Minimum clinically important difference of the health-related quality of life scales in adult spinal deformity calculated by latent class analysis: is it appropriate to use the same values for surgical and nonsurgical patients?

BACKGROUND CONTEXT

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) parameters have been shown to be reliable and valid in patients with adult spinal deformity (ASD). Minimum clinically important difference (MCID) has become increasingly important to clinicians in evaluating patients with a threshold of improvement that is clinically relevant.

Clinical characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of infertile patients with endometriosis and endometrial polyps: A retrospective cohort study

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to discuss the clinical characteristics and the prognosis of surgically diagnosed endometriosis complicated by endometrial polyps and investigate the association between pregnancy outcomes during subsequent pregnancies.Materials and methodsFrom January 2013 to December 2016, 1263 infertile patients were enrolled in the study. We identified 451 patients with endometriosis, and divided them into a polyp group (n = 204) and a non-polyp group (n = 247) based on whether or not they were associated with endometrial polyps. Postoperative clinical pregnant women (n = 82) among the polyp group were then classified into a study group and a control group composed of those undergoing a singleton pregnancy (n = 164) who delivered during the same time period. Clinical statuses and complications during pregnancy and delivery were collected from hospitals and by telephone interviews and surveys through the mail.ResultsThe prevalence rate of endometriosis infertile group was obviously higher than the non-endometriosis infertile group ([45.23%; 204/451] versus [17.12%; 139/812]). Women suffering from stage 1 to 4 endometriosis had a 42.44% (73/172), 40.69% (59/145), 55.89% (38/68) and 51.52% (34/66) occurrence rate of endometrial polyps, respectively. The frequency of endometrial polyps for stage 3 and 4 patients was obviously higher than that of stage 1 and 2 patients ([53.73%; 72/134] versus [41.64%; 132/317]). Moreover, the occurrence rate of deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) was 57.81% (37/64), which was obviously higher than that of ovarian endometriosis (42.42%; 98/231) and peritoneal endometriosis (44.23%; 69/156). Of the 204 women diagnosed with posterior endometrial polyps, 89 became pregnant, 7 pregnancies ended in a spontaneous abortion, and 82 successfully delivered a baby. The clinical pregnancy rate of patients in stages 1 and 2 was wholly higher than that of patients in stages 3 and 4 ([48.70%; 56/115] versus [37.71%; 26/82]). The postsurgical pregnancy status of patients suffering from peritoneal endometriosis was slightly better than those with ovarian or DIE, but differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.626). We also found that the pregnancy rate was statistically elevated in patients whose EFI scores range from 7 to 10. When compared to the control group, women with endometriosis and endometrial polyps had a higher risk of their pregnancy being complicated by placenta previa (13.41%) and cesarean delivery (59.76%).ConclusionPatients with endometriosis have a higher frequency of endometrial polyps. We found that a combined hysteroscopy and laparoscopy surgical procedure is an effective way to increase pregnancy rates. Different endometriosis stages and types in patients were associated with clinical pregnancy and spontaneous abortion rates. Women affected by both endometriosis and endometrial polyps have an independently elevated risk of placenta previa and cesarean delivery during pregnancy.     

SI和DBP对女性产后出血的风险预测效果

目的考察休克指数(shock index,SI)和舒张压(diastolic blood pressure,DBP)对女性产后出血的风险预测效果。方法选取2016年1月～2018年12月在我院行产检并分娩的320例产后出血孕妇作为研究组,另外选取同期进行正常分娩的健康孕妇240例作为对照组,比较两组患者的一般临床资料、血红蛋白(hemoglobin,Hb)、舒张压(diastolic blood pressure,DBP)、收缩压(systolic blood pressure,SBP)、心率(heart rate,HR)及休克指数(shock index,SI),并采用Ordinal逻辑回归分析各参数对产后出血的风险预警。结果两组患者在年龄、孕周、BMI及新生儿体重相比,差异无统计学意义(P0.05),而孕次相比,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05);与对照组产后24 h相比,研究组产后24 h患者的DBP、SBP及Hb均显著降低,而HR和SI显著升高(P0.05);与对照组产前相比,产后24 h患者的SBP、HR及SI显著降低(P0.05);与研究组产前相比,产后24 h患者的DBP、SBP、HR及Hb均显著降低,而SI显著升高,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05);Ordinal逻辑回归分析结果显示,休克指数和舒张压对产后出血具有预警作用(P0.05)。结论休克指数和舒张压可作为评估女性产后出血的风险预测指标,临床应密切监护。     

Worsening head bleeds in elderly blunt head trauma patients taking antithrombotics: Delayed CT head fails to change management

Background

Most elderly trauma patients suffer blunt head injury and many utilize antithrombotic (AT) medications. The utility of delayed CT-head (D-CTH) in neurologically intact elderly patients using AT who have an intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) on presentation is unknown. We hypothesized that D-CTH would not alter clinical management and aimed to evaluate the role of D-CTH in this population.

