Metastatic stage vs complications at radical nephrectomy with inferior vena cava thrombectomy

BackgroundTo investigate perioperative complication rates at radical nephrectomy (RN) according to inferior vena cava thrombectomy (IVC-T) status and stage (metastatic vs non-metastatic) within kidney cancer patients.Materials and methodsWe ascertained perioperative complication rates within the National Inpatient Sample database (2016–2019). First, log-link linear Generalized Estimating Equation function (GEE) regression models (adjusted for hospital clustering and weighted for discharge disposition) tested complication rates in IVC-T patients, according to metastatic stage. Subsequently, a subgroup analysis relied on RN patients with or without IVC-T. Here, multivariable logistic regression models tested complication rates in RN patients according to IVC-T status, after propensity score matching including metastatic stage.ResultsOf 26,299 RN patients, 461 (2%) patients underwent IVC-T. Of those, 252 (55%) were non-metastatic vs 209 (45%) were metastatic. Rates of acute kidney injury (AKI), transfusion, cardiac, thromboembolic and other medical complications in non-metastatic vs metastatic patients were 40 vs 40%, 25 vs 22%, 21 vs 23%, 19 vs 14% and 38 vs 40%, respectively (all p ≥ 0.2). Metastatic stage in IVC-T patients did not predict differences in complications in log-link linear GEE regression models (all p > 0.1). However, in logistic regression models with propensity score matching, relying on the overall cohort of RN patients, IVC-T status was associated with higher complication rates (all p < 0.001): AKI (Odds ratio [OR]:2.60; 95%-CI [95%-Confidence interval: 1.97–3.44), transfusions (OR:2.40; 95%-CI: 1.72–3.36), cardiac (OR:2.27; 95%-CI: 1.49–3.47), thromboembolic (OR:9.07; 95%-CI: 5.21–16.58) and other medical complications (OR:2.01; 95%-CI: 1.52–2.66).ConclusionsThe current analyses indicate that presence of concomitant IVC-T is associated with higher complication rate at RN. Conversely, metastatic stage has no effect on recorded complication rates.     

Association between obstructive sleep apnea and floppy eyelid syndrome: A systematic review and metaanalysis

RationaleObstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) has been linked to various ocular disorders, including floppy eyelid syndrome (FES). Previous studies have hypothesised the underlying association between the 2 , but results are currently still inconclusive.ObjectiveTo investigate the association between OSA and FES.MethodsFour databases (Pubmed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library) were searched from inception until 28 February 2022 for observational studies and randomized controlled trials assessing the association between OSA and FES. Two reviewers selected studies, extracted data, graded the risk of bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale and the quality of assessment using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. Random-effects models were used to metaanalyze the associations.ResultsTwelve studies were included in the systematic review, of which nine were suitable for metaanalysis, with a combined cohort of 1,109 patients. Risk of bias was low to moderate. The overall analysis showed a significant positive association between OSA and FES (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.27–2.83, I 2 = 44%). Further analysis revealed that the more severe the OSA was, the higher the risk of developing FES. Patients with severe OSA had the nominally highest risk of developing FES (OR = 3.06, 95% CI = 1.62–5.78, I 2 = 0%), followed by moderate OSA (OR = 2.53, 95% CI = 1.29–4.97, I 2 = 0%), and patients with mild OSA had the lowest risk (OR = 1.76, 95% CI = 0.85–3.62, I 2 = 0%).ConclusionOur metaanalysis reports a positive association between OSA and FES, with increasing severity of OSA correlating with a significantly higher risk of FES. More longitudinal studies with sufficient duration of follow-up are needed to better characterise the relationship between OSA and FES.     

