Nevin Manimala

Br J Surg. 2021 Mar 23:znaa121. doi: 10.1093/bjs/znaa121. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Although both neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) and chemotherapy (nCT) are used as neoadjuvant treatment for oesophageal cancer, it is unknown whether one provides a survival advantage over the other, particularly with respect to histological subtype. This study aimed to compare prognosis after nCRT and nCT in patients undergoing oesophagectomy for oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) or squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

METHODS: Data from the National Cancer Database (2006-2015) were used to identify patients with OAC and OSCC. Propensity score matching and Cox multivariable analyses were used to account for treatment selection biases.

RESULTS: The study included 11 167 patients with OAC (nCRT 9972, 89.3 per cent; nCT 1195, 10.7 per cent) and 2367 with OSCC (nCRT 2155, 91.0 per cent; nCT 212, 9.0 per cent). In the matched OAC cohort, nCRT provided higher rates of complete pathological response (35.1 versus 21.0 per cent; P < 0.001) and margin-negative resections (90.1 versus 85.9 per cent; P < 0.001). However, patients who had nCRT had similar survival to those who received nCT (hazard ratio (HR) 1.04, 95 per cent c.i. 0.95 to 1.14). Five-year survival rates for patients who had nCRT and nCT were 36 and 37 per cent respectively (P = 0.123). For OSCC, nCRT had higher rates of complete pathological response (50.9 versus 30.4 per cent; P < 0.001) and margin-negative resections (92.8 versus 82.4 per cent; P < 0.001). A statistically significant overall survival benefit was evident for nCRT (HR 0.78, 0.62 to 0.97). Five-year survival rates for patients who had nCRT and nCT were 45.0 and 38.0 per cent respectively (P = 0.026).

CONCLUSION: Despite pathological benefits, including primary tumour response to nCRT, there was no prognostic benefit of nCRT compared with nCT for OAC suggesting that these two modalities are equally acceptable. However, for OSCC, nCRT followed by surgery appears to remain the optimal treatment approach.

PMID:33755097 | DOI:10.1093/bjs/znaa121

Am J Epidemiol. 2021 Mar 23:kwab077. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwab077. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Severe maternal morbidity (SMM) is a composite outcome measure that indicates serious, potentially life-threatening maternal health problems. There is great interest in defining SMM using administrative data for surveillance and research. In the US, one common way of defining SMM at the population level is an index developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Modifications have been proposed to this index (e.g., excluding maternal transfusion); some research defines SMM using an index introduced by Bateman et al. Birth certificate data are also increasingly being used to define SMM. We compared commonly used US definitions of SMM to each other among all California births, 2007-2012, using the Kappa statistic and other measures. We also evaluated agreement between maternal morbidity fields on the birth certificate compared to claims data. Concordance was generally low between the 7 definitions of SMM analyzed (i.e., κ < 0.4 for 13 of 21 two-way comparisons), Low concordance was particularly driven by presence/absence of transfusion and claims data versus birth certificate definitions. Low agreement between administrative data-based definitions of SMM highlights that results can be expected to differ between them. Further research is needed on validity of SMM definitions, using more fine-grained data sources.

PMID:33755046 | DOI:10.1093/aje/kwab077

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2021 Mar 1;62(3):32. doi: 10.1167/iovs.62.3.32.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: New lasers with a continuous wave power exceeding 15 W are currently investigated for retinal therapies, promising highly localized effects at and close to the Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE). The goal of this work is to evaluate mechanisms and thresholds for RPE cell damage by means of pulse durations up to 50 µs.

METHODS: A diode laser with a wavelength of 514 nm, a power of 15 W, and adjustable pulse durations between 2 µs and 50 µs was used. Porcine RPE-choroidal explants (ex vivo) and chinchilla bastard rabbits (in vivo) were irradiated to determine threshold radiant exposures for RPE damage ({bar H_{Cell}}) by calcein vitality staining and fluorescence angiography, respectively. Thresholds for microbubble formation (MBF) ({bar H_{MBF}}) were evaluated by time-resolved optoacoustics. Exemplary histologies support the findings.

RESULTS: ({bar H_{{{MBF}}}}) is significantly higher than ({bar H_{Cell}}) at pulse durations ≥ 5 µs (P < 0.05) ex vivo, while at 2 µs, no statistically significant difference was found. The ratios between ({bar H_{{{MBF}}}}) and ({bar H_{Cell}}) increase with pulse duration from 1.07 to 1.48 ex vivo and 1.1 to 1.6 in vivo, for 5.2 and 50 µs.

CONCLUSIONS: Cellular damage with and without MBF related disintegration are both present and very likely to play a role for pulse durations ≥ 5 µs. With the lower µs pulses, selective RPE disruption might be possible, while higher values allow achieving spatially limited thermal effects without MBF. However, both modi require a very accurate real-time dosing control in order to avoid extended retinal disintegration in this power range.

