Defining Textbook Outcome in liver surgery and assessment of hospital variation: A nationwide population-based study

IntroductionTextbook outcome (TO) is a composite outcome measure covering the surgical care process in a single outcome measure. TO has an advantage over single outcome parameters with low event rates, which have less discriminating impact to detect differences between hospitals. This study aimed to assess factors associated with TO, and evaluate hospital and network variation after case-mix correction in TO rates for liver surgery.MethodsThis was a population-based retrospective study of all patients who underwent liver resection for malignancy in the Netherlands in 2019 and 2020. TO was defined as absence of severe postoperative complications, mortality, prolonged length of hospital stay, and readmission, and obtaining adequate resection margins. Multivariable logistic regression was used for case-mix adjustment.Results2376 patients were included. TO was accomplished in 1380 (80%) patients with colorectal liver metastases, in 192 (76%) patients with other liver metastases, in 183 (74%) patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and 86 (51%) patients with biliary cancers. Factors associated with lower TO rates for CRLM included ASA score ≥3 (aOR 0.70, CI 0.51–0.95 p = 0.02), extrahepatic disease (aOR 0.64, CI 0.44–0.95, p = 0.02), tumour size >55 mm on preoperative imaging (aOR 0.56, CI 0.34–0.94, p = 0.02), Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥2 (aOR 0.73, CI 0.54–0.98, p = 0.04), and major liver resection (aOR 0.50, CI 0.36–0.69, p < 0.001). After case-mix correction, no significant hospital or oncological network variation was observed.ConclusionTO differs between indications for liver resection and can be used to assess between hospital and network differences.     

Functional outcomes and complications after treatment of distal radius fracture in patients sixty years and over: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

AimThis network meta-analysis aims to compare functional outcomes and complications between conservative treatment and surgery for distal radius fractures in patients aged 60 years and over.MethodsWe searched the PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of conservative treatment and surgery for distal radius fractures in patients aged 60 years and over. Primary outcomes included grip strength and overall complications. Secondary outcomes included Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) scores, Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) scores, wrist range of motion and forearm rotation, and radiographic assessment. All continuous outcomes were assessed using standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and binary outcomes were assessed using odds ratio (OR) with 95% CIs. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) was used to determine a hierarchy of treatments. Cluster analysis was performed for grouping treatments based on the SUCRA values of primary outcomes.ResultsFourteen RCTs were included to compare conservative treatment, volar lockedplate (VLP), K-wires fixation, and external-fixation. VLP outperformed conservative treatment for 1-year and minimum 2-year grip strength (SMD; 0.28 [0.07 to 0.48] and 0.27 [0.02 to 0.53], respectively). VLP yielded the optimal grip strength at 1-year and minimum 2-year follow-up (SUCRA; 89.8% and 86.7%, respectively). In a subgroup analysis of patients aged 60 to 80 years old, VLP outperformed conservative treatment in DASH and PRWE scores (SMD, 0.33 [0.10, 0.56] and 0.23 [0.01, 0.45], respectively). In addition, VLP had the fewest complications (SUCRA = 84.3%). Cluster analysis suggested that VLP and K-wire fixation were more effective treatment groups.ConclusionEvidence to date demonstrates that VLP provides measurable benefits in grip strength and fewer complications to those 60 years of age and over, and that benefit is not reflected in current practice guidelines. There is a subgroup of patients where K-wire fixation outcomes are similar to those of VLP; defining this subgroup may yield substantial societal benefits.     

Anatomic vs. reverse shoulder arthroplasty for glenohumeral osteoarthritis with intact rotator cuff: a retrospective comparison of patient-reported outcomes using the systems outcomes database with up to 5-year follow-up

BackgroundThe growing enthusiasm for the use of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) in the treatment of primary glenohumeral osteoarthritis (GHOA) with an intact rotator cuff is based on data derived from single-center studies with limited generalizability and follow-up. This study compared patient-reported outcomes (PROs) between RSA and total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) for the treatment of primary GHOA with up to 5-year follow-up and examined temporal trends in the treatment of GHOA between 2012 and 2021.MethodsA retrospective review was performed on patients with primary GHOA undergoing primary arthroplasty surgery from the Surgical Outcomes System global registry between 2012 and 2021. PROs including the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE) score, and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain were compared between RSA and TSA at 1, 2, and 5 years postoperatively.ResultsA total of 4451 patients were included, with 2693 (60.5%) undergoing TSA and 1758 (39.5%) undergoing RSA. Both RSA and TSA provided clinically excellent outcomes at 1 year postoperatively (ASES: 80.8 ± 17.9 vs. 85.9 ± 15.2, respectively; SANE: 74.8 ± 24.7 vs. 79.5 ± 22.9; VAS pain: 1.3 ± 2.0 vs. 1.1 ± 1.7; all P < .05) that were maintained at 2 years (ASES: 81.3 ± 19.3 vs. 87.3 ± 14.9; SANE: 74.8 ± 26.2 vs. 79.7 ± 24.7; VAS pain: 1.3 ± 2.1 vs. 1.0 ± 1.6; all P < .05) and 5 years (ASES: 81.7 ± 16.5 vs. 86.9 ± 15.3; SANE: 71.6 ± 28.5 vs. 78.2 ± 25.9; VAS pain: 1.0 ± 1.7 vs. 1.0 ± 1.7; all P < .05), with statistical significance favoring TSA. After controlling for age and sex, there was an adjusted difference of 4.5 units in the ASES score favoring TSA (P = .005) at 5 years postoperatively but no differences in adjusted SANE (P = .745) and VAS pain (P = .332) scores. The use of RSA for GHOA grew considerably over time, from representing only 17% of all replacements performed for GHOA in 2012 to nearly half (47%) in 2021 (P < .001).ConclusionRSA as a treatment for GHOA with an intact rotator cuff seems to yield PROs that are largely clinically equivalent to TSA extending to 5 years postoperatively. The observed statistical significance favoring TSA appears to be of marginal clinical benefit based on established minimal clinically important differences and may be a result of the large sample size. Further research using more granular clinical data and examining differences in range of motion and complications is warranted as it may change the value analysis.     

