Association between surgical repair of aortic aneurysms and the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysms

ObjectiveAortic aneurysms (AAs) and intracranial aneurysms (IAs) share several clinical risk factors, a genetic predisposition, and molecular signaling pathways. Nonetheless, associations between IAs and AAs remain to be thoroughly validated in large-scale studies. In addition, no effective medical therapies exist for unruptured IAs or AAs.MethodsData for this nationwide, population-based, retrospective, cohort study described herein were obtained from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. The study outcomes assessed were (1) the cumulative incidence of IAs, which was compared between AA and patients without an AA and (2) the cumulative incidence of IAs in patients with AAs during the 13-year follow-up period, which was further compared among those who underwent open surgical repair (OSR), endovascular aneurysm repair or nonsurgical treatment (NST).ResultsOur analyses included 20,280 patients with an AA and 20,280 propensity score-matched patients without an AA. Compared with the patients without an AA, patients with AA exhibited a significantly increased risk of an IA diagnosis (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 3.395; P < .001). Furthermore, 6308 patients with AAs were treated with surgical intervention and another 6308 propensity score-matched patients with AAs were not. Patients with an AA who underwent OSR had a significantly lower risk of being diagnosed with an IA than patients with an AA who underwent endovascular aneurysm repair or NST (adjusted HR, 0.491 [P < .001] and adjusted HR, 0.473 [P < .001], respectively).ConclusionsWe demonstrated an association between IAs and AAs, even after adjusting for several comorbidities. We also found that OSR was associated with fewer recognized IAs than NST.     

Patellofemoral Arthroplasty Surgical Technique: Lateral or Medial Parapatellar Approach

BackgroundPatellofemoral arthroplasty (PFA) is an emerging treatment for patients with isolated patellofemoral compartment osteoarthritis. The medial parapatellar approach is the standard arthrotomy but has been shown in total knee arthroplasty to damage the patellar blood supply and increase postoperative patellar instability. The lateral parapatellar approach is an alternative that may reduce the risk of these outcomes. The purpose of this study is to compare the radiographic measures of patellar tracking and patient-reported outcomes of the medial and lateral parapatellar approaches in PFA.MethodsBetween 2012 and 2019, a retrospective review was performed of 136 knees undergoing PFA at a single institution. Patients were separated by preoperative congruence angle and then surgical approach into 3 cohorts. Preoperative and postoperative patellar tilt and congruence angle were measured. Preoperative and minimum 6-month postoperative patient-reported outcomes scores were collected.ResultsThere were no significant differences in the mean postoperative congruence angle and postoperative patient-reported outcomes among the 3 cohorts. Mean postoperative patellar tilt was normalized only in the abnormal congruence angle/lateral approach group to 2.80° (standard error, 1.85).ConclusionCongruence angle was improved regardless of surgical approach. Patellar tilt was normalized only for the lateral approach in patients with abnormal preoperative congruence angle. There were no significant differences in preoperative and postoperative scores between groups except for preoperative 12-item Short Form Mental Health Survey scores. This study supports that the lateral approach offers improved postoperative patellar tilt compared to a medial approach for PFA while achieving similar patient-reported outcomes.     

Congenital left ventricular diverticulum repair in an adult with dual patch technique

Rupture of a congenital left ventricular diverticulum (CLVD), a rare anatomical anomaly, is a catastrophic event, with potential fatal consequences. Repair techniques documented in the literature include primary closure and single patch closure. We describe a case of a 57-year-old woman with symptomatic anterolateral CLVD. Our approach involves a linear incision through the epicardial surface of the diverticulum with exclusion of the cavity, and restoration of normal ventricular geometry via a two-patch technique.     

Surgical training for anatomical endoscopic enucleation of the prostate

Anatomical endoscopic enucleation of the prostate has been proposed as a potentially superior benign prostatic hyperplasia surgery than conventional transurethral resection of prostate. However, the learning curve of the procedure is steep, hence limiting its generalisability worldwide. In order to overcome the learning curve, a proper surgical training is extremely important. This review article discussed about various aspects of surgical training in anatomical endoscopic enucleation of the prostate. In summary, no matter what surgical technique or energy modality you use, the principle of anatomical enucleation should be followed. When one starts to perform prostate enucleation, a 50 to 80 g prostate appears to be the ‘best case’ to begin with. Mentorship is extremely important to shorten the learning curve and to prevent drastic complications from the procedure. A proficiency-based progression training programme with the use of simulation and training models should be the best way to teach and learn about prostate enucleation. Enucleation ratio efficacy is the preferred measure for assessing skill level and learning curve of prostate enucleation. Morcellation efficiency is commonly used to assess morcellation performance, but the importance of safety rather than efficiency must be emphasised.     

Development of delirium: Association with old age,severe burns,and intensive care

BackgroundDelirium is defined as a disturbance of attention and awareness that develops over a short period of time, is a change from the baseline, and typically fluctuates over time. Burn care involves a high prevalence of known risk factors for delirium such as sedation, inflammation, and prolonged stay in hospital. Our aim was to explore the extent of delirium and the impact of factors associated with it for adult patients who have been admitted to hospital with burns.MethodsIn this retrospective study, all adult patients who had been admitted with burns during a four-year period were studied, including both those who were treated with intensive care and intermediate care only (no intensive care). Daily records of the assessment of delirium using the Nursing Delirium Screening Scale (Nu-DESC) were analysed together with age, sex, the percentage of total body surface area burned, operations, and numbers of wound care procedures under anaesthesia, concentrations of plasma C-reactive protein, and other clinical variables. Logistic regression was used to analyse factors that were associated with delirium and its effect on mortality, and linear regression was used to analyse its effect on the duration of hospital stay.ResultsFifty-one patients (19%) of the total 262 showed signs of delirium (Nu-DESC score of 2 or more) at least once during their stay in hospital. Signs of delirium were recorded in 42/89 patients (47%) who received intensive care, and in 9/173 (5%) who had intermediate care. Independent factors for delirium in the multivariable regression were: age over 74 years; number of operations and wound care procedures under anaesthesia; and the provision of intensive care (area under the curve 0.940, 95% CI 0.899–0.981). Duration of hospital stay, adjusted for age and burn size, was 13.2 (95% CI 7.4–18.9, p < 0.001) days longer in the group who had delirium. We found no independent effects of delirium on mortality.ConclusionWe found a strong association between delirium and older age, provision ofr intensive care, and number of interventions under anaesthesia. A further 5% of patients who did not receive intensive care also showed signs of delirium, which is a finding that deserves to be thoroughly investigated in the future.     

精准胆道外科手术治疗胆囊癌的近远期疗效研究

目的 研究精准胆道外科手术治疗胆囊癌的近远期疗效。方法 前瞻性分析陆军特色医学中心 2014年2月至2017年2月收治的胆囊癌患者104例,采用随机数字法将其分为对照组和观察组,每组52例。对照组接受胆囊癌传统经验式外科手术,观察组接受精准胆道外科理论引导下手术。比较两组患者的手术效果、术后恢复指标、并发症发生率。术后随访3 年,比较两组患者的1 年、2 年及3 年生存率,并绘制 Kaplan-Meier生存曲线。结果 观察组较对照组淋巴结清扫数目[（23.48±7.20） vs（ 15.86±5.93）,t=16.64, P＜0.001]和阳性淋巴结数目[（9.94±3.50） vs（ 5.27±4.39）,t=7.51,P＜0.001]更高,R0切除率（76.92% vs 36.54%,χ2=16.37,P＜0.001）、胆囊癌扩大根治术率（34.62% vs 11.54%,χ2=5.13,P=0.02）及联合胰十二指肠切除术率（17.31% vs 3.85%,χ2=4.98,P=0.02）更高,术后排气时间[（1.05±0.38）d vs（ 1.93±0.46）d, t=5.39,P＜0.001]和首次下床活动时间[（2.85±1.16）d vs（ 6.26±1.92）d,t=7.88,P＜0.001]均明显更早;并发症发生率（23.08% vs 30.77%,χ2=0.78,P=0.38）无统计学差异。观察组术后1 年（61.54% vs 40.38%, χ2=4.66,P=0.03）、2年（44.23% vs 19.23%,χ2=7.50,P＜0.001）及3年（26.92% vs 7.69%,χ2=6.72,P＜0.001）生存率比对照组高,中位生存时间[（17.37±8.64）个月 vs（ 8.95±4.59）个月,t=14.96,P＜0.001]更长。结论 精准胆道外科手术有助于胆囊癌患者选取最佳术式,提高手术切除质量和R0切除率,并能有效控制手术并发症,从而延长患者术后生存期。