PMID:33755044 | DOI:10.1167/iovs.62.3.32

Am J Clin Oncol. 2021 Apr 1;44(4):143-149. doi: 10.1097/COC.0000000000000800.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine patterns of care and outcomes of female cancer patients treated for sexual and menopausal symptoms following pelvic radiotherapy (PRT) at our institution’s multidisciplinary Sexuality, Intimacy, and Menopause (SIMS) Program.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of 69 female patients who received PRT for gynecologic or gastrointestinal malignancies and were referred for SIMS Program intervention. Indications for referral and treatment patterns were summarized. Preintervention and postintervention, patients were screened at follow-up visits, and symptoms were recorded. Statistics were performed using Stata 13.1.

RESULTS: Cancer types included cervical (53.6%), endometrial (31.9%), anorectal (5.8%), and vulvar/vaginal (8.7%). The median age was 48 years (interquartile range: 38 to 58 y). Patients were educated on vaginal lubricants, moisturizers, and dilator therapy both before and after PRT. Reasons for SIMS referral included persistent menopausal symptoms (50.7%), dyspareunia (40.6%), vaginal dryness (37.7%), decreased libido (17.4%), intimacy concerns (17.4%), and/or physical examination alterations (27.5%). SIMS interventions included vaginal estrogen (77.3%), nonhormonal climacteric interventions (53%), systemic hormone therapy (31.8%), dehydroepiandrosterone (4.6%), testosterone cream (4.6%), and/or psychological pharmacotherapy or counseling (13.6%). With a median follow-up of 36 months (interquartile range: 18 to 58 mo), sexual symptoms improved or were stable in 83.6%, while menopausal symptoms improved or were stable in 80.5%.

CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the importance of multidisciplinary care in improving the sexual and menopausal symptoms of women after PRT. Future work examining the impact of intervention timing with respect to PRT and measures of patient satisfaction is warranted.

PMID:33755031 | DOI:10.1097/COC.0000000000000800

Transfus Apher Sci. 2021 Mar 13:103121. doi: 10.1016/j.transci.2021.103121. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Blood donors are prone to have iron deficiency. The aim of this study was to determine utility of serum hepcidin as an indicator of iron deficiency in blood donors.

METHODS: A total of 200 voluntary, healthy blood donors were included in the study. Donors were categorized into four groups according to the donation frequency. Group I: (n = 50) who donated for the first time, or those who have not donated in the past 2 years (reactivated donors). Group II: (n = 50), who donated blood for the second time and had donated once in the previous 12 months. Group III: (n = 50), who donated blood for third time and had donated twice in the previous 12 months. Group IV: (n = 50) who donated blood for the fourth time and had donated thrice in the previous 12 months. Sera of study participants were evaluated for serum ferritin and serum hepcidin levels based on enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS: Serum hepcidin concentration ranged 2.36-15734 pg/mL. Serum hepcidin and serum ferritin were found to be lowest in group IV donors. When serum ferritin concentration of less than 15 ng/mL was considered as gold standard for diagnosing iron deficiency, AUCROC for serum hepcidin as a diagnostic test of iron deficiency was found to be 0.715. Serum hepcidin showed statistical significant correlation with donation frequency(p = 0 .005) and serum ferritin (p = 0.01). Sensitivity and specificity of serum hepcidin was found to be 77.8 %, 79.6 % respectively.

CONCLUSION: Effectiveness of Serum hepcidin as a diagnostic marker of iron deficiency still needs to be determined.

PMID:33752992 | DOI:10.1016/j.transci.2021.103121

Asian J Surg. 2021 Mar 20:S1015-9584(21)00118-4. doi: 10.1016/j.asjsur.2021.02.011. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: D3 lymph node dissection is becoming the standard procedure for the treatment of advanced right colon cancer and has shown increasing evidence of its oncologic benefit. However, a clear indication for its application is lacking and data on this topic is unsatisfactory. Thus, the necessity for D3 lymph node dissection in clinical stage I right colon cancer remains controversial.

METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from clinical stage I right colon cancer patients who underwent radical surgery at three hospitals of Korea university medical center between January 2015 and June 2018. We compared surgical complications and short-term oncologic outcomes between D2 and D3 lymph node dissections in these patients.

RESULTS: Among 512 patients, 122 (23.8%) were clinical stage I. Of these, 88 and 34 patients received D2 and D3 lymph node dissection, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in clinicopathologic variables and surgical outcomes between the two groups. Upstaging occurred in 16 patients (47.1%) in the D3 group and 23 patients (26.1%) in the D2 group. There were four recurrences in the D2 group but no recurrence in the D3 group. Log-rank tests showed no statistically significant difference in disease-free survival rates between the two groups (p = 0.210).

CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in disease-free survival rates between D2 and D3 lymph node dissection in clinical stage I right colon cancer patients. However, recurrence occurred in the D2 group. Efforts to improve the accuracy of clinical staging are required and more studies with better quality are needed.

