Gallbladder, Bile Duct and Pancreas Disorders: Current Challenges, New Perspectives and Innovative Techniques

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "General Surgery".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 October 2025 | Viewed by 5711

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Surgical Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: laparoscopic surgery; hernia; gastrectomy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
2nd Surgical Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, “G. Gennimatas” Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: gastroenterology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gallbladder, bile duct and pancreas disorders are highly frequent and characterized by heterogeneity. Innovate technologies are used for the diagnosis and management of these disorders, allowing for the medical community to identify, locate and treat them. Entering this field, artificial intelligence is offering solutions to difficult cases of clinical practice. Additionally, minimally invasive surgical and endoscopic procedures, as well as robotic surgery, render higher chances for the successful management of the patients of these disorders. Moreover, oncology treatments are evolving, employing a wide range of biological medicines and opening a new era in therapy for gallbladder, bile duct and pancreas disorders.

The aim of this Special Issue is to evaluate and discuss current challenges, new perspectives and innovative techniques for gallbladder, bile duct and pancreas disorders, including differential diagnosis, pharmacotherapy, treatment, final outcome and prognosis.

We invite colleagues around the world to report their experience and knowledge with original studies, reviews, case reports or communications in current challenges, new perspectives and innovative techniques relating disorders of the gallbladder, bile ducts and pancreas for this Special Issue of our journal, in order to support this dominant research area.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Medicina.

Dr. Daniel Paramythiotis
Prof. Dr. Robert Grützmann
Prof. Dr. Vasileios Papaziogas
Dr. Dimitrios Raptis
Dr. Eleni Karlafti
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pancreas
  • biliary tract
  • pancreatobiliary diseases
  • pancreas neoplasm
  • tumor
  • ERCP
  • EUS
  • management
  • therapy
  • technique
  • surgery

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Other

11 pages, 362 KiB  
Article
Positive Intraoperative Bile Culture and Antibiotic Resistance Increase the Risk of Pancreatic Fistula in Patients After Pancreatoduodenectomy
by Michael Hoffmann, Lena Anthuber, Matthias Anthuber, David Pinto and Matthias Schrempf
J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(2), 455; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14020455 - 12 Jan 2025
Viewed by 887
Abstract
Background/Objectives: A positive intraoperative bile culture (bacterobilia) is considered to be a risk factor for increased morbidity after pancreatoduodenectomy. The aim of our study was to describe the frequency of bacterobilia with a special emphasis on antibiotic resistance and to analyze the [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: A positive intraoperative bile culture (bacterobilia) is considered to be a risk factor for increased morbidity after pancreatoduodenectomy. The aim of our study was to describe the frequency of bacterobilia with a special emphasis on antibiotic resistance and to analyze the association of these findings with postoperative complications, in particular with postoperative pancreatic fistula. Methods: From a prospective database, patients with available intraoperative bile cultures (n = 95) were selected and analyzed. Microbiological test results reported the type of bacteria as well as sensitivity and resistance patterns. Associations between culture results, antibiotic resistance, and postoperative outcomes were assessed. Results: Among 95 patients that were included in this trial, 71 (74.7%) had a positive bile culture. A total of 29.6% (21/71) of patients with positive bile cultures developed POPF grade B/C compared to 8.3% (2/24) of patients with negative bile cultures (p = 0.052). The difference in CR-POPF became statistically significant when at least one of the isolated microorganisms was resistant to ampicillin/sulbactam, the perioperative antibiotic administered for prophylaxis. CR-POPF was diagnosed in 38.5% (15/39) of patients with antibiotic resistance vs. 14.3% (8/56) of patients without resistant microorganisms (p = 0.007). We also identified the isolation of Enterococcus spp. (p = 0.006), resistant Enterobacter (p = 0.031), or resistant Escherichia coli (p = 0.027) as risk factors for pancreatic fistula. Conclusions: The isolation of antibiotic-resistant strains in a positive bile culture is a major risk factor for the development of pancreatic fistula after pancreatoduodenectomy. The most relevant bacteria in our study were Enterococcus spp., Enterobacter cloacae, and Escherichia coli. Thus, broad-spectrum antimicrobial prophylaxis with efficacy against these microorganisms and with low resistance rates should be routinely administered perioperatively. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 4290 KiB  
Article
The Catheter Flushing Method Shows a Similar Diagnostic Yield to the Conventional Method in Brushing Cytology for Biliary Strictures
by Sung Ill Jang, Ji Hae Nahm, See Young Lee, Seok Jeong, Tae Hoon Lee, Dong Uk Kim, Chang-Il Kwon, Jae Hee Cho and Min Je Sung
J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13(22), 6741; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13226741 - 8 Nov 2024
Viewed by 992
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Endobiliary brushing is usually performed in the diagnosis of indeterminate biliary strictures; however, in this setting, brush cytology is limited by a low diagnostic yield and sensitivity. Here, we compared the catheter flushing method (CFM) with the conventional cytologic method (CCM) [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Endobiliary brushing is usually performed in the diagnosis of indeterminate biliary strictures; however, in this setting, brush cytology is limited by a low diagnostic yield and sensitivity. Here, we compared the catheter flushing method (CFM) with the conventional cytologic method (CCM) in terms of cellularity and diagnostic performance. Methods: Endobiliary brushings were obtained during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) from patients with biliary strictures enrolled at six tertiary hospitals. Additionally, the CFM was performed after brushing. Using liquid-based cytologic preparations of samples, we assessed the diagnostic performance of the CCM using Pap staining and the CFM using methionyl-transfer RNA synthetase 1 (MARS1) immunofluorescence staining. Results: From a total of 399 patients (malignant, 253; benign, 146), 374 CCM samples and 361 CFM samples contained adequate cells, with no significant difference in diagnostic yield (93.7% vs. 90.5%, respectively; p = 0.088). The sensitivity of the CFM (90.3%) was significantly higher than that of the CCM (75.1%; p < 0.001), with no significant difference in accuracy between methods (81.2% vs. 82.6%, respectively; p = 0.608). Conclusions: The diagnostic yield of the CFM was comparable to that of the CCM. Additionally, the diagnostic performance of the CFM was comparable to that of the CCM. These findings indicate that the CFM could be an additional brush cytology method for sample collection in patients with indeterminate biliary strictures. Incorporating both the CCM and CFM might be expected to improve the diagnostic yield of brush cytology in the biliary strictures. Further prospective comparative studies between the CCM and CFM using the same staining method are needed to validate these findings. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

