Performance of risk prediction models for post-operative mortality in patients undergoing liver resection

BackgroundLiver resection is commonly performed for hepatic tumors, however preoperative risk stratification remains challenging. We evaluated the performance of contemporary prediction models for short-term mortality after liver resection in patients with and without cirrhosis.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study examined National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data. We included patients who underwent liver resections from 2014 to 2019. VOCAL-Penn, MELD, MELD-Na, ALBI, and Mayo risk scores were evaluated in terms of model discrimination and calibration for 30-day post-operative mortality.ResultsA total 15,198 patients underwent liver resection, of whom 249 (1.6%) experienced 30-day post-operative mortality. The VOCAL-Penn score had the highest discrimination (area under the ROC curve [AUC] 0.74) compared to all other models. The VOCAL-Penn score similarly outperformed other models in patients with (AUC 0.70) and without (AUC 0.74) cirrhosis.ConclusionThe VOCAL-Penn score demonstrated superior predictive performance for 30-day post-operative mortality after liver resection as compared to existing clinical standards.     

Minimally Invasive Treatments for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

PurposeTo review and to compare indirectly the outcomes of minimally invasive therapies for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia.Materials and MethodsA literature search via Medline and Cochrane Central databases was completed for randomized control studies published between January 2000 to April 2020 for the following therapies: Rezum, Urolift, Aquablation, and prostatic artery embolization (PAE). Data on the following variables were included: International prostate symptom score (IPSS), maximum urinary flow rate, quality of life, and postvoid residual (PVR). Standard mean differences between treatments were compared through a meta-analysis using transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) to assess differences in treatment effect.ResultsThere was no significant difference in outcomes between therapies for IPSS at the 3, 6, and 12-month follow ups. Although outcomes for Rezum were only available out to 3 months, there were no consistently significant differences in outcomes when comparing Aquablation versus PAE versus Rezum. TURP PVR was significantly better than Urolift at 3, 6, and 12 months. No significant differences in minor or major adverse events were noted.ConclusionAlthough significant differences in outcomes were limited, Aquablation and PAE were the most durable at 12 months. PAE has been well studied on multiple randomized control trials with minimal adverse events while Aquablation has limited high quality data and has been associated with bleeding-related complications.     

Efficacy and safety of cold snare polypectomy for sessile serrated polyps ≥ 10 mm: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundCold snare polypectomy (CSP) is a promising technique for the removal of sessile serrated polyps (SSPs) ≥ 10 mm. However, the efficacy and safety of this technique remain undetermined.AimsWe aimed to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy and safety of CSP for SSPs ≥ 10 mm.MethodsPubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were searched up to January 2021.ResultsA total of 10 studies consisting of 1727 SSPs (range, 10–40 mm) from 1021 patients were included. The overall rates of technical success, adverse events (AEs) and residual SSPs were 100%, 0.7% and 2.9%, respectively. Subgroup analysis showed that the rates of technical success and AEs were comparable between CSP and cold endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) (99.9% vs. 100% and 1.3% vs. 0.5%, respectively), between the proximal and distal colon (100% vs. 99.9% and 0.3% vs. 0, respectively), and between polyps of 10–19 mm and ≥20 mm (99.8% vs. 100% and 0.9% vs. 0, respectively). However, subgroup analysis showed that the rate of residual SSPs was slightly lower in CSP compared with cold EMR (1.3% vs. 3.9%), as well as in polyps of 10–19 mm compared with those ≥20 mm (3.1% vs. 4.7%).ConclusionCSP was an effective and safe technique for removing SSPs ≥ 10 mm.     

The role of extra-hepatic bile duct resection in the surgical management of gallbladder carcinoma. A first meta-analysis

ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the clinicopathological and prognostic value of extra-hepatic bile duct resection (EHBDR) in the surgical management of patients with gallbladder carcinoma (GBC), especially in non-jaundiced patients.MethodsPubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library were searched up to March 1^st 2021 for comparative studies between bile duct resected and non-resected groups. RevMan5.3 and Stata 13.0 software were used for the statistical analyses.ResultsEHBDR did not correlate with a better overall survival (OS) (P = 0.17) or disease-free survival (P = 0.27). No survival benefit was also observed in patients with T2N1 (P = 0.4), T3N0 (P = 0.14) disease and node-positive patients (P = 0.75), rather, EHBDR was even harmful for patients with T2N0 (P = 0.01) and node-negative disease (P = 0.02). Significantly higher incidences of recurrent disease (P = 0.0007), postoperative complications (P < 0.00001) and positive margins (P = 0.02) were detected in the bile duct-resected group. The duration of postoperative hospital stay between the two groups was comparable (P = 0.58). Selection bias was also detected in our analysis that a significantly higher proportion of advanced lesions with T3-4 or III-IV disease was observed in the bile duct-resected group (P < 0.00001). EHBDR only contributed to a greater lymph yield (P = 0.01).ConclusionEHBDR has no survival advantage for patients with GBC, especially for those with non-jaundiced disease. Considering the unfairness of comparing OS between jaundiced patients receiving EHBDR with non-jaundiced patients without EHBDR, we could only conclude that routine EHBDR in non-jaundiced patients is not recommended and future well-designed studies with more specific subgroup analyses are required for further validation.     

