scholarly journals Centralisation of Oesophagogastric Cancer Services: Can Specialist Units Deliver?

2006 ◽  
Vol 88 (6) ◽  
pp. 566-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Forshaw ◽  
JA Gossage ◽  
J Stephens ◽  
D Strauss ◽  
AJ Botha ◽  
...  

INTRODUCTION Oesophagogastric cancer surgery is increasingly being performed in only centralised units. The aim of the study was to examine surgical outcomes and service delivery within a specialist unit. PATIENTS AND METHODS The case notes of all patients undergoing attempted oesophagogastrectomy between January 2000 and May 2003 were identified from a prospective consultant database. RESULTS A total of 187 patients (median age, 63 years; range, 29–83 years; M:F ratio, 3.9:1) underwent attempted oesophagogastrectomy. Of these, 91% were seen within 2 weeks of referral and treatment was instituted after a mean of 31 days (range, 1–109 days). More patients underwent surgery (63%) than neoadjuvant therapy (56%) within 1 month of referral. The main indication for surgery was invasive malignancy in 166 patients (89%). The 30-day mortality was 0.5% (1 death) and in-hospital mortality was 1.1% (2 deaths). The median length of hospital stay was 14 days (range, 7–69 days). Significant postoperative morbidity included: pulmonary complications (36%), cardiovascular complications (16%), wound infection (13%) and clinically significant anastomotic leaks (7%). Of the study group, 28 patients (15%) were admitted to ICU with a median stay of 10 days (range, 1–44 days); this accounted for 0.9% of ICU bed availability. Twelve patients (6.4%) were returned to theatre, most commonly for bleeding. The 1-year survival rates were 78%. During 2002–2003, national waiting list targets for both hernia repair and cholecystectomy were achieved. CONCLUSIONS Despite recent increases in workload, high volume specialist units can deliver an efficient and timely service with both good treatment outcomes and minimal impact upon elective surgical waiting lists and ICU provision.

Author(s):  
V. M. Timerbulatov ◽  
Sh. V. Timerbulatov ◽  
R. M. Garipov ◽  
A. M. Sargsyan

Aim. To determine the ways to reduce postoperative morbidity and mortality in acute cholecystitis. Material and metods. Retrospective (2013–2014 years) and prospective non-randomized (2015–2016) analysis of outcomes in 804 patients with acute cholecystitis was performed. Analysis was carried out within two periods – before and after acceptance of national clinical recommendations “Acute cholecystitis” (2015). Protocols of diagnosis and treatment developed by our clinic were applied in the first period (2013–2014). 220 patients (group I) underwent surgery in the first period, 290 (group II) – in the second period. Results. There was significantly reduced incidence of conversions for laparoscopic and minimally invasive cholecystectomy from 4.09% to 2.41% (p < 0.05) (OR – 1.724; 95% CI 0.632–4.705). Incidence of extrahepatic bile ducts lesion, postoperative thrombotic, thromboembolic complications, cardiovascular complications (including myocardial infarction) were similar in both groups (p > 0.05) (for cardiovascular complications OR – 0.758, 95% CI 0.047–12.183). There was reduced length of hospital-stay from 11.5 ± 0.8 to 9 ± 0.5 days (p < 0.05). Slight augmentation of postoperative mortality in the second period (from 0.45% to 1.37%) was observed (p < 0.05) (OR – 3.063, 95% CI 0.340–27.599). Conclusion. Reduced number of conversions was predominantly caused by cholecystectomy in patients with milder gallbladder inflammation. It is explained by earlier surgery (within 24–48 h) when severe infiltration of surrounding tissues is absent. Preoperative prolonged medication (3–5 days) aggravates these processes, creates significant intraoperative technical difficulties and increases incidence of conversions.


1994 ◽  
Vol 33 (05) ◽  
pp. 206-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Triller ◽  
H. U. Baer ◽  
Livia Geiger ◽  
H. F. Beer ◽  
C. Becker ◽  
...  

SummaryTwenty patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were followed up to 5 years after transarterial radiotherapy with 90Y-resin particles. Diagnostic radioembolizations of 99mTc-macroaggregates facilitated scintigraphic assessment of activity distribution, dose evaluation and final procedural verification. The overall survival rates were 56, 38 and 14% (after 1, 2 and 3 years, resp.). Patients with unifocal HCC and a single feeding artery (n = 7) even presented 83, 67 and 40% (2 alive after 2.75 and 4 years). With multiple arteries (n = 7), the longest survival was 26 months. Patients with multifocal HCC survived up to 33 months after selective radioembolization. Quality of life was improved in all. Survival was positively correlated with absorbed dose but residual/recurrent tumour occurred even after ≥300 Gy. Post-treatment symptoms were minimal (35 applications), pulmonary shunt rates were correctly predicted and pulmonary complications avoided.


Neonatology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Matthias Fröhlich ◽  
Tatjana Tissen-Diabaté ◽  
Christoph Bührer ◽  
Stephanie Roll

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> In very low birth weight (&#x3c;1,500 g, VLBW) infants, morbidity and mortality have decreased substantially during the past decades, and both are known to be lower in girls than in boys. In this study, we assessed sex-specific changes over time in length of hospital stay (LOHS) and postmenstrual age at discharge (PAD), in addition to survival in VLBW infants. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This is a single-center retrospective cohort analysis based on quality assurance data of VLBW infants born from 1978 to 2018. Estimation of sex-specific LOHS over time was based on infants discharged home from neonatal care or deceased. Estimation of sex-specific PAD over time was based on infants discharged home exclusively. Analysis of in-hospital survival was performed for all VLBW infants. <b><i>Results:</i></b> In 4,336 of 4,499 VLBW infants admitted from 1978 to 2018 with complete data (96.4%), survival rates improved between 1978–1982 and 1993–1997 (70.8 vs. 88.3%; hazard ratio (HR) 0.20, 95% confidence interval 0.14, 0.30) and remained stable thereafter. Boys had consistently higher mortality rates than girls (15 vs. 12%, HR 1.23 [1.05, 1.45]). Nonsurviving boys died later compared to nonsurviving girls (adjusted mean survival time 23.0 [18.0, 27.9] vs. 20.7 [15.0, 26.3] days). LOHS and PAD assessed in 3,166 survivors displayed a continuous decrease over time (1978–1982 vs. 2013–2018: LOHS days 82.9 [79.3, 86.5] vs. 60.3 [58.4, 62.1] days); PAD 40.4 (39.9, 40.9) vs. 37.4 [37.1, 37.6] weeks). Girls had shorter LOHS than boys (69.4 [68.0, 70.8] vs. 73.0 [71.6, 74.4] days) and were discharged with lower PAD (38.6 [38.4, 38.8] vs. 39.2 [39.0, 39.4] weeks). <b><i>Discussion/Conclusions:</i></b> LOHS and PAD decreased over the last 40 years, while survival rates improved. Male sex was associated with longer LOHS, higher PAD, and higher mortality rates.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Mohit Kumar ◽  
Chellappagounder Thangavel ◽  
Richard C. Becker ◽  
Sakthivel Sadayappan

Immunotherapy is one of the most effective therapeutic options for cancer patients. Five specific classes of immunotherapies, which includes cell-based chimeric antigenic receptor T-cells, checkpoint inhibitors, cancer vaccines, antibody-based targeted therapies, and oncolytic viruses. Immunotherapies can improve survival rates among cancer patients. At the same time, however, they can cause inflammation and promote adverse cardiac immune modulation and cardiac failure among some cancer patients as late as five to ten years following immunotherapy. In this review, we discuss cardiotoxicity associated with immunotherapy. We also propose using human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes/ cardiac-stromal progenitor cells and cardiac organoid cultures as innovative experimental model systems to (1) mimic clinical treatment, resulting in reproducible data, and (2) promote the identification of immunotherapy-induced biomarkers of both early and late cardiotoxicity. Finally, we introduce the integration of omics-derived high-volume data and cardiac biology as a pathway toward the discovery of new and efficient non-toxic immunotherapy.


Author(s):  
Riccardo Casadei ◽  
Carlo Ingaldi ◽  
Claudio Ricci ◽  
Laura Alberici ◽  
Emilio De Raffele ◽  
...  

