Israel Medical Association Journal

Background: The prevalence of Group A streptococcus (GAS) carriage among adults is studied less than in children. The variability of reported carriage rates is considerably large and differs among diverse geographic areas and populations.

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of GAS carriage among adults in Israel.

Methods: In this prospective study, conducted in a large healthcare maintenance organization in Israel, we obtained pharyngeal cultures from adults attending the clinic without upper respiratory tract complaints or fever. Patient data included sex, age, number of children, and religious sectors.

Results: From May to December 2022, eight family physicians collected a total of 172 throat swabs (86% response rate). The median age was 37 years (range 18–65); 72.7% were females, 22.7% were ultra-Orthodox Jewish, and 69.2% had children. The prevalence of GAS carriage was 6.98%, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 3.7%–11.9%. GAS carriers were younger (31.7 vs. 39.3 years, P = 0.046), and the majority were ultra-Orthodox Jews (58.3% vs. 20%, P = 0.006). All GAS carriers were from lower socioeconomic status. When assessing risk factors for GAS carriage using multivariate analysis, only being an ultra-Orthodox Jew was positively related to GAS carriage (adjusted odds ratio 5.6, 95%CI 1.67–18.8).

Conclusion: Being an ultra-Orthodox Jew was the single variable associated with a GAS carriage, which may be related to having many children at home and living in overcrowded areas. Primary care physicians in Israel should recognize this situation when examining patients with sore throats, mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews.

A 26-year-old female at 28 weeks of gestation with her fourth pregnancy presented with a 24-hour history of diffuse abdominal pain and distension. In addition, she had nausea, vomiting, and constipation. The pain did not respond to analgesics. She had poor prenatal care during her pregnancy. She had previously had three cesarean deliveries. The first cesarean delivery was due to non-progressive second stage of labor, the second was preterm due to abdominal pain and suspected uterine rupture, and the last was due to the previous cesarean deliveries. In her last previous pregnancy, she presented with recurrent milder abdominal pain, which resolved spontaneously.

On examination, she was afebrile, with normal blood pressure and heart rate. Her abdomen was distended, tympanic, and mildly tender to palpation with no tenderness on the cesarean scar and no peritoneal signs. Her laboratory testing was normal except for mild hypokalemia.

Background: Pediatric patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) are commonly treated with daily multiple insulin injections or an insulin pump. They tend to have higher body mass index-standard deviation scores (BMI-SDS) than non-diabetic children.

Objectives: To identify patterns in the changes in BMI in the 3 years after T1DM diagnosis, and to discover factors that relate to excessive weight gain.

Methods: This retrospective study included clinical and laboratory data for 194 boys and girls aged 2–18 years at the time of diagnosis and at 1, 2, and 3 years after. Their BMI values were compared to non-diabetic children using BMI percentile and z-score (standard deviation) based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth charts.

Results: Both males and females had low mean BMI-SDS at diagnosis (-0.4499 ± 1.38743 male, 0.3050 ± 1.29887 female) that increased after 1 year (-0.0449 ± 1.14772 male, 0.1451 ± 0.98893 female). Lower glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) at 1 year correlated with higher BMI-SDS (r = -0.215, P = 0.011). No such correlation was found in the following 2 years. The daily dose of basal insulin correlated with higher BMI-SDS at 1 year (r = 0.183, P = 0.026) and 3 years (r = 0.297, P < 0.01). No association was found between the use of an insulin pump or continuous glucose monitoring and higher BMI-SDS.

Conclusions: BMI-SDS of children with T1DM was lower than average at the time of diagnosis and rose higher than average in the 3 years following. Higher BMI-SDS was not significantly associated with sex or ethnicity. The most prominent increase happened in the first year.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on healthcare systems worldwide. The fear of seeking medical attention to avoid the possibility of being infected may have altered the course of some diseases.

Objectives: To describe our experience with the management of patients with acute cholecystitis during the pandemic at our medical center.

Methods: We compared patients treated for acute cholecystitis between 1 March and 31 August 2020 (Group I) to patients admitted with the same diagnosis during the same months in 2019 (Group II). We evaluated demographics, presenting symptoms, laboratory and imaging findings at presentation, the disease's clinical course, management, and outcome.