Jump to: Research

22 pages, 3683 KiB  
Systematic Review
Comparative Assessment of Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Biopsies vs. Percutaneous Biopsies of Pancreatic Lesions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Performance
by Daniel Paramythiotis, Eleni Karlafti, Dimitrios Tsavdaris, Konstantinos Arvanitakis, Adonis A. Protopapas, Georgios Germanidis, Leonidas Kougias, Adam Hatzidakis, Christos Savopoulos and Antonios Michalopoulos
J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13(11), 3108; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13113108 - 25 May 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2173
Abstract
Introduction: Pancreatic cancer ranks as the fourth deadliest form of cancer. However, it is essential to note that not all pancreatic masses signal primary malignancy. Therefore, it is imperative to establish the correct differential diagnosis, a process further supported by pre-operative biopsy procedures. [...] Read more.
Introduction: Pancreatic cancer ranks as the fourth deadliest form of cancer. However, it is essential to note that not all pancreatic masses signal primary malignancy. Therefore, it is imperative to establish the correct differential diagnosis, a process further supported by pre-operative biopsy procedures. This meta-analysis aims to compare the diagnostic performance of two minimally invasive biopsy approaches for pancreatic tissue sampling: percutaneous biopsies guided by computed tomography or ultrasound, and transduodenal biopsies guided by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in the MEDLINE and Scopus databases. The included studies analyzed the diagnostic performance of the two biopsy methods, and they were assessed for risk of bias using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies–2 tool. Statistical analysis was carried out using the RevMan and MetaDisc software packages. Results: The statistical analysis of the results demonstrated the superiority of the percutaneous approach. Specifically, the pooled sensitivity, specificity, LR+, LR−and DOR for the percutaneous approach were 0.896 [95% CI: 0.878–0.913], 0.949 [95% CI: 0.892–0.981], 9.70 [95% CI: 5.20–18.09], 0.20 [95% CI: 0.12–0.32] and 68.55 [95% CI: 32.63–143.98], respectively. The corresponding values for EUS-guided biopsies were 0.806 [95% CI: 0.775–0.834], 0.955 [95% CI: 0.926–0.974], 12.04 [95% CI: 2.67–54.17], 0.24 [95% CI: 0.15–0.39] and 52.56 [95% CI: 13.81–200.09], respectively. Nevertheless, it appears that this statistical superiority is also linked to the selection bias favoring larger and hence more readily accessible tumors during percutaneous biopsy procedures. Conclusions: Concisely, our meta-analysis indicates the statistical superiority of the percutaneous approach. However, selecting the optimal biopsy method is complex, influenced by factors like patient and tumor characteristics, clinical resources, and other relevant considerations. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop