Permanent prostate brachytherapy for Japanese men: Results from initial 100 patients with prostate cancer

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the initial results of brachytherapy for prostate cancer with permanent iodine-125 implant in Japan. METHODS: The results obtained with brachytherapy in the initial 100 Japanese patients treated at Nagano Municipal Hospital were reviewed. Patients with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of less than 10 ng/mL and a Gleason's scores of 5, 6, 3 + 4 were classified as having a low risk of recurrence. Patients with a PSA level of 10-20 ng/mL and/or a Gleason's score of 4 + 3 were classified as having an intermediate risk for recurrence. Seventy-eight of the low-risk patients and 19 of the intermediate-risk patients were treated by seed implants alone, or seed implants combined with preceding external radiation, respectively. A total of 53 patients received neoadjuvant hormone therapy. The efficacy and morbidity of brachytherapy were investigated using the serum PSA, International Prostate Symptom Score, quality of life score and uroflowmetry data. RESULTS: The average V100 and D90 obtained by post-implant dosimetry was 94.3 and 113.7%, respectively. Serum PSA decreased gradually after treatment, although it had still not reached a nadir after 1 year. There was little difference of the PSA level between the patients with and without neoadjuvant hormone therapy even at 1 year after seed implantation. There were no PSA biochemical failure or clinical recurrence during the follow-up period. Voiding symptoms worsened until 3 months after treatment, and then gradually improved. Acute urinary retention occurred transiently in one patient (1%). Rectal bleeding and severe diarrhea did not occur. CONCLUSION: Brachytherapy is a feasible and effective option for the treatment of prostate cancer in Japanese men. Brachytherapy may have a different effect in Japanese patients with respect to voiding symptoms. Urinary retention was rare, but voiding symptoms were persistent in Japanese patients. Neoadjuvant hormone therapy deserves investigation to determine whether it can achieve better results, especially in patients with an intermediate risk.     

国际泌尿病理协会前列腺癌Gleason分级系统基本特征初步分析

目的:探讨国际泌尿病理协会(ISUP)前列腺癌Gleason评分(GS)系统主要特征。方法:分析667例前列腺癌GS、主要分级(PG)、次要分级(SG)以及第3种分级(TG)均值以及所占百分率。结果:前列腺癌GS、PG、SG以及TG值分别为(7.06±1.10)、(3.53±0.66)、(3.53±0.72)分以及(4.30±0.96)分。GS 5、6、7、8、9、10分分别占0.4%(3/677)、37.2%(252/677)、34.4%(233/677)、13.7%(93/677)、12.0(81/677)以及2.2%(15/677),其中GS≤6分占37.7%(255/677),而≥7分占62.3%(422/677);GS 3+3、4+3以及3+4分别占37.2%(252/677)、19.2%(130/677)以及15.2%(103/677);出现TG的病例占10.3%(70/677),其中3级占30.0%(21/70),4级占10.0%(7/70),5级占60.0%(42/70)。结论:ISUP前列腺癌Gleason分级系统中GS较高;GS≤6分所占比例较低,而GS≥7所占比例较高;对于GS中TG的认识还需要进一步提高。     

Classifying errors in preventable and potentially preventable trauma deaths: a 9-year review using the Joint Commission's standardized methodology

Background

Benchmarking and classification of avoidable errors in trauma care are difficult as most reports classify errors using variable locally derived schemes. We sought to classify errors in a large trauma population using standardized Joint Commission taxonomy.

Methods

All preventable/potentially preventable deaths identified at an urban, level-1 trauma center (January 2002 to December 2010) were abstracted from the trauma registry. Errors deemed avoidable were classified within the 5-node (impact, type, domain, cause, and prevention) Joint Commission taxonomy.

Results

Of the 377 deaths in 11,100 trauma contacts, 106 (7.7%) were preventable/potentially preventable deaths related to 142 avoidable errors. Most common error types were in clinical performance (inaccurate diagnosis). Error domain involved primarily the emergency department (therapeutic interventions), caused mostly by knowledge deficits. Communication improvement was the most common mitigation strategy.

Conclusion

Standardized classification of errors in preventable trauma deaths most often involve clinical performance in the early phases of care and can be mitigated with universal strategies.     