Results: Group I consisted of 101 patients and group II included 94 patients. No differences were noted for age (66 years, IQR 48–78 vs. 66 years, IQR 47–76; P = 0.50) and sex (57.4% vs. 51.1% females; P = 0.39) between the two groups. The delay between symptom onset and hospital admission was longer for Group I patients (3 days, IQR 2–7 vs. 2 days, IQR 1–3; P = 0.002). Moderate to severe disease was more commonly encountered in Group I (59.4% vs. 37.2%, P = 0.003). Group I patients more often failed conservative management (36% vs. 6%, P = 0.001) and had a higher conversion rate to open surgery (15.4% vs. 0%, P = 0.025).

Conclusions: Patients presenting with acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic more often presented late to the emergency department and more showed adverse outcomes

Background: Emergency surgical repair is the standard approach to the management of an incarcerated abdominal wall hernia (IAWH). In cases of very high-risk patients, manual closed reduction (MCR) of IAWH may prevent the need for emergency surgery.

Objectives: To evaluate the safety, success rate, and complications of MCR in the management of IAWH conducted in an emergency department.

Methods: The data of all patients who underwent MCR between 2012 and 2018 were retrospectively collected. Patient demographics, presenting symptoms, clinical parameters, and management during the hospitalization were retrieved from the medical charts.

Results: Overall, 548 patients underwent MCR during the study period. The success rate was 25.4% (139 patients). One patient had a complication that required a laparotomy 2 days after his discharge. A recurrent incarceration occurred in 23%, 60% of them underwent successful repeated MCR and the others underwent emergency surgery. Six patients (1.4%) had a bowel perforation after a failed MCR.

Conclusions: MCR can be performed safely in the emergency department and should be consider as an option to treat IAWH, especially in high operative risk patients

Background: Evaluation of mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency is conducted via immunohistochemistry or by microsatellite instability (MSI) analysis. Heterogeneous immunohistochemistry staining for MMR proteins may show different patterns; however, according to current guidelines, all of those patterns should be interpreted as MMR proficient. This conclusion might lead to false negative results because although most cases of heterogeneity stem from technical factors and biological variability, other types of heterogeneity represent true MMR deficiency.

Objectives: To identify a unique heterogeneity pattern that is associated with true MMR loss.

Methods: We analyzed 145 cases of colorectal carcinoma. Immunohistochemistry staining for MLH1, PMS2, MSH2, and MSH6 were performed. We defined geographic heterogeneity as areas of tumor nuclear staining adjacent to areas of loss of tumor nuclear staining with intact staining in the surrounding stroma. All cases were evaluated for the presence of geographic heterogeneity. In addition, 24 cases were also evaluated by MSI testing.

Results: Of the 145 cases, 24 (16.5%) were MMR deficient. Of the 24 cases for which MSI analysis was also available, 10 cases (41.7%) demonstrated biological heterogeneity, 5 (20.8%) demonstrated technical heterogeneity, and 2 (8.3%) demonstrated geographic heterogeneity. Only the two cases with geographic heterogeneity were MSI-high via MSI analysis. In addition, a germline mutation in MSH-6 was identified in one of these cases.

Conclusions: Geographic heterogeneity may raise a suspicion for a MMR-deficient case, which should be further analyzed using additional methodologies such as MSI analysis.

Background: Selective management of stable patients with anterior abdomen stab wounds (AASWs) has become a gold standard management approach throughout the world. Evidenced-based options for supporting selective management include clinical follow-up, local wound exploration with or without diagnostic peritoneal lavage, diagnostic laparoscopy, and abdominal computerized tomography. The presence of multiple AASWs might signify a more aggressive attack and limit the safety of a selective management approach.

Objectives: To evaluate whether multiple AASWs are associated with an increased risk of intra-abdominal injury requiring emergency surgery.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all AASW patients admitted to Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zerifin, Israel, and Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, Israel, from 2007 to 2015. Patients were divided into two groups based on the number of stab wounds: single or multiple. Data were coded for demographics, severity of injury, presence of intra-abdominal injury, laparotomy rate, length of hospital stay (LOS), length of stay in the intensive care unit (LICU), and survival.

Results: The study included 169 patients. Of these, 143 patients had a single AASW and 26 had multiple AASWs. There were no differences between the groups regarding demographics, severity of injury, intra-abdominal penetration, specific organ injury, LOS, or LICU. There was no difference in the percentage of patients requiring laparotomy. The overall mortality was 2.36% (4/169). There was no significant difference in the mortality rate between the groups (P = 0.11).

Conclusions: The presence of multiple AASWs is not a risk factor for increased frequency and severity of intra-abdominal injury.

