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Objective: To identify the preoperative prognostic factors influencing pancreatic cancer survival following curative resection in a single Brazilian institution., Methods: From 2005 to 2018, preoperative clinic, demographic and laboratory data were prospectively collected. Survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan-Meier method and the comparison between curves by the log-rank test. For multivariate analysis, the Cox regression model was used., Results: advanced age (p = 0.012) and previous history of cancer (p = 0.026) were the preoperative factors, according to the univariate analysis, that significantly impacted survival. Patients with preoperative serum levels of CA 19.9 from 38 to 554 U/mL had a 3.15 times higher chances of death (HR 3.15; 95% CI 1.01-9.82; p = 0.047), whereas patients with the marker above 554 U/mL were 3.96 times more likely than those with the normal level (HR 3.96; 95% CI 1.19-13.10; p = 0.024), by using the multivariate analysis. Patients with previous comorbidities had a 2.90 times higher chance of death than those without associated conditions (HR 2.90; 95% CI 1.10-7.67; p = 0.032)., Conclusion: Preoperative factors related to the worst prognosis after pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma resection were advanced age, presence of comorbidities, previous history of cancer and elevated preoperative serum CA 19.9.

Objective:: to analyze the association of mortality with sociodemographic and clinical variables, as well as lesions and complication in patients with pelvic trauma due to blunt trauma., Methods:: we conducted a retrospective, observational study with five-year trauma record data. Death was considered as the main stratification variable for the analyzes. We used the Student t test to compare means, the Chi-Square or Fisher exact test for proportions, and the Wilcoxon-Mann Whitney test for medians. We analyzed the independent factors using a logistic regression model with penalized likelihood, based on the Wald tests, the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and the Schwarz Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC)., Results:: of the 28 patients with blunt trauma fracture, 23 (82.1%) were men; 16 (57.1%) were, in average, 38.8 years old (±17.3). There were 98 lesions or fractures in the 28 patients. As for severity, seven people had Injury Severity Score higher than 24 (25%). The mean hospital stay was 26.8 days (±22.4). Fifteen patients (53.6%) had ICU admission. Mortality was 21.4%. The analysis showed that age 50 years or more and presence of coagulopathy were factors independently associated with death., Conclusion:: pelvic fractures can have high mortality. In this study, mortality was higher than that described in the literature. Age above 50 years and the presence of coagulopathy are risk factors in this population.

Objective:: to analyze the factors associated with death in patients with diaphragmatic injury treated at a trauma reference hospital., Methods:: we conducted a retrospective study of patients with diaphragm injury attended at the Risoleta Tolentino Neves Hospital of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, between January 2010 and December 2014. We used The Collector® database of trauma records (MD, USA). We gathered data on demographics, location of the diaphragmatic lesion, site and number of associated lesions, type of therapeutic approach, complications and Injury Severity Score (ISS). The variable of interest was the occurrence of death., Results:: we identified 103 patients and mortality was 16.5%. Penetrating lesions occurred in 98% of patients. Univariate analysis showed a mortality higher in patients whose treatment was non-operative, without closing of the defect (p=0.023), and lower in patients submitted to diaphragmatic suturing (p<0.001). The increase in the number of lesions was associated with an increase in mortality (p=0.048). In multivariate analysis, ISS>24 (OR=4.0, p=0.029) and diaphragmatic suturing (OR=0.76, p<0.001) were associated with mortality., Conclusion:: The findings indicate that the traumatic rupture of the diaphragm rarely presents as an isolated lesion, being frequently associated with injuries of other organs, especially the liver and hollow viscera. Mortality was higher among those with ISS>24.

Objective: to investigate the effect of standardized interventions in the management of tube thoracostomy patients and to assess the independent effect of each intervention., Methods: A chest tube management protocol was assessed in a retrospective cohort study. The tube thoracostomy protocol (TTP) was implemented in August 2012, and consisted of: antimicrobial prophylaxis, chest tube insertion in the operating room (OR), admission post chest tube thoracostomy (CTT) in a hospital floor separate from the emergency department (ED), and daily respiratory therapy (RT) sessions post-CTT. The inclusion criteria were, hemodynamic stability, patients between the ages of 15 and 59 years, and injury severity score (ISS) < 17. All patients had isolated injuries to the chest wall, lung, and pleura. During the study period 92 patients were managed according to the standardized protocol. The outcomes of those patients were compared to 99 patients treated before the TTP. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the independent effect of each variable of the protocol on selected outcomes., Results: Demographics, injury severity, and trauma mechanisms were similar among the groups. As expected, protocol compliance increased after the implementation of the TTP. There was a significant reduction (p<0.05) in the incidence of retained hemothoraces, empyemas, pneumonias, surgical site infections, post-procedural complications, hospital length of stay, and number of chest tube days. Respiratory therapy was independently linked to significant reduction (p<0.05) in the incidence of seven out of eight undesired outcomes after CTT. Antimicrobial prophylaxis was linked to a significant decrease (p<0.05) in retained hemothoraces, despite no significant (p<0.10) reductions in empyema and surgical site infections. Conversely, OR chest tube insertion was associated with significant (p<0.05) reduction of both complications, and also significantly decreased the incidence of pneumonias., Conclusion: Implementation of a TTP effectively reduced complications after CTT in trauma patients.