Hallux rigidus: Joint preserving alternatives to arthrodesis - a review of the literature

Hallux rigidus describes the osteoarthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint. It was first mentioned in 1887. Since then a multitude of terms have been introduced referring to the same disease. The main complaints are pain especially during movement and a limited range of motion. Radiographically the typical signs of osteoarthritis can be observed starting at the dorsal portion of the joint. Numerous classifications make the comparison of the different studies difficult. If non-operative treatment fails to resolve the symptoms operative treatment is indicated. The most studied procedure with reproducible results is the arthrodesis. Nevertheless, many patients refuse this treatment option, favouring a procedure preserving motion. Different motion preserving and joint sacrificing operations such as arthroplasty are available. In this review we focus on motion and joint preserving procedures. Numerous joint preserving osteotomies have been described. Most of them try to relocate the viable plantar cartilage more dorsally, to decompress the joint and to increase dorsiflexion of the first metatarsal bone. Multiple studies are available investigating these procedures. Most of them suffer from low quality, short follow up and small patient numbers. Consequently the grade of recommendation is low. Nonetheless, joint preserving procedures are appealing because if they fail to relief the symptoms an arthrodesis or arthroplasty can still be performed thereafter.     

Classification of quality of life subscales within the ICF framework in burn research: Identifying overlaps and gaps

ObjectiveQuality of life (QOL) is one of the leading outcomes in burn care research. This study classifies subscales of common QOL measures within the International Classification of Functioning disability and health (ICF) framework to determine to which extent the measures are complementary or overlapping and to investigate whether the instruments are able to describe the full spectrum of patients’ functioning.MethodsA literature search was performed to determine the most frequently used questionnaires in burn research. The subscales of the three mostly used questionnaires were classified within the ICF framework.ResultsTwo generic measures, the Short Form-36 items (SF-36) and the European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions (EQ-5D), and a disease specific measure, the Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief (BSHS-B), were analyzed. The BSHS-B covered most domains and was the only scale that included personal factors. The SF-36 included only one domain in the activity limitations and similar to the EQ-5D no contextual factors were included. Environmental factors were not addressed in the questionnaires, even though these may have an impact on the quality of life in patients with burns.ConclusionTo capture the full spectrum of dysfunctioning a combination of the BSHS-B with a generic questionnaire seems obligatory. However still some domains of functioning remain uncovered.     

不稳定性齿突游离小骨的诊断及治疗：26例患者临床分析

目的通过临床病例分析探讨不稳定性齿突游离小骨的临床特点及后路融合手术的治疗效果。方法回顾性分析2005年5月-2012年5月本院采用手术治疗有临床症状的不稳定性齿突游离小骨患者26例。分析总结病史特点、临床表现、影像学表现及手术治疗效果。结果 26例患者中男16例,女10例。年龄36-66岁,平均43.3岁。15例既往有明确外伤史,21例患者有颈部症状,所有患者均有不同程度的神经损伤症状,术前神经功能日本骨科学会（Japanese Orthopaedic Association,JOA）评分8-15分,平均10.1分。所有患者影像学均有寰枢椎脱位表现,其中22例为可复性,有2例伴有上颈椎其他畸形。24例行后路寰枢椎融合术,2例行枕颈融合术,术中无椎动脉、脊髓损伤发生,术后平均随访26个月（12-36个月）,26例患者均达到骨性融合,无内固定松动、断裂等并发症。术后12个月,颈部症状及神经功能明显改善,JOA评分为12-17分,平均15.1分（P〈0.05）。结论不稳定性齿突游离小骨容易损伤脊髓,应尽早手术重建其稳定性,经后路融合手术安全有效。     

斜T形钢板与外固定架均结合克氏针内固定治疗桡骨远端C型骨折的疗效对比

目的比较斜T形钢板与外固定架均结合克氏针内固定治疗桡骨远端C型骨折的疗效对比分析。方法回顾性分析自2006—01—2013-06分别采用斜T形钢板内固定与外固定架结合克氏针内固定治疗桡骨远端C型骨折44例。结果所有患者获得12～18个月（平均16．5个月）的随访。术后12个月采用腕关节功能Gartland—Werley评分对术后疗效进行评估：内外固定组优良率分别为81．0％（17,21）、82．6％（19／23）,并发症发生率分别为9．52％（2／21）、13．04％（3／23）。2组比较差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。术后6个月内固定组掌倾角、尺偏角明显优于外固定组,差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。结论2种固定方式治疗桡骨远端C型骨折均可达到较为满意的临床效果,斜T形钢板内固定术后短期内影像学结果稍好,对于远期疗效而言,选用外固定架结合克氏针内固定有创伤小、恢复快、成本低、操作方便等特点。