AbstractThe laparoscopic approach is considered as standard practice in patients with body-tail pancreatic neoplasms. However, only a few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and propensity score matching (PSM) studies have been performed. Thus, additional studies are needed to obtain more robust evidence. This is a single-centre propensity score-matched study including patients who underwent laparoscopic (LDP) and open distal pancreatectomy (ODP) with splenectomy for pancreatic neoplasms. Demographic, intra, postoperative and oncological data were collected. The primary endpoint was the length of hospital stay. The secondary endpoints included the assessment of the operative findings, postoperative outcomes, oncological outcomes (only in the subset of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma-PDAC) and total costs. In total, 205 patients were analysed: 105 (51.2%) undergoing an open approach and 100 (48.8%) a laparoscopic approach. After PSM, two well-balanced groups of 75 patients were analysed and showed a shorter length of hospital stay (P = 0.001), a lower blood loss (P = 0.032), a reduced rate of postoperative morbidity (P < 0.001) and decreased total costs (P = 0.050) after LDP with respect to ODP. Regarding the subset of patients with PDAC, 22 patients were analysed: they showed a significant shorter length of hospital stay (P = 0.050) and a reduction in postoperative morbidity (P < 0.001) after LDP with respect to ODP. Oncological outcomes were similar. LDP showed lower hospital stay and postoperative morbidity rate than ODP both in the entire population and in patients affected by PDAC. Total costs were reduced only in the entire population. Oncological outcomes were comparable in PDAC patients.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e043844
Author(s):  
Natalia Araujo ◽  
Samantha Morais ◽  
Ana Rute Costa ◽  
Raquel Braga ◽  
Ana Filipa Carneiro ◽  
...  

IntroductionProstate cancer is the most prevalent oncological disease among men in industrialised countries. Despite the high survival rates, treatments are often associated with adverse effects, including metabolic and cardiovascular complications, sexual dysfunction and, to a lesser extent, cognitive decline. This study was primarily designed to evaluate the trajectories of cognitive performance in patients with prostate cancer, and to quantify the impact of the disease and its treatments on the occurrence of cognitive decline.MethodsParticipants will be recruited from two main hospitals providing care to approximately half of the patients with prostate cancer in Northern Portugal (Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Porto and São João Hospital Centre), and will comprise a cohort of recently diagnosed patients with prostate cancer proposed for different treatment plans, including: (1) radical prostatectomy; (2) brachytherapy and/or radiotherapy; (3) radiotherapy in combination with androgen deprivation therapy and (4) androgen deprivation therapy (with or without chemotherapy). Recruitment began in February 2018 and is expected to continue until the first semester of 2021. Follow-up evaluations will be conducted at 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 years. Sociodemographic, behavioural and clinical characteristics, anxiety and depression, health literacy, health status, quality of life, and sleep quality will be assessed. Blood pressure and anthropometrics will be measured, and a fasting blood sample will be collected. Participants’ cognitive performance will be evaluated before treatments and throughout follow-up (Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Cube Test as well as Brain on Track for remote monitoring). All participants suspected of cognitive impairment will undergo neuropsychological tests and clinical observation by a neurologist.Ethics and disseminationThe study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the hospitals involved. All participants will provide written informed consent, and study procedures will be developed to ensure data protection and confidentiality. Results will be disseminated through publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentation in scientific meetings.


