scholarly journals Practicability and Diagnostic Yield of One-Stop Stroke CT with Delayed-Phase Cardiac CT in Detecting Major Cardioembolic Sources of Acute Ischemic Stroke

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friederike Austein ◽  
Matthias Eden ◽  
Jakob Engel ◽  
Annett Lebenatus ◽  
Naomi Larsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diagnostic Yield ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Recurrent Stroke ◽  
Cardiac Computed Tomography ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Routine Work ◽  
One Stop ◽  
Work Up ◽  
Delayed Phase ◽  
Multimodal Ct

Abstract Purpose Recurrent stroke is considered to increase the incidence of severe disability and death. For correct risk assessment and patient management it is essential to identify the origin of stroke at an early stage. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is the initial standard of care for evaluating patients in whom a cardioembolic source of stroke (CES) is suspected but its diagnostic capability is limited. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is considered as gold standard; however, this approach is time consuming, semi-invasive and not always feasible. We hypothesized that adding a delayed-phase cardiac computed tomography (cCT) to initial multimodal CT might represent a valid alternative to routine clinical echocardiographic work-up. Material and Methods Patients with suspected acute cardioembolic stroke verified by initial multimodal CT and subsequently examined with cCT were included. The cCT was evaluated for presence of major CES and compared to routine clinical echocardiographic work-up. Results In all, 102 patients with suspected acute CES underwent cCT. Among them 60 patients underwent routine work-up with echocardiography (50 TTE and only 10 TEE). By cCT 10/60 (16.7%) major CES were detected but only 4 (6.7%) were identified by echocardiography. All CES observed by echocardiography were also detected by cCT. In 8 of 36 patients in whom echocardiography was not performed cCT also revealed a major CES. Conclusion These preliminary results show the potential diagnostic yield of delayed-phase cCT to detect major CES and therefore could accelerate decision-making to prevent recurrence stroke. To confirm these results larger studies with TEE as the reference standard and also compared to TTE would be necessary.

scholarly journals Second look Holter ECG in neurorehabilitation

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Knecht ◽  
Sebastian Petsch ◽  
Paulus Kirchhof ◽  
Bettina Studer
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Acute Phase ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Diagnostic Yield ◽  
Recurrent Stroke ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Holter Ecg ◽  
Second Look ◽  
History Of ◽  
Work Up

Abstract Background Many stroke survivors suffer recurrent stroke because paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) was missed and no preventive anticoagulation initiated. This prospective cohort study determined the added diagnostic yield of second-look 24-h electrocardiographic recording (ECG) in a population at high risk for AF: patients who suffered a stroke of such severity that they require inpatient neurorehabilitation. Methods We enrolled 508 patients with ischemic stroke admitted to post-acute inpatient neurorehabilitation and determined whether AF was detected during acute care at the referring hospital. Second-look baseline and 24-h Holter ECG were then conducted during neurorehabilitation. Primary outcome was number of newly detected AF with duration of > 30 s; secondary outcomes were number of newly detected absolute arrhythmia of 10–30 s and < 10 s duration. For comparison, we further enrolled 100 patients with hemorrhagic stroke without history of AF (age = 72 + 11 years, 51% female). Results In 206 of the 508 ischemic stroke patients, AF had been detected during acute phase work-up (age = 78 + 10 years, 55% female). For the remaining 302 ischemic stroke patients, no AF was detected during acute phase work-up (age = 74 + 9 years; 47% female). Second-look 24-h ECG showed previously missed AF of > 30 s in 20 of these patients, i.e. 6.6% of the sample, and shorter absolute arrhythmia in 50 patients (i.e. 16.5%). Conclusions Second-look 24-Hour ECG performed during post-acute inpatient neurorehabilitation has a high diagnostic yield and should become a standard component of recurrent stroke prevention.

scholarly journals The Suspected CANcer (SCAN) pathway: protocol for evaluating a new standard of care for patients with non-specific symptoms of cancer

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e018168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D Nicholson ◽  
Jason Oke ◽  
Claire Friedemann Smith ◽  
Julie-Ann Phillips ◽  
Jennifer Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Care ◽  
Cancer Survival ◽  
Diagnostic Yield ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Ct Scanning ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Cancer Symptoms ◽  
Specific Symptoms

