Elective pancreatic resection (EPR) refers to the removal of a part, usually the head, of the pancreas. This surgical procedure is used to treat tumors and other pancreatic disorders, but it is associated with intra-abdominal complications. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of octreotide, an octapeptide, in reducing the rate of postoperative intra-abdominal complications after EPR.
This controlled, single-blind, multicenter, randomized trial included a total of 230 patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) and pancreatic enteric anastomosis or distal pancreatectomy for benign/malignant tumor or chronic pancreatitis. The patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to intraoperatively receive octreotide (122) or serve as controls (108). The primary outcome of the study was the prevalence of intra-abdominal complications.
In the octreotide group, 22% of the patients sustained 1 or more intra-abdominal complications, as compared with 32% in the control group. Subgroup analysis indicated that octreotide was associated with a significant reduction in the rate of patients sustaining 1 or more intra-abdominal complications when the pancreatic duct diameter was less than 3 mm or when pancreatojejunostomy was performed or both. A total of 23 (10%) postoperative deaths occurred.
The research concluded that octreotide could be useful in reducing the risk of intra-abdominal complications only when the pancreatic duct of the patients is less than 3 mm and/or when pancreatojejunostomy was performed.
Ref: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/fullarticle/1103807?resultClick=1
