Comparison of Short-Term Surgical Outcomes Between Laparoscopic and Open Total Gastrectomy for Gastric Carcinoma: Case-Control Study Using Propensity Score Matching Method

Background: Impaired healing after rotator cuff repair is a major concern, with retear rates as high as 94%. A method to predict whether patients are likely to experience poor surgical outcomes would change clinical practice. While various patient factors, such as age and tear size, have been linked to poor functional outcomes, it is currently very challenging to predict outcomes before surgery. Purpose: To evaluate gene expression differences in tissue collected during surgery between patients who ultimately went on to have good outcomes and those who experienced a retear, in an effort to determine if surgical outcomes can be predicted. Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Rotator cuff tissue was collected at the time of surgery from 140 patients. Patients were tracked for a minimum of 6 months to identify those with good or poor outcomes, using clinical functional scores and follow-up magnetic resonance imaging to confirm failure to heal or retear. Gene expression differences between 8 patients with poor outcomes and 28 patients with good outcomes were assessed using a multiplex gene expression analysis via NanoString and a custom-curated panel of 145 genes related to various stages of rotator cuff healing. Results: Although significant differences in the expression of individual genes were not observed, gene set enrichment analysis highlighted major differences in gene sets. Patients who had poor healing outcomes showed greater expression of gene sets related to extracellular matrix production ( P < .0001) and cellular biosynthetic pathways ( P < .001), while patients who had good healing outcomes showed greater expression of genes associated with the proinflammatory (M1) macrophage phenotype ( P < .05). Conclusion: These results suggest that a more proinflammatory, fibrotic environment before repair may play a role in poor healing outcome. With validation in a larger cohort, these results may ultimately lead to diagnostic methods to preoperatively predict those at risk for poor surgical outcomes.

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Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Short-Term Outcomes of Full-Term Low Birth Weight Infants Born at a Tertiary Academic Center: A Prospective Case–Control Study

American Journal of Perinatology ◽

10.1055/s-0040-1722599 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Heidi K. Al-Wassia ◽

Shahd K. Baarimah ◽

Asmaa H. Mohammedsaleh ◽

Manal O. Alsulami ◽

Ragad S. Abbas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Birth Weight ◽

Low Birth Weight ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Case Control ◽

Adverse Outcomes ◽

Chromosomal Anomalies ◽

Short Term ◽

Term Infants ◽

Control Study

Objective Low birth weight (LBW) infants (<2,500 g) continued to be a global health problem because of the associated short- and long-term adverse outcomes. The study aimed to determine the prevalence, risk factors, and short-term outcomes of term LBW infants Study Design A prospective and case–control study. All infants born consecutively from September 1, 2018 to August 31, 2019 were included. Cases, term LBW infants, were 1:1 matched to controls, appropriate for gestational age (AGA) term infants. Major congenital or chromosomal anomalies and multiple pregnancies were excluded. Results The prevalence of term LBW in the studied period was 4.8%. Mothers of term LBW infants had significantly lower body mass index (p = 0.05), gained less weight (p = 0.01), had a history of previous LBW (p = 0.01), and lower monthly income (p = 0.04) compared with mothers of term AGA infants even after adjustment for confounders. A nonsignificant higher number of term LBW infants needed NICU admission, while their need for phototherapy was deemed significant. Conclusion We identified nutritional and socioeconomic maternal factors that are significantly associated with LBW infants and should be targeted during antenatal visits to improve neonatal outcomes. Key Points

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Association of cystatin C levels with metabolic syndrome incidence: a nested case-control study with propensity score matching

Journal of International Medical Research ◽

10.1177/0300060520986311 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 030006052098631

Author(s):

Tengfei Yang ◽

Dongmei Pei

Keyword(s):

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Propensity Score ◽

Physical Examination ◽

Propensity Score Matching ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Case Control ◽

Chinese Adults ◽

Biochemical Profiles ◽

Nested Case Control ◽

Control Study

Objective Metabolic syndrome (MetS) involves multiple metabolic disorders and seriously affects human health. Identification of key biological factors associated with MetS incidence is therefore important. We explored the association between MetS and the biochemical profiles of Chinese adults in Shenyang City in a nested case-control study. Methods We included adult participants who underwent physical examination at our hospital for 2 consecutive years. Participants’ biochemical profiles and other MetS components were tested and monitored continuously. Propensity score matching was used to adjust confounding factors between participants with and without MetS. We analyzed the association between incidence of MetS and the biochemical profiles of participants. Results Of 5702 participants who underwent physical examination between 1 January 2017 and 1 December 2018, 538 had confirmed newly developed MetS. After successfully matching 436 pairs of participants, mean cystatin C (Cys-C) level was significantly higher in the MetS group than in the non-MetS group. Logistic regression analysis indicated that age (years) and γ-glutamate transpeptidase, creatinine, uric acid, and Cys-C levels were significantly associated with MetS incidence; among these, the odds ratio of Cys-C was highest (3.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.02–9.00). Conclusions Cys-C levels were significantly associated with the incidence of MetS among Chinese adults.

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