IntroductionCancer survival in England lags behind most European countries, due partly to lower rates of early stage diagnosis. We report the protocol for the evaluation of a multidisciplinary diagnostic centre-based pathway for the investigation of ‘low-risk but not no-risk’ cancer symptoms called the Suspected CANcer (SCAN) pathway. SCAN is a new standard of care being implemented in Oxfordshire; one of a number of pathways implemented during the second wave of the Accelerate, Coordinate, Evaluate (ACE) programme, an initiative which aims to improve England’s cancer survival rates through establishing effective routes to early diagnosis.Methods and analysisTo evaluate SCAN, we are collating a prospective database of patients referred onto the pathway by their general practitioner (GP). Patients aged over 40 years, with non-specific symptoms such as weight loss or fatigue, who do not meet urgent cancer referral criteria or for whom symptom causation remains unclear after investigation via other existing pathways, can be referred to SCAN. SCAN provides rapid CT scanning, laboratory testing and clinic review within 2 weeks. We will follow all patients in the primary and secondary care record for at least 2 years. The data will be used to understand the diagnostic yield of the SCAN pathway in the short term (28 days) and the long term (2 years). Routinely collected primary and secondary care data from patients not referred to SCAN but with similar symptoms will also be used to evaluate SCAN. We will map the routes to diagnosis for patients referred to SCAN to assess cost-effectiveness. Acceptability will be evaluated using patient and GP surveys.Ethics and disseminationThe Oxford Joint Research Office Study Classification Group has judged this to be a service evaluation and so outside of research governance. The results of this project will be disseminated by peer-reviewed publication and presentation at conferences.

scholarly journals SEOM clinical guidelines for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (2020)

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 980-987 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Nadal ◽  
J. Bosch-Barrera ◽  
S. Cedrés ◽  
J. Coves ◽  
R. García-Campelo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Survival Benefit ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Asbestos Exposure ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Tumor Board ◽  
Pleural Mesothelioma ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Dismal Prognosis ◽  
Line Chemotherapy ◽  
Multidisciplinary Tumor Board

AbstractMesothelioma is a rare and aggressive tumour with dismal prognosis arising in the pleura and associated with asbestos exposure. Its incidence is on the rise worldwide. In selected patients with early-stage MPM, a maximal surgical cytoreduction in combination with additional antitumour treatment may be considered in selected patients assessed by a multidisciplinary tumor board. In patients with unresectable or advanced MPM, chemotherapy with platinum plus pemetrexed is the standard of care. Currently, no standard salvage therapy has been approved yet, but second-line chemotherapy with vinorelbine or gemcitabine is commonly used. Novel therapeutic approaches based on dual immunotherapy or chemotherapy plus immunotherapy demonstrated promising survival benefit and will probably be incorporated in the future.

Superabsorbent Wound Dressing for Management of Patients With Moderate-to-Highly Exuding Chronic Leg Ulcers: An Early Stage Model-Based Benefit–Harm Assessment

2021 ◽  
pp. 153473462110093
Author(s):  
Vladica M. Velickovic ◽  
Jean P. Lembelembe ◽  
Francisco Cegri ◽  
Ivana Binic ◽  
Amr B. Abdelaziz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Absolute Risk ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Risk Difference ◽  
Wound Dressings ◽  
Leg Ulcers ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related

The aim of the research is to assess the benefit–harm of superabsorbent polymers wound dressings based on polyacrylate polymers (SAPs) compared with standard of care (SoC) dressing mix for patients with moderate-to-highly exuding hard-to-heal leg ulcers. The SoC dressings mix was composed of other superabsorbents in 29% of cases, antimicrobials 26%, foams 20%, alginates 5%, and other dressings 19% weighted according to their frequency. We have used the decision-analytic modeling method, Markov process, as an adequate analytical solution for medical prognosis. We have combined the systematic literature search to identify the most relevant inputs for the analysis, with available patient-level clinical data concerning benefits of superabsorbent to generate a robust prediction of patient-relevant outcomes, including healing rates and health-related quality of life. Besides, we have qualitatively described adverse events associated with those treatments. Our research indicates that SAPs when compared with SoC dressing mix in a patient with moderate-to-highly excluding leg ulcers are leading to an improved healing rate with an absolute risk difference of 2.20% in 6 months and a relative risk of 1.07 in favor of SAP dressings. The attributable fraction among those exposed to SAP dressings of 6.6%, meaning that 6.6% of the healed ulcers could be attributed to having had the SAP dressing treatment instead of the SoC dressing treatment. Besides, SAP dressings lead to improved quality of life measured as incremental quality-adjusted life weeks (QALWs) of 0.13 QALWs.

scholarly journals De-Escalation of Therapy for Patients with Early-Stage Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Anus

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2099
Author(s):  
Eric Miller ◽  
Jose Bazan
Keyword(s):  
Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Radiation Therapy ◽  
Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Squamous Cell ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy ◽  
Late Toxicity ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Current Standard

The incidence of squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) is increasing, particularly in the elderly, with increased mortality in this age group. While the current standard of care for localized SCCA remains chemoradiation (CRT), completion of this treatment can be challenging with risks for severe acute and late toxicity. It remains unclear if full course CRT is required for the management of early-stage SCCA or if de-escalation of treatment is possible without compromising patient outcomes. Alternative therapies include radiation therapy alone or local excision for appropriate patients. Modifying standard CRT may also reduce toxicity including the routine use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy for treatment delivery, modification of treatment volumes, and selection and dosing of concurrent systemic therapy agents. Finally, we provide an overview of currently accruing prospective trials focused on defining the role of de-escalation of therapy in patients with early-stage SCCA.

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