Barrett’s esophagus: Review of natural history and comparative efficacy of endoscopic and surgical therapies

Barrett's esophagus (BE) is the precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Progression to cancer typically occurs in a stepwise fashion through worsening dysplasia and ultimately, invasive neoplasia. Established EAC with deep involvement of the esophageal wall and/or metastatic disease is invariably associated with poor long-term survival rates. This guides the rationale of surveillance of Barrett’s in an attempt to treat lesions at an earlier, and potentially curative stage. The last two decades have seen a paradigm shift in management of Barrett’s with rapid expansion in the role of endoscopic eradication therapy (EET) for management of dysplastic and early neoplastic BE, and there have been substantial changes to international consensus guidelines for management of early BE based on evolving evidence. This review aims to assist the physician in the therapeutic decision-making process with patients by comprehensive review and summary of literature surrounding natural history of Barrett’s by histological stage, and the effectiveness of interventions in attenuating the risk posed by its natural history. Key findings were as follows. Non-dysplastic Barrett’s is associated with extremely low risk of progression, and interventions cannot be justified. The annual risk of cancer progression in low grade dysplasia is between 1%-3%; EET can be offered though evidence for its benefit remains confined to highly select settings. High-grade dysplasia progresses to cancer in 5%-10% per year; EET is similarly effective to and less morbid than surgery and should be routinely performed for this indication. Risk of nodal metastases in intramucosal cancer is 2%-4%, which is comparable to operative mortality rate, so EET is usually preferred. Submucosal cancer is associated with nodal metastases in 14%-41% hence surgery remains standard of care, except for select situations.     

Validation of the Modena bleeding score in endoscopic sinus surgery

IntroductionThe Modena bleeding score is a categorical rating scale that allows the assessment of the surgical field in relation to bleeding during endoscopic surgery. It has recently been presented and validated in the field of endoscopic ear surgery by the present authors. The Modena bleeding score provides five grades for rating the surgical field during endoscopic procedures (from grade 1 ? no bleeding to grade 5 ? bleeding that prevents every surgical procedure except those dedicated to bleeding control).ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to validate the Modena bleeding score in the setting of endoscopic sinus surgery.MethodsFifteen three-minute videos of endoscopic sinus surgery procedures (each containing three bleeding situations) were evaluated by 15 specialists, using the Modena bleeding score. Intra and inter-rater reliability were assessed, and the clinical validity of the Modena bleeding score was calculated using a referent standard.ResultsThe data analysis showed an intra-rater reliability ranging from 0.6336 to 0.861. The inter-rater reliability ranged from 0.676 to 0.844. The clinical validity was α = 0.70; confidence limits: 0.64 ? 0.75, corresponding to substantial agreement.ConclusionThe Modena bleeding score is an effective method to score bleeding during endoscopic sinus surgery. Its application in future research could facilitate the performance and efficacy assessment of surgical techniques, materials or devices aimed to bleeding control during endoscopic sinus surgery.     

Percutaneous renal mass biopsy: historical perspective,current status,and future considerations

Introduction: Percutaneous renal mass biopsy has evolved over the last decade with improvements on previous pitfalls including low tissue yield, high non-diagnostic rates, and complications. As understanding of tumor biology and natural history of renal cortical neoplasms has improved, percutaneous renal mass biopsy is poised to have an expanding role in an area characterized by individualized management and refined risk stratification.

Areas covered: This review summarizes the evolution of renal mass biopsy to its current state with respect to outcomes, indications, and clinical guidelines.

Expert opinion: With improved understanding of differential biological potential of renal cortical neoplasms combined with technical improvements in diagnostic yield and accuracy, utilization of renal mass biopsy is becoming an important adjunct to patient care in a broad range of clinical scenarios, including active surveillance, thermal ablation, and use of primary systemic therapy in localized and advanced settings.     

Intraoperative cerebral blood flow monitoring in neurosurgery: A review of contemporary technologies and emerging perspectives

Intraoperative monitoring of cerebral blood flow (CBF) has become an invaluable adjunct to vascular and oncological neurosurgery, reducing the risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Several technologies have been developed during the last two decades, including laser-based techniques, videomicroscopy, intraoperative MRI, indocyanine green angiography, and thermography. Although these technologies have been thoroughly studied and clinically applied outside the operative room, current practice lacks an optimal technology that perfectly fits the workflow within the neurosurgical operative room. The different available technologies have specific strengths but suffer several drawbacks, mainly including limited spatial and/or temporal resolution. An optimal CBF monitoring technology should meet particular criteria for intraoperative use: excellent spatial and temporal resolution, integration in the operative workflow, real-time quantitative monitoring, ease of use, and non-contact technique. We here review the main contemporary technologies for intraoperative CBF monitoring and their current and potential future applications in neurosurgery.     

