Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. MethodsWe did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung's disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. FindingsWe included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung's disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58•0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36-39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2•8 kg (2•3-3•3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39•8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20•4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5•6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0•0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90•0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31•9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1•4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0•0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2•78 [95% CI 1•88-4•11], p<0•0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2•11 [1•59-2•79], p<0•0001), sepsis at presentation (1•20 [1•04-1•40], p=0•016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4-5 vs ASA 1-2, 1•82 [1•40-2•35], p<0•0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1-2, 1•58, [1•30-1•92], p<0•0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1•39 [1•02-1•90], p=0•035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1•96, [1•4...

BackgroundIdiopathic (immune) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an acquired disorder characterized by autoantibodies against platelet membrane antigens. Several studies found an association between Helicobacter Pylori infection and the incidence of ITP. So far, It is still unclear whether H. pylori eradication will increase platelet counts in adult ITP patients. We conduct this study to investigate platelet recovery in ITP patients after H. pylori eradication.MethodsThis is a prospective study. The diagnostic criterion for Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura is: isolated thrombocytopenia, with no evidence of any underlying causes like drugs, TTP, SLE, hepatitis, HIV,CLL and… etc. We examined blood smears of all patients. We have diagnosed Helicobacter pylori infection by histological examination of several biopsies obtained from stomach and duodenum by esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). If EGD was not applicable due to patient’s poor situation or platelet count, H.pylori infection was diagnosed by the positivity of serum antibodies or respiratory urease test. We treated infected patients with triple therapy (omeprazole 40 mg once daily, amoxicillin 1000 mg twice daily and clarithromycin 500 mg twice daily) for 14 days. Uninfected patients did not receive any treatment. We did platelet quantification at the beginning of the study, at the end of the first month, at the end of the third month and at the end of the sixth month.ResultsThis study involved 50 patients with chronic ITP, 29 males (58%) and 21 females (42%). Participants ages range between18 and 51 years (mean age = 28.60 years). We diagnosed H. pylori in 36 patients (72%), who were treated with triple therapy. At the end of the sixth month, 10 of them (27.77%) showed complete response, and 18 of them (50%) showed partial response. The 14 uninfected patients, who did not receive any treatment, did not show neither complete nor partial response. Patient sex and age were not associated with achieving response, while baseline platelet count and H.pylori infection did.ConclusionHelicobacter pylori eradication significantly increases platelet counts in adult ITP patients.

Background Ascaris lumbricoides is the most common parasitic infection in human. The worm is usually located in the small intestine, but may invade into the pancreatic or biliary tree, but rarely into gallbladder because of the anatomic features of the cystic duct. Case Presentation We report a case of gallbladder ascariasis that was diagnosed incidentally in a 70-year-old man, with negative ova and parasite test and no eosinophilia. We also compared echography and computerizied tomograph as diagnostic tools for gallbladder ascariasis. The patient was managed conservatively, but he underwent cholecyctectomy later because of developing cholecystitis. Conclusion Depending on this case, we suggest cholecyctectomy as an initial management of gallbladder ascariasis.

Background: Presentation of research at scientific conferences provides an opportunity for researchers to disseminate their work and gain peer feedback. However, much of the presented work is never published in peer-reviewed journals. The authors analyzed the conversion rate of abstracts presented at three national plastic surgery meetings. Methods: Abstracts presented at the American Association of Plastic Surgeons (AAPS), the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), and the Plastic Surgery Research Council (PSRC) annual meetings in 2014 and 2015 were identified to analyze the rates of successful conversion into full-text publications. Meeting administrators were contacted to obtain the respective acceptance rates of submitted abstracts. Results: A total of 1174 abstracts were analyzed. The overall conversion rate was 65 percent. The AAPS meeting had the highest conversion rate (73 percent), followed by the PSRC (66 percent) and the ASPS (61 percent). Conversely, the AAPS meeting had a lower acceptance rate (28 percent) compared with the ASPS (42 percent) and PSRC (49 percent) meetings. The conversion rate was significantly higher for abstracts from native English-speaking countries, whereas no significant differences were noted between oral and poster presentations. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery had the highest percentage of published manuscripts (34 percent). Abstracts presented at the PSRC meeting had the highest mean impact factor for the journal of publication. First authors changed in 31 percent and last authors changed in 18 percent of publications. The overall median time to publication from the date of presentation was 13 months. Conclusions: Almost two-thirds of abstracts presented at AAPS, ASPS, and PSRC meetings successfully converted into full-text publications. Plastic surgery departments/divisions should follow unpublished work in their institutions to benefit both patients and the scientific community.

Superior mesenteric artery syndrome is a rare cause of upper gastrointestinal obstruction in which the third part of the duodenum is compressed between the superior mesenteric artery and the abdominal aorta, and the compression of the duodenum is caused by a narrowed aortomesenteric angle. We report in this case a 35-year-old patient who came with features of small bowel obstruction, weight loss and had a history of malnutrition because of war. Multi-slice computerized tomography showed a narrowed aortomesenteric angle and distance. Conservative treatment was presented and, after 3 months of observation, the patient gained weight.