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Cystic pancreatic lesions (CPL) pose a diagnostic challenge due to their morphological diversity and malignant potential. Given the limited study data, transabdominal ultrasound (TAUS) is currently not established for either primary diagnostics or CPL monitoring. This study compared the diagnostic accuracy of TAUS in the assessment of CPL to that of the reference method, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), to identify patient subgroups suitable for TAUS monitoring. In a monocentric, retrospective analysis, patients with CPL who underwent EUS and TAUS within six months from 01/2016 to 06/2022 were included. Univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to identify determinants for the detection of CPL via TAUS. Cross-method morphological assessments were analysed, and a patient-specific algorithm for selecting the appropriate monitoring method was developed. Among 105 patients, CPL were detected by both EUS and TAUS in 90 patients (86%). Patients with “TAUS negative” CPL ( n  = 15) exhibited greater body mass indices (BMI, p  = 0.002) and smaller CPL diameters ( p  = 0.043). The final multivariate model (BMI, age, CPL diameter) yielded an 85% accuracy in predicting CPL detectability by TAUS. TAUS could be a cost-effective and patient-friendly imaging method for the surveillance of CPL in selected patients.

Background and Aims Acute necrotising pancreatitis carries high mortality, especially if infected necrosis occurs. While percutaneous drainage may be required when internal drainage is not feasible, reliable guidelines for managing percutaneous drains are lacking. This study aimed to assess the common practice of percutaneous drainage therapy for infected pancreatic necrosis. Methods This retrospective study among 29 tertiary care centres included all patients hospitalised for necrotising acute pancreatitis from 01/2016 until 12/2022 with at least one percutaneous drain. The length of hospital stay was the primary endpoint, with mortality as the secondary endpoint. Between‐group comparisons were conducted using the ratio of restricted mean survival time (RMST) after adjusting for confounders. Results 585 patients (67% male) from 29 tertiary care centres in 15 countries in Europe, Canada and Bolivia were included in the analysis. Length of hospitalisation or mortality did not differ between the flushed (n = 398) and non‐flushed groups (RMST ratio 1.04, p‐value = 0.42 and RMST ratio 1.05, p‐value = 0.1 respectively). Mortality was significantly lower in those patients who received a combination of percutaneous and internal drains (dual‐modality drainage, n = 243) as compared to those who received percutaneous drains only (RMST ratio 1.05, p‐value = 0.01). Flushing with antibiotics as compared to saline was not associated with shorter length of hospital stay or lower mortality (RMST ratio 0.98, p‐value = 0.78 and 0.97, p‐value = 0.48 respectively). Conclusions This study reveals notable differences in therapeutic concepts and flushing management for percutaneous drains. While flushing itself was not associated with a shorter length of hospitalisation or lower in‐hospital mortality, a lower mortality was observed when internal and percutaneous drainage were used in combination. Clinical Trial Registration The study was prospectively registered in the German Clinical Trials Register (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien, DRKS) under the registration number DRKS00032231. Key Summary Summarise the established knowledge on this subject ◦ Percutaneous drainage as well as endoscopic drainage can be used for the treatment of necrotic collections in pancreatitis ◦ Management of percutaneous drains, including flushing and combination with endoscopic drains, is unclear What are the significant and/or new findings of this study? ◦ Very heterogeneous therapeutic regimens across participating pancreas centres ◦ No differences in hospitalisation or mortality for flushing versus no flushing ◦ No differences in hospitalisation or mortality for flushing with antibiotics versus saline ◦ Lower mortality in patients with dual‐modality drainage

This paper presents development of a capacitive microsensor to be used in monitoring of wound healing process. Wounds will heal more quickly if they are kept under a bandage and presently bandages must be removed to track the healing process. This could potentially delay the healing process. A sensor can be used to detect the presence of blood in the wound by measuring the capacitance. Blood has a higher permittivity than air or any other substance that may be in the wound and will significantly increase the total measured capacitance in the device. The presence of blood in the wound under the bandage and so in the device would signify that the wound is not fully healed. The sensor was fabricated using standard MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) techniques in cleanroom. The sensor was tested in present of no solution, DI water and saline solution, and capacitance was measured to be 1 pF, 35 pF and 53.3 pF, respectively.