Intraoperative three-dimensional navigation for surgical treatment of osteoid osteoma in the foot and ankle – A series of 14 cases

BackgroundThe surgical treatment for osteoid osteoma (OO) in the foot and ankle is challenging. It is difficult to locate the lesion and the anatomy is crowded by sensitive structures. The purpose of this study was to describe the outcomes of navigated mini open-intralesional curettage (NMIC) or navigated minimally invasive radiofrequency ablation (NMRFA) in treating these lesions.MethodsAll patients who underwent surgery for OO in the foot and ankle between 2015 and 2020 were included. O-arm navigation was used in All procedures. The choice of NMIC versus NMRFA was made by the surgeon according to the location of the lesion and its proximity to sensitive anatomic structures.ResultsFourteen patients were included. Ten were operated by NMRFA and 4 by NMIC. All patients’ symptoms related to OO resolved following a single procedure. Average AOFAS score increased by 18.7 (P < .001). Three patients had the following complications: pathologic fracture, superficial infection and transient deep peroneal nerve sensory loss.ConclusionNavigated surgical treatment of OO in the foot and ankle is accurate, efficient and safe.     

调整Kappa角及光学切削直径对准分子激光原位角膜磨镶术后的影响

目的　评价调整光学切削直径及Kappa角后对准分子激光原位角膜磨镶术（laser in situ keratomileusis，LASIK）后效果的影响。方法　选取2017年1月至12月在我院行LASIK手术的高度近视患者313例（626眼），根据切削直径分成两组，试验组157例314眼，切削直径设定为6.0 mm，对照组156例312眼，切削直径设定为6.5 mm。试验组患者激光切削前修正Kappa角，对照组不做修正。患者术前进行裸眼视力、主视眼确定、验光、眼压、暗室下瞳孔直径、泪液分泌试验、裂隙灯、散瞳验光、眼底检查、pentacam测量角膜厚度、角膜地形图测量角膜前后表面及Kappa角等检查。术后1 d、1周、1个月随访，并检查裸眼视力、角膜厚度、波前像差及夜间视力、光晕、眩光等情况。比较两组患者角膜厚度变化、手术所用时间以及两组患者术后的高阶像差的差异。结果　试验组与对照组患者年龄分别为18～44（24.19±5.33）岁、18～42（25.08±4.91）岁，屈光度分别为（-7.47±1.04）D、（-7.61±1.12）D。两组年龄、屈光度比较差异均无统计学意义（均为P>0.05）。试验组与对照组患者术前Kappa角分别为，X轴:（210±40）μm、（200±30）μm，Y轴:（190±30）μm、（220±40）μm，差异无统计学意义（P=0.210）。两组手术前后的角膜厚度及术后角膜基质床的厚度差异均无统计学意义（均为P>0.05）。试验组与对照组的手术时间分别为（15.56±1.89）s和（20.83±3.03）s，差异有统计学意义（P=0.000）。试验组的总高阶像差和垂直慧差的变化均明显低于对照组（均为 P<0.01），但两组间的水平慧差差异无统计学意义（P>0.05），对照组的球差低于试验组（P<0.01）。结论　LASIK手术中科学合理地调整Kappa角可有助于提高患者术后的视觉质量。     

How structural and functional MRI can inform dual-site tACS parameters: A case study in a clinical population and its pragmatic implications

BackgroundAbnormalities in frontoparietal network (FPN) were observed in many neuropsychiatric diseases including substance use disorders. A growing number of studies are using dual-site-tACS with frontoparietal synchronization to engage this network. However, a computational pathway to inform and optimize parameter space for frontoparietal synchronization is still lacking. In this case study, in a group of participants with methamphetamine use disorders, we proposed a computational pathway to extract optimal electrode montage while accounting for stimulation intensity using structural and functional MRI.MethodsSixty methamphetamine users completed an fMRI drug cue-reactivity task. Four main steps were taken to define electrode montage and adjust stimulation intensity using 4x1 high-definition (HD) electrodes for a dual-site-tACS; (1) Frontal seed was defined based on the maximum electric fields (EF) predicted by simulation of HD montage over DLPFC (F3/F4 in EEG 10–10), (2) frontal seed-to-whole brain context-dependent correlation was calculated to determine connected regions to frontal seeds, (3) center of connected cluster in parietal cortex was selected as a location for placing the second set of HD electrodes to shape the informed montage, (4) individualized head models were used to determine optimal stimulation intensity considering underlying brain structure. The informed montage was compared to montages with large electrodes and classic frontoparietal HD montages (F3-P3/F4-P4) in terms of tACS-induced EF and ROI-to-ROI task-based/resting-state connectivity.ResultsCompared to the large electrodes, HD frontoparietal montages allow for a finer control of the spatial peak fields in the main nodes of the FPN at the cost of lower maximum EF (large-pad/HD: max EF[V/m] = 0.37/0.11, number of cortical sub-regions that EF exceeds 50% of the max = 77/13). For defining stimulation targets based on EF patterns, using group-level head models compared to a single standard head model results in comparable but significantly different seed locations (6.43 mm Euclidean distance between the locations of the frontal maximum EF in standard-space). As expected, significant task-based/resting-state connections were only found between frontal-parietal locations in the informed montage. Cue-induced craving score was correlated with frontoparietal connectivity only in the informed montage (r = ?0.24). Stimulation intensity in the informed montage, and not in the classic HD montage, needs 40% reduction in the parietal site to reduce the disparity in EF between stimulation sites.ConclusionThis study provides some empirical insights to montage and dose selection in dual-site-tACS using individual brain structures and functions and proposes a computational pathway to use head models and functional MRI to define (1) optimum electrode montage for targeting FPN in a context of interest (drug-cue-reactivity) and (2) proper transcranial stimulation intensity.