Validity of the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) through Rasch analysis in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Clinical Rheumatology - Central sensitization (CS) is a known contributor to chronic pain in people with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and is commonly measured by psychophysical testing or...     

Pre-COVID-19 Social Determinants of Health Among Mexican Migrants in Los Angeles and New York City and Their Increased Vulnerability to Unfavorable Health Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health - COVID-19 has disproportionally affected underrepresented minorities (URM) and low-income immigrants in the United States. The aim of the study is to...     

Evidence-based strategies to reduce the incidence of postoperative delirium: a narrative review

Delirium is one of the most commonly occurring postoperative complications in older adults. It occurs due to the vulnerability of cerebral functioning to pathophysiological stressors. Identification of those at increased risk of developing delirium early in the surgical pathway provides an opportunity for modification of predisposing and precipitating risk factors and effective shared decision-making. No single delirium prediction tool is used widely in surgical settings. Multi-component interventions to prevent delirium involve structured risk factor modification supported by geriatrician input; these are clinically efficacious and cost effective. Barriers to the widespread implementation of such complex interventions exist, resulting in an ‘implementation gap’. There is a lack of evidence for pharmacological prophylaxis for the prevention of delirium. Current evidence suggests that avoidance of peri-operative benzodiazepines, careful titration of anaesthetic depth guided by processed electroencephalogram monitoring and treatment of pain are the most effective strategies to minimise the risk of delirium. Addressing postoperative delirium requires a collaborative, whole pathway approach, beginning with the early identification of those patients who are at risk. The research agenda should continue to examine the potential for pharmacological prophylaxis to prevent delirium while also addressing how successful models of delirium prevention can be translated from one setting to another, underpinned by implementation science methodology.     

Meralgia paraesthetica als Lagerungsschaden

Die Anaesthesiologie - Als Meralgia paraesthetica (MP) bezeichnet man eine zu den neurologischen Engpasssyndromen zählende Schädigung des aus dem Plexus lumbalis entspringenden sensiblen...     

A contemporary systematic review on liver transplantation for unresectable liver metastases of colorectal cancer

The 5-year overall survival rate of a patient with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer is poor at approximately 14%. Similarly, historical data on liver transplantation (LT) in those with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) showed poor outcomes, with 5-year survival rates between 12% and 21%. More recently, limited data have shown improved outcomes in select patients with 5-year overall survival rates of approximately 60%. Despite these reported survival improvements, there is no significant improvement in disease-free survival. Given the uncertain benefit with this therapeutic approach and a renewed investigational interest, we aimed to conduct a contemporary systematic review on LT for CRLM. A systematic review of the literature was performed according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis statement. English articles reporting on data regarding LT for CRLM were identified through the MEDLINE (via PubMed), Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases (last search date: December 16th, 2021) by 2 researchers independently. A total of 58 studies (45 published and 13 ongoing) were included. Although early retrospective studies suggest the possibility that some carefully selected patients may benefit from LT, there is minimal prospective data on the topic and LT remains exploratory in the setting of CRLM. Additionally, several other challenges, such as the limited availability of deceased donor organs and defining appropriate selection criteria, remain when considering the implementation of LT for these patients. Further evidence from ongoing prospective trials is needed to determine if and to what extent there is a role for LT in patients with surgically unresectable CRLM.     

Investigation of white blood cell characteristics in cerebrospinal fluid samples at pediatric brain tumor diagnosis

Journal of Neuro-Oncology - The role of white blood cells (WBC) in the pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumor microenvironment is incompletely defined. We hypothesized that the WBC profile in...     

Update on management of craniopharyngiomas

Journal of Neuro-Oncology - Craniopharyngiomas are locally-aggressive tumors arising along the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Treatment is nuanced as a result of their proximity and adherence to...     

Can we increase the cervical cancer screening interval with an HPV test for women living with HIV? Results of a cohort study from Maharashtra,India

We are reporting (a) updated incidence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) among women who did not have colposcopic or histopathological disease at baseline and (b) disease outcomes among women treated for CIN and their follow-up HPV status; in a cohort of women living with HIV (WHIV). The median overall follow-up was 3.5 years (IQR 2.8-4.3). The incidence of any CIN and that of CIN 2 or worse disease was 16.7 and 7.0 per 1000 person-years of observation (PYO), respectively. Compared with women who were HPV negative at baseline, women who cleared HPV infection had 23.95 times increased risk of incident CIN 2 or worse lesions (95% CI 2.40-661.07). Women with persistent HPV infection had 138.18 times increased risk of CIN 2 or worse lesions (95% CI 20.30-3300.22). Complete disease regression was observed in 65.6% of the HPV positive women with high-grade CIN and were treated with thermal ablation but HPV persistence was seen in 44.8% of those with high-grade disease. Among those who did not have any disease at baseline and were also HPV negative, about 87% (95% CI 83.79-89.48) women remained HPV negative during consecutive HPV test/s with the median interval of 3.5 years. Long-term surveillance of WHIV treated for any CIN is necessary for the prevention of cervical cancer among them. Our study provides an early indication that the currently recommended screening interval of 3 to 5 years among WHIV may be extended to at least 5 years among HPV negative women. Increasing the screening interval can be cost saving and improve scalability among WHIV to support WHO's cervical cancer elimination initiative.     

Alternatives to remifentanil for the analgesic component of total intravenous anaesthesia: a narrative review

Propfol-remifentanil-based total intravenous anaesthesia has dominated recent clinical practice due to its favourable pharmacokinetic profile. Interruption in remifentanil supply has presented an opportunity to diversify or even avoid the use of opioids and consider adjuncts to propofol-based total intravenous anaesthesia. Propofol, while a potent hypnotic, is not an effective analgesic. The administration of opioids, along with other adjuncts such as α-2 adrenoceptor agonists, magnesium, lidocaine, ketamine and nitrous oxide provide surgical anaesthesia and avoids large doses of propofol being required. We provide an overview of both target-control and manual infusion regimes for the alternative opioids: alfentanil, sufentanil and fentanyl. The optimal combination of hypnotic-opioid dose, titration sequence and anticipated additional postoperative analgesia required depend on the chosen combination. In addition, we include a brief discussion on the role of non-opioid adjuncts in total intravenous anaesthesia, suggested doses and expected reduction in propofol dose.