Alanine transaminase is predominantly increased in the active phase of anti-HMGCR myopathy

Autoantibodies against 3?hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR) and the signal recognition particle (SRP) are representative antibodies causing immune-mediated necrotizing myopathies (IMNM), called as anti-HMGCR and anti-SRP myopathies, respectively. Here, we analyzed the differences in routine blood test results between 56 anti-HMGCR and 77 anti-SRP myopathy patients. A higher alanine transaminase (ALT) level and a lower aspartate transaminase (AST)/ALT ratio were observed in anti-HMGCR myopathy patients [ALT, 265.7 ± 213.3 U/L (mean ± standard deviation); AST/ALT ratio, 0.88 ± 0.32] than in anti-SRP-myopathy patients (ALT, 179.3 ± 111.2 U/L, p < 0.05; AST/ALT ratio, 1.28 ± 0.40, p < 0.01). In the active phase, anti-HMGCR myopathy often showed ALT predominance, whereas anti-SRP myopathy often showed AST predominance. In addition, there were differences in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), total cholesterol (TChol) level, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level between anti-HMGCR and anti-SRP myopathies (ESR: HMGCR, 24.4 ± 20.8 mm/1 h; SRP, 35.7 ± 26.7 mm/1 h, p = 0.0334; TChol: HMGCR, 226.7 ± 36.6 mg/dL; SRP, 207.6 ± 40.8 mg/dL, p = 0.0163; HDL: HMGCR, 58.4 ± 13.9 mg/dL; SRP, 46.2 ± 17.3 mg/dL, p < 0.01). Additional studies on the differences in routine blood test results may further reveal the pathomechanisms of IMNM.     

Quantifying and leveraging predictive uncertainty for medical image assessment

The interpretation of medical images is a challenging task, often complicated by the presence of artifacts, occlusions, limited contrast and more. Most notable is the case of chest radiography, where there is a high inter-rater variability in the detection and classification of abnormalities. This is largely due to inconclusive evidence in the data or subjective definitions of disease appearance. An additional example is the classification of anatomical views based on 2D Ultrasound images. Often, the anatomical context captured in a frame is not sufficient to recognize the underlying anatomy. Current machine learning solutions for these problems are typically limited to providing probabilistic predictions, relying on the capacity of underlying models to adapt to limited information and the high degree of label noise. In practice, however, this leads to overconfident systems with poor generalization on unseen data. To account for this, we propose a system that learns not only the probabilistic estimate for classification, but also an explicit uncertainty measure which captures the confidence of the system in the predicted output. We argue that this approach is essential to account for the inherent ambiguity characteristic of medical images from different radiologic exams including computed radiography, ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging. In our experiments we demonstrate that sample rejection based on the predicted uncertainty can significantly improve the ROC-AUC for various tasks, e.g., by 8% to 0.91 with an expected rejection rate of under 25% for the classification of different abnormalities in chest radiographs. In addition, we show that using uncertainty-driven bootstrapping to filter the training data, one can achieve a significant increase in robustness and accuracy. Finally, we present a multi-reader study showing that the predictive uncertainty is indicative of reader errors.     

Update on sports imaging

Sports Imaging has dramatically increased in the past decade with increasing number of adolescents, young and middle-aged adults participating in non-competitive/hobby sports. Therefore, sports injuries are no longer confined to elite athletes. Furthermore, newer forms of sports such as mountain climbing, pickle ball and curling etc. are gaining popularity. Majority of the injuries in sports medicine are from musculoskeletal trauma. Therefore, it is imperative that the musculoskeletal radiologist becomes familiar with various sports related injury patterns as these are commonly encountered in daily practice. This update aims to briefly encapsulate the major aspects of sports imaging. It includes the imaging manifestations of various types of musculoskeletal injuries on different modalities (commonly US and MRI) and briefly mentions the various image guided interventions, performed both on the sports field and in the hospital setting.     

Thrombosis and thromboembolism: Brighton collaboration case definition and guidelines for data collection,analysis, and presentation of immunization safety data

This is a Brighton Collaboration case definition of thrombosis and thromboembolism to be used in the evaluation of adverse events following immunization, and for epidemiologic studies for the assessment of background incidence or hypothesis testing. The case definition was developed by a group of experts convened by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) in the context of active development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. The case definition format of the Brighton Collaboration was followed to develop a consensus definition and defined levels of certainty, after an exhaustive review of the literature and expert consultation. The document underwent peer review by the Brighton Collaboration Network and by selected expert reviewers prior to submission.