Impact of stereotactic body radiation therapy on geriatric assessment and management for older patients with head and neck cancer using G8

PurposeManagement of head and neck cancers (HNC) in older adults is a common but challenging clinical scenario. We assess the impact of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) on survival utilizing the Geriatric-8 (G8) questionnaire.Materials and methods171 HNC patients, deemed medically unfit for definitive treatment, were treated with SBRT ± systemic therapy. G8 questionnaires were collected at baseline, at 4–6 weeks, and at 2–3 months post-treatment. Patients were stratified according to their baseline G8 score: <11 as ‘vulnerable’, 11–14 as ‘intermediate’, and >14 as ‘fit’. Overall survival (OS) was assessed through univariate Kaplan Meier analysis. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine if baseline characteristics affected G8 score changes.ResultsMedian follow-up was seventeen months. 60% of patients presented with recurrent HNC, 30% with untreated HNC primaries, and 10% with metastatic non-HNC primaries. Median age was 75 years. Median Charlson Comorbidity Index score was 2. 51% of patients were ‘vulnerable’, 37% were ‘intermediate’, and 12% were ‘fit' at baseline, with median survival of 13.2, 24.3, and 41.0 months, respectively (p = .004). Patients who saw a decrease in their follow-up G8 score (n = 69) had significantly lower survival than patients who had stable or increased follow-up G8 scores (n = 102), with median survival of 8.6 vs 36.0 months (p < .001).ConclusionThe G8 questionnaire may be a useful tool in upfront treatment decision-making to predict prognosis and prevent older patients from receiving inappropriate anti-cancer treatment. Decline in follow-up G8 scores may also predict worse survival and aid in goals of care following treatment.     

Use of different combination diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis vaccines does not increase risk of 30-day infant mortality. A population-based linkage cohort study using administrative data from the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register and the National Death Index.

Objective

To determine whether differences in combination DTaP vaccine types at 2, 4 and 6?months of age were associated with mortality (all-cause or non-specific), within 30?days of vaccination.

Stress Testing Versus CT Angiography in Patients With Diabetes and Suspected Coronary Artery Disease

Background

The optimal noninvasive test (NIT) for patients with diabetes and stable symptoms of coronary artery disease (CAD) is unknown.

Cerebrovascular and neurological perspectives on adrenoceptor and calcium channel modulating pharmacotherapies

Adrenoceptor and calcium channel modulating medications are widely used in clinical practice for acute neurological and systemic conditions. It is generally assumed that the cerebrovascular effects of these drugs mirror that of their systemic effects – and this is reflected in how these medications are currently used in clinical practice. However, recent research suggests that there are distinct cerebrovascular-specific effects of these medications that are related to the unique characteristics of the cerebrovascular anatomy including the regional heterogeneity in density and distribution of adrenoceptor subtypes and calcium channels along the cerebrovasculature. In this review, we critically evaluate existing basic science and clinical research to discuss known and putative interactions between adrenoceptor and calcium channel modulating pharmacotherapies, the neurovascular unit, and cerebrovascular anatomy. In doing so, we provide a rationale for selecting vasoactive medications based on lesion location and lay a foundation for future investigations that will define neuroprotective paradigms of adrenoceptor and calcium channel modulating therapies to improve neurological outcomes in acute neurological and systemic disorders.     

The combined relations of gender,enculturation, and depressive symptoms with health risk behaviors in Mexican-Americans: a moderated mediation analysis

ABSTRACT

Objectives: The present study investigated the relationships of enculturation and depressive symptoms with health risk behavior engagement in Mexican-American college students and examined how these relationships differed by gender. Previous research has noted consistent gender differences in health risk behavior (e.g. alcohol use, substance use, and risky sexual behavior) among Latina/os, and emphasized the role of U.S. acculturation in this difference. Research examining the role of heritage cultural retention (i.e. enculturation), and including the added influence of mental health variables, such as depressive symptoms, is currently lacking. This study sought to address this gap.

Design: A large sample (N?=?677) of Mexican-American college students from four universities (located in New York, California, Florida, and Texas) completed an online questionnaire assessing health risk behaviors and corresponding variables.

Results: We found that males who endorsed more behavioral enculturation and depressive symptoms were more likely to engage in health risk behavior than all others in the sample. Contrary to previous literature, no relationship was found between behavioral enculturation and health risk behavior in females.

Conclusion: The current study found behavioral enculturation to be associated with depressive symptoms, and in turn with health risk behaviors among the males in our sample. Additional research will be needed to identify the mechanism underlying the relationship between enculturation and depressive symptoms as well as between depressive symptoms and risky behavior.     

User experiences with second-generation 32-gauge × 4 mm vs. thinner comparator pen needles: prospective randomized trial

Abstract

Objective

Two similarly designed studies compared user experiences with a second-generation extra-thin-wall, 5-bevel 32?G?×?4?mm pen needle (PN) with redesigned hub versus four thinner commercially available PNs.