Are risk factors necessary for pretest probability assessment of coronary artery disease? A patient similarity network analysis of the PROMISE trial

BackgroundPretest probability (PTP) calculators utilize epidemiological-level findings to provide patient-level risk assessment of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). However, their limited accuracies question whether dissimilarities in risk factors necessarily result in differences in CAD. Using patient similarity network (PSN) analyses, we wished to assess the accuracy of risk factors and imaging markers to identify ≥50% luminal narrowing on coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in stable chest-pain patients.MethodsWe created four PSNs representing: patient characteristics, risk factors, non-coronary imaging markers and calcium score. We used spectral clustering to group individuals with similar risk profiles. We compared PSNs to a contemporary PTP score incorporating calcium score and risk factors to identify ≥50% luminal narrowing on CCTA in the CT-arm of the PROMISE trial. We also conducted subanalyses in different age and sex groups.ResultsIn 3556 individuals, the calcium score PSN significantly outperformed patient characteristic, risk factor, and non-coronary imaging marker PSNs (AUC: 0.81 vs. 0.57, 0.55, 0.54; respectively, p ?< ?0.001 for all). The calcium score PSN significantly outperformed the contemporary PTP score (AUC: 0.81 vs. 0.78, p ?< ?0.001), and using 0, 1–100 and ?> ?100 cut-offs provided comparable results (AUC: 0.81 vs. 0.81, p ?= ?0.06). Similar results were found in all subanalyses.ConclusionCalcium score on its own provides better individualized obstructive CAD prediction than contemporary PTP scores incorporating calcium score and risk factors. Risk factors may not be able to improve the diagnostic accuracy of calcium score to predict ≥50% luminal narrowing on CCTA.     

Treatment effect analysis of curettage for jaw cysts based on volumetric assessment and image registration

The study was conducted to develop a visual and intuitive quantitative evaluation method for maxillary cystic lesions after curettage. Mimics 16.0 and Geomagic Studio 2013 were used to form a precise reconstruction of the cystic lesion morphology of 60 cases; the average reduction rates and 95% confidence interval were calculated. Computed tomography (CT) registration was performed before and after surgery to observe morphology features of the bone regeneration of the cystic area. The average reduction rates (RR) of the cysts after curettage were (43.56 ± 16.79)%, (54.33 ± 17.15)% and (68.53 ± 15.99)% at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after surgery, respectively. The average monthly reduction rates (MRR) were (12.07 ± 4.35)%, (8.16 ± 2.84)% and (5.35 ± 1.52)% at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after surgery, respectively. Correlation analysis by comparing with each group showed that the effect of sex and age in the 3-month group and the initial size in the 12-month group on RR and MRR were statistically significant. Within the limitations of the study it seems that the chosen approach for quantitative evaluation of the therapeutic effect of curettage for jaw cystic lesions might facilitate visual and quantitative follow-up of cyst curettage and timely detection of recurrence.     

“医信融合”视域下复合型医学人才培养目标及效果评价

培养“医信融合”复合型医学人才是医学高等教育在新时代信息技术发展背景下的历史使命。在引入“医信融合”教育理念的基础上，提出“医信融合”教育的人才培养目标及其内容体系，并据此构建了“医信融合”人才培养质量评价指标，提出了培养效果评价方法。介绍“医信融合”教育人才培养效果的评价方法，对山西医科大学“医信融合”教学效果进行实证分析，从而为“医信融合”教育实践提供借鉴。     

综合评估慢性阻塞性肺疾病稳定期中医证型与疾病程度及预后的相关性

目的:运用综合评估法分析慢性阻塞性肺疾病稳定期中医证型与病情程度及预后的相关性。方法:将符合纳入标准的200例患者分为肺气虚、肺脾气虚、肺肾气虚及肺肾气阴两虚四组,观察1年前后患者肺功能、mMRC分级、CAT评分,并进行数据整理及统计分析。结果:肺肾气虚证、肺肾气阴两虚证患者较肺气虚证、肺脾气虚证患者肺功能分级重且FEV1下降更明显、出现呼吸困难症状重且程度进展快、对生活质量影响较大且影响增加更显著,但肺气虚证与肺脾气虚证、肺肾气虚证与肺肾气阴两虚证之间无明显差异。结论:慢性阻塞性肺疾病稳定期中医证型与疾病程度及预后存在相关性。