PMID:33752988 | DOI:10.1016/j.asjsur.2021.02.011

Rev Gastroenterol Mex. 2021 Mar 19:S0375-0906(21)00014-8. doi: 10.1016/j.rgmx.2020.04.010. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Clinical practice guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of acute pancreatitis (CPGDTAP) have been designed in an effort to reduce the morbidity and mortality of that severe disease.

AIM: To identify the knowledge acquired from CPGDTAP in hospitals in Veracruz.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive, observational, multicenter study was conducted at four hospitals in Veracruz, through the application of a survey to evaluate the knowledge of attending physicians and residents that treat patients with acute pancreatitis. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze the results.

RESULTS: A total of 74 physicians were surveyed: 55.41% of whom were attending physicians and 44.59% of whom were resident physicians. The majority of physicians (67.57%) were familiar with CPGDTAP from the Asociación Mexicana de Gastroenterología (AMG), followed by those of the General Health Council of the Mexican Department of Health (CENETEC, the Spanish acronym) (54.05%) and the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) (48.65%). A total of 97.30% of the physicians routinely use a nasogastric tube, 79.73% considered early enteral nutrition to be very important, as did 98.65% regarding generous fluid replacement, 85.14% did not routinely use antimicrobials, 63.51% ordered a CAT scan at 72h or later, and 87.84% answered that infected necrosis was the indication for surgery, preferably after the third week.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: In our hospital environment, the CPGDTAP issued by the AMG and CENETEC were the most well-known, but their recommended measures were given importance by under 85% of the physicians surveyed. Therefore, the diffusion of the knowledge they contain is advisable to guarantee optimal results in acute pancreatitis management.

PMID:33752942 | DOI:10.1016/j.rgmx.2020.04.010

Arch Bronconeumol. 2021 Feb 24:S0300-2896(21)00070-3. doi: 10.1016/j.arbres.2021.01.037. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to develop a surgical risk prediction model in patients undergoing anatomic lung resections from the registry of the Spanish Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery Group (GEVATS).

METHODS: Data were collected from 3,533 patients undergoing anatomic lung resection for any diagnosis between December 20, 2016 and March 20, 2018. We defined a combined outcome variable: death or Clavien Dindo grade IV complication at 90 days after surgery. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed by logistic regression. Internal validation of the model was performed using resampling techniques.

RESULTS: The incidence of the outcome variable was 4.29% (95% CI 3.6-4.9). The variables remaining in the final logistic model were: age, sex, previous lung cancer resection, dyspnea (mMRC), right pneumonectomy, and ppo DLCO. The performance parameters of the model adjusted by resampling were: C-statistic 0.712 (95% CI 0.648-0.750), Brier score 0.042 and bootstrap shrinkage 0.854.

CONCLUSIONS: The risk prediction model obtained from the GEVATS database is a simple, valid, and reliable model that is a useful tool for establishing the risk of a patient undergoing anatomic lung resection.

PMID:33752924 | DOI:10.1016/j.arbres.2021.01.037

Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2020 Sep 11:S0266-4356(20)30515-5. doi: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2020.09.006. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to undertake a retrospective cross-sectional analysis to compare the frequency and characteristics of facial injury presentations at a UK and an Australian tertiary referral hospital during the implementation of COVID-19 social-distancing measures. The primary predictor variables were a heterogeneous set of factors grouped into logical categories: demographics, injury mechanisms and site, and management. The primary outcome variable was the presentation of a hard or soft tissue facial injury. A descriptive statistical analysis was undertaken on the assembled data. The study found a clinical and statistically significant reduction in the frequency (absolute number) of facial injuries at each study site. In addition, a striking similarity common in both countries was an increase in the number of facial injuries due to falls and a reduction in facial injuries due to interpersonal violence. Conservative (non-operative) management of facial injury increased at both sites. The implementation of COVID-19 social-distancing public health measures, which aimed to limit community transmission of the coronavirus, had a secondary serendipitous effect of reducing the frequency of facial injury presentations and altering their epidemiological characteristics at both a UK and Australian tertiary referral hospital.

PMID:33752920 | DOI:10.1016/j.bjoms.2020.09.006

Curr Probl Cancer. 2021 Mar 6:100728. doi: 10.1016/j.currproblcancer.2021.100728. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Both chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and multiple myeloma (MM) are common hematological malignancies originating from mature B cells of different differentiation stage. However, it is quite rare that MM could develop after CLL diagnosed. We reported a 66-year-old female progressed forward myeloma 3 years after she was diagnosed as CLL and conducted an analysis to investigate the epidemiology and clinical features among these patients based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Our data demonstrated that CLL patients were 19% less likely to develop myeloma than general U.S. population (standardized incidence ratio 0.81; 95% confidence interval 0.62-1.03), although without statistical difference. The median overall survival from CLL diagnosed was 90 (58.1-121.9) months, which was the same as general CLL patients according to historical data. But the outcomes of secondary MM was much poorer than general MM patients. Age and gender were independent factors that impact the survival among these patients.

PMID:33752897 | DOI:10.1016/j.currproblcancer.2021.100728