Are patient-reported outcome measures biased by method of follow-up? Evaluating paper-based and digital follow-up after lumbar fusion surgery

Background Context

Long-term follow-up of patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) is essential in both modern spinal care and research. Lack of time and staff are commonly reported barriers to implementing long-term follow-up of PROM. Automated and digital follow-up systems for PROM collection are seeing widespread use, yet their validity and comparative effectiveness have never been evaluated.

基于机器学习的脑胶质瘤多模态影像分析

脑部胶质瘤是临床中常见的一种原发性脑肿瘤，具有复发率高、死亡率高以及治愈率低的特点。常规临床诊断主要依靠计算机断层扫描(CT)和磁共振成像(MRI)检查技术进行鉴别。随着成像技术和机器学习方法的不断发展，多模态影像智能分析技术已经逐步成为研究热点，在脑胶质瘤的病灶分割测量、肿瘤分级、预后生存周期预测和基因型辨别等方面具有重要的应用前景。本文重点介绍基于机器学习和多模态影像在脑胶质瘤临床辅助诊断和预后评估中的应用进展。     

Insurance-mandated preoperative dietary counseling does not improve outcome and increases dropout rates in patients considering gastric bypass surgery for morbid obesity

BACKGROUND: Preoperative dietary counseling (PDC) before bariatric surgery is mandated by a growing number of insurance payers. Their claim is that PDC improves outcomes and postoperative compliance. We compared outcomes of GBP patients undergoing a mandatory 13 weeks of PDC (n = 72) to a contemporaneous group of patients with no such requirement (no-PDC; n = 252) who underwent operation between January 2000 and December 2002. METHODS: The PDC and no-PDC groups were characterized by similar male:female ratios (1:4 vs 1:4.6), mean age (42 years), mean body weight (324 lb vs 309 lb), and mean body mass index (BMI) (52 kg/m2 vs 50 kg/m2). The PDC group had a higher incidence of obstructive sleep apnea compared with the no-PDC group (41% vs 28%; P < .04) but otherwise the two groups had similar incidences of obesity-related comorbidities. The presurgery dropout rate was 50% higher in the PDC group than in the no-PDC group (28% vs 19%; P < .05). RESULTS: At 1 year follow-up, the no-PDC patients had a statistically greater percentage excess weight loss (67% vs 60%; P < .0001), lower BMI (32 vs 35; P < .015), and lower body weight (197 vs 218; P < .01). Resolution of major comorbidities, complication rates, 30-day postoperative mortality, and postoperative compliance with follow-up were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The data demonstrate that insurance-mandated PDC is an obstacle to patient access for surgical treatment of severe obesity and has no impact on weight loss outcome or postsurgical compliance. PDC should be abandoned by the insurance industry.     

超早期磁共振血管成像无大血管闭塞的急性缺血性卒中患者的预后

目的研究超早期磁共振血管成像(MRA)无大血管闭塞的急性缺血性卒中患者的临床结局及预测结局的因素。方法选择超早期(发病6 h内)完成急诊磁共振成像(MRI)检查且MRA无大血管闭塞的急性缺血性卒中患者31例,收集其临床及影像学数据,在MRI检查前完成NIHSS评分,随访发病后24 h的NIHSS评分及3个月时mRS评分。结果31例患者中28例MRI弥散加权成像(DWI)提示梗死灶,治疗后24 h时NIHSS显著改善者17例,3个月随访mRS0-2分者28例,未发现预测结局的因素。结论超早期MRA无大血管闭塞的急性缺血性卒中患者中大部分DWI可见责任梗死灶,即使未溶栓,大多数患者临床结局也较好。     

Predictability of retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis by using clinicopathologic variables in surgically staged endometrial cancer

The purpose of this study was to predict lymphatic involvement in endometrial cancer using clinicopathologic variables of patients treated with surgical staging. Overall, 461 patients treated with an initial surgical staging procedure including complete pelvic-para-aortic lymphadenectomy were included. The mean number of resected lymph nodes was 27 (median 26; range 15-83), and 54 patients (12%) had lymphatic involvement. Of these patients, 32 had only pelvic, 15 had both pelvic and para-aortic, and 7 had isolated para-aortic metastases. In the multivariate analysis, deep myometrial invasion (P= 0.02), lymphvascular space invasion (P= 0.001), positive peritoneal cytology (P= 0.002), and cervical involvement (P= 0.003) predicted retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis (RLN) significantly. Two hundred seventy-four patients (59.4%) had at least one of these poor prognostic factors identified by multivariate analysis. In this patient population, 53 (19.3%) had lymphatic involvement compared to 1 patient in the group of 187 patients with low-risk criteria. Ninety-eight percent of patients with RLN were predicted by this model, and with the advent of accurate diagnostic techniques, 40% of patients could be saved from undergoing lymphadenectomy.