Background: Damage control laparotomy (DCL) is the widely accepted procedure of choice in management of severely injured trauma patient. It has been implemented in non-trauma-related surgical pathology in the last decade.

Objectives: To evaluate our experience with planned re-laparotomy (PRL) in non-trauma patients and compare it to other reports.

Methods: Charts of all patients admitted to Assaf Harofeh Medical Center who underwent PRL for non-trauma-related abdominal pathology during a 6 year period were reviewed. Data regarding demographics, vital signs, laboratory tests, indications for surgery, length of hospital stay, and mortality were obtained from medical charts. Indications for surgery, risk factors, and mortality were analyzed.

Results: The study was comprised of 181 patients. Primary abdominal sepsis (50), postoperative sepsis (49), mesenteric event (32), and intestinal obstruction (28) were the most common indications for PRL. Mortality rate was 48.6%. Factors correlating with increased mortality were advanced age, hypotension, hypothermia, metabolic acidosis, and renal failure. Bowel resection was performed on 122 patients (67%) and primary intestinal anastomosis constructed in 46.7%. Mortality rate was lower in patients who underwent PRL with primary anastomosis compared to patients with postponed bowel anastomosis (33.3% vs. 55.4%, P = 0.018).

Conclusions: PRL in abdominal emergencies carries a high mortality rate. Primary anastomosis may be considered in non-trauma-related PRL.

Background: In colon cancer, data regarding proximal and distal metastasis to lymph nodes remains scarce.

Objectives: To evaluate lymph node distribution along the longitudinal axis of the colon as related to a tumor to re-examine the common practice of 5 cm proximal and 2 cm distal resection margins.

Methods: We studied 106 patients (53 males and 53 females, mean age 67.9 ± 10 years) who had undergone left hemicolectomy or sigmoidectomy. Colonic cancer specimens were divided into five zones proximally and distally to the tumor. For each zone, overall lymph node evaluation and ratio was performed.

Results: The mean number of retrieved lymph nodes per patient was 24.3 ± 12, with 54.9% of the nodes concentrated in zone I, 22.1% in zone II, 9.5% in zone III, 10.3% in zone IV, and 3% in zone V. While most positive nodes were found in zone I, significant numbers were also detected in both directions proximally and distally to the tumor.

Conclusions: It seems that longer colonic segments proximally, and especially distally, should be considered for resection to significantly reduce the chances of finding involved lymph node.

Background: Gastrointestinal malignancies comprise a broad spectrum of neoplasms and have a high overall incidence. The incidence rates in Israel vary among ethnic groups due to different risk factors.

Objectives: To investigate incidence trends of these cancers in Israel in both Jewish and Arab ethnic groups in order to better understand the risks in those groups.

Methods: This study is based on data published by the Israel National Cancer Registry and the Central Bureau of Statistics. We compared statistics between ethnicities and genders. We examined the eight most common gastrointestinal cancers, focusing on colon, rectal and gastric cancers.

Results: Between 1980 and 2012 there was a decline in the incidence of gastric cancer in the Jewish population; in contrast, a significant increase occurred in Arab women, but there was no significant change in Arab men. Colon cancer showed a relative decrease in incidence in the Jewish population, but an increase in the Arab population. A decrease in the incidence of rectal cancer in the Jewish population and an increase in the Arab population was observed. 

Conclusions: Gastric, colon and rectal cancers exhibit differences in incidence and outcome between Jewish and Arab populations in Israel. These differences were not observed in the other five types of less common gastrointestinal cancers.

 

Background: The timing of interval laparoscopic cholecystectomy continues to be a matter of debate. 

Objectives: To evaluate the best timing for performing this procedure after an episode of acute cholecystitis. 

Methods: In this retrospective analysis, we divided 213 patients into three groups based on the time that elapsed since an episode of acute cholecystitis to surgery: Group I: 1–6 weeks, Group II: 6–12 weeks, Group III: > 12 weeks. 

Results: The mean operative time ranged from 50 to 62 minutes, complication rate from 2.6% to 5.9%, conversion rate from 2.6% to 10.8%, length of hospitalization from 1.55 to 2.2 days, and the 30 day readmission rate from 2.7% to 7.9%. There were no statistically significant differences between the study groups in the primary outcome parameters.

Conclusions: Due to the lack of statistically significant differences between the groups, interval laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be performed safely and without increasing the complication rate within 6 weeks following the acute episode as well as 12 weeks after. However, a trend towards higher conversion and complication rates was observed in Group II (6–12 weeks).