Abnormal liver function tests associated with severe rhabdomyolysis

Rhabdomyolysis is a syndrome of skeletal muscle injury with release of cellular constituents such as potassium,phosphate,urate and intracellular proteins such as myoglobin into the circulation,which may cause complications including acute kidney injury,electrolyte disturbance and cardiac instability.Abnormal liver function tests are frequently observed in cases of severe rhabdomyolysis.Typically,there is an increase in serum aminotransferases,namely aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase.This raises the question of liver injury and often triggers a pathway of investigation which may lead to a liver biopsy.However,muscle can also be a source of the increased aminotransferase activity.This review discusses the dilemma of finding abnormal liver function tests in the setting of muscle injury and the potential implications of such an association.It delves into some of the clinical and experimental evidence for correlating muscle injury to raised aminotransferases,and discusses pathophysiological mechanisms such as oxidative stress which may cause actual liver injury.Serum aminotransferases lack tissue specificity to allow clinicians to distinguish primary liver injury from muscle injury.This review also explores potential approaches to improve the accuracy of our diagnostic tools,so that excessive or unnecessary liver investigations can be avoided.     

VATS解剖性肺段切除术与肺叶切除术治疗Ⅰa期NSCLC患者的手术情 况及对肺功能影响的比较

目的:探讨电视胸腔镜（VATS）解剖性肺段切除术与肺叶切除术治疗Ia 期非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）患者的手术情况及对患者肺功能的影响。方法:选取我院手术治疗的Ⅰa期NSCLC患者，收集时间2014年1月至2016年12月，根据术式不同分为两组，均采用VATS手术治疗，A组（54例）患者采用解剖性肺段切除术、B组（60例）采用肺叶切除术治疗，对比两组患者的手术效果及术后肺功能变化。结果:A组患者的手术时间、清扫淋巴结数目与B组比较差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）；A组患者的手术出血量、术后胸腔引流量、术后拔管时间、术后住院时间均显著的低于B组患者（P<0.05）；术前，A组和B组患者的FEV1%、FVC%、MVV%测定值差异无统计学意义（P>0.05），术后3个月复查，A组患者的FEV1%、FVC%、MVV%测定值均显著高于B组患者（P<0.05）；手术后，A组患者的并发症发生率（7.41%）低于B组患者（13.33%），但是差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。结论:VATS解剖性肺段切除术治疗Ⅰa期NSCLC患者具有手术创伤小、术后恢复快、对患者肺功能影响更小的优势。     

Migration and Inducible Displacement of the Bicruciate-Stabilized Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Gap Balancing and Measured Resection Techniques

BackgroundThe goal of this study is to investigate the migration and inducible displacement of a bicruciate-stabilized (BCS) total knee arthroplasty implanted using gap balancing (GB) or measured resection (MR) surgical techniques. We hypothesized equal migration and displacement between the techniques.MethodsThe study is a single-blinded, prospective, randomized controlled trial, with allocation of 71 patients to either GB or MR groups. Fifteen patients were withdrawn, resulting in 31 patients in the GB group and 25 in the MR group. Patients received the JOURNEY II? BCS implant. Migration and inducible displacement were evaluated using radiostereometric analysis and patient examinations were performed at a 2-week baseline, and at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years postoperation.ResultsNo differences (P > .05) existed between GB and MR groups for any measurement of tibial or femoral migration. Both groups had tibial migrations below 0.5 mm from baseline to 6 months, and below 0.2 mm from both 6 months to 1 year and 1-2 years postoperation. No differences (P > .05) were found between GB and MR groups for inducible displacement.ConclusionNo differences were found in implant migration or inducible displacement between GB and MR groups. The BCS implant can be expected to have migration risks on par with industry standards and both surgical techniques are safe and effective options for implantation of this implant design.     

Relationship between EMG-detected and ultrasound-detected fasciculations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A prospective cohort study

ObjectivesFasciculation potentials (FP) are an important consideration in the electrophysiological diagnosis of ALS. Muscle ultrasonography (MUS) has a higher sensitivity in detecting fasciculations than electromyography (EMG), while in some cases, it is unable to detect EMG-detected fasciculations. We aimed to investigate the differences of FP between the muscles with and without MUS-detected fasciculations (MUS-fas).MethodsThirty-one consecutive patients with sporadic ALS were prospectively recruited and in those, both needle EMG and MUS were performed. Analyses of the amplitude, duration, and number of phases of EMG-detected FPs were performed for seven muscles per patient, and results were compared between the muscles with and without MUS-fas in the total cohort.ResultsThe mean amplitude and phase number of FP were significantly lower in patients with EMG-detected FP alone (0.39 ± 0.25 mV and 3.21 ± 0.88, respectively) than in those with both FP and MUS-fas (1.22 ± 0.92 mV and 3.74 ± 1.39, respectively; p < 0.0001 and p = 0.017, Welch’s t-test).ConclusionSmall FP may be undetectable with MUS. MUS cannot replace EMG in the diagnostic approach for ALS.SignificanceClinicians should use a combination of EMG and MUS for the detection and quantitative analysis of fasciculation in ALS.