol min−1 limit of detection (LOD) and a 0.2 μmol min−1 limit of quantification (LOQ) for PA, with 0.4 [intensity (a.u.)/(μmol min−1)] sensitivity and a standard error of cross-validation (SECV) of 0.7 μmol min−1. All of the results demonstrated that TD-NMR has the potential to predict PA in cassava roots that is indicative of the PPD problem

Application of superabsorbent polymers (SAP) as desiccants to dry maize and reduce aflatoxin contamination

The ability of superabsorbent polymers (SAP) in drying maize and controlling aflatoxin contamination was studied under different temperatures, drying times and SAP-to-maize ratios. Temperature and drying time showed significant influence on the aflatoxin formation. SAP-to-maize ratios between 1:1 and 1:5 showed little or no aflatoxin contamination after drying to the optimal moisture content (MC) of 13 %, while for ratios 1:10 and 1:20, aflatoxin contamination was not well controlled due to the overall higher MC and drying time, which made these ratios unsuitable for the drying process. Results clearly show that temperature, frequency of SAP change, drying time and SAP-to-maize ratio influenced the drying rate and aflatoxin contamination. Furthermore, it was shown that SAP had good potential for grain drying and can be used iteratively, which can make this system an optimal solution to reduce aflatoxin contamination in maize, particular for developing countries and resource-lacking areas