Author(s):  
Gregorio Di Franco ◽  
Andrea Peri ◽  
Valentina Lorenzoni ◽  
Matteo Palmeri ◽  
Niccolò Furbetta ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Few studies have reported a structured cost analysis of robotic distal pancreatectomy (RDP), and none have compared the relative costs between the robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) and the direct manual laparoscopy (DML) in this setting. The aim of the present study is to address this issue by comparing surgical outcomes and costs of RDP and laparoscopic distal pancreatectomies (LDP). Methods Eighty-eight RDP and 47 LDP performed between January 2008 and January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Three comparable groups of 35 patients each (Si-RDP-group, Xi-RDP group, LDP-group) were obtained matching 1:1 the RDP-groups with the LDP-group. Overall costs, including overall variable costs (OVC) and fixed costs were compared using generalized linear regression model adjusting for covariates. Results The conversion rate was significantly lower in the Si-RDP-group and Xi-RDP-group: 2.9% and 0%, respectively, versus 14.3% in the LDP-group (p = 0.045). Although not statistically significant, the mean operative time was lower in Xi-RDP-group: 226 min versus 262 min for Si-RDP-group and 247 min for LDP-group. The overall post-operative complications rate and the length of hospital stay (LOS) were not significantly different between the three groups. In LDP-group, the LOS of converted cases was significantly longer: 15.6 versus 9.8 days (p = 0.039). Overall costs of LDP-group were significantly lower than RDP-groups, (p < 0.001). At multivariate analysis OVC resulted no longer statistically significantly different between LDP-group and Xi-RDP-group (p = 0.099), and between LDP-group and the RDP-groups when the spleen preservation was indicated (p = 0.115 and p = 0.261 for Si-RDP-group and Xi-RDP-group, respectively). Conclusions RAS is more expensive than DML for DP because of higher acquisition and maintenance costs. The flattening of these differences considering only the variable costs, in a high-volume multidisciplinary center for RAS, suggests a possible optimization of the costs in this setting. RAS might be particularly indicated for minimally invasive DP when the spleen preservation is scheduled.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1781
Author(s):  
Emanuele Rinninella ◽  
Alberto Biondi ◽  
Marco Cintoni ◽  
Pauline Raoul ◽  
Francesca Scialanga ◽  
...  

Background: A poor body composition, often found in elderly patients, negatively impacts perioperative outcomes. We evaluated the effect of a perioperative nutritional protocol (NutriCatt) on body composition and clinical outcomes in a cohort of elderly patients undergoing colorectal surgery in a high-volume center adopting the ERAS program. Methods: 302 out of 332 elderly (>75 years) patients from 2015 to 2020 were identified. Patients were divided according to their adherence, into “NutriCatt + ERAS” (n = 166) or “standard ERAS” patients (n = 136). Anthropometric and bioelectrical impedance analysis data were evaluated for NutriCatt + ERAS patients. Complications, length of hospital stay (LOS), and other postoperative outcomes were compared between both groups. Results: In NutriCatt + ERAS patients, significant improvements of phase angle (pre-admission vs. admission 4.61 ± 0.79 vs. 4.84 ± 0.85; p = 0.001; pre-admission vs. discharge 4.61 ± 0.79 vs. 5.85 ± 0.73; p = 0.0002) and body cell mass (pre-admission vs. admission 22.4 ± 5.6 vs. 23.2 ± 5.7; p = 0.03; pre-admission vs. discharge 22.4 ± 5.6 vs. 23.1 ± 5.8; p = 0.02) were shown. NutriCatt + ERAS patients reported reduced LOS (p = 0.03) and severe complications (p = 0.03) compared to standard ERAS patients. A regression analysis confirmed the protective effect of the NutriCatt protocol on severe complications (OR 0.10, 95% CI 0.01–0.56; p = 0.009). Conclusions: The NutriCatt protocol improves clinical outcomes in elderly patients and should be recommended in ERAS colorectal surgery.


2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Serafim ◽  
Clara Santos ◽  
Marina Orlandini ◽  
Letícia Datrino ◽  
Guilherme Tavares ◽  
...  

Abstract   Esophagectomy has high morbidity and mortality, mainly due to pulmonary complications. Consequently, ventilatory support is a cornerstone in postoperative management. However, there is still no consensus on the timing for extubation. There is a fear that untimely extubation would lead to a high risk for an urgent reintubation. On the other hand, there is a risk for pulmonary damage in prolonged intubation. Thus, the present study aimed to compare early and late extubation after esophagectomy. Methods A systematic review was carried out on PubMed, Lilacs, Cochrane Library Central, and Embase, comparing early and late extubation after esophagectomy. The primary outcome was reintubation. Secondary outcomes included mortality; complications; pulmonary complications; pneumonia; anastomotic fistula; length of hospital stay; and ICU length of stay. The inclusion criteria were: a) clinical trials and cohort studies; b) adult patients (&gt; 18 years); and c) patients with esophageal cancer undergoing esophagectomy. The results were summarized by risk difference and mean difference. 95% confidence interval and random model were applied. Results Four articles were selected, comprising 490 patients. Early extubation did not increase the risk for reintubation, with a risk difference of 0.01 (95%CI -0.03; 0.04). Also, there was no difference for mortality −0.01 (95%CI -0.04; 0.03); complications −0.09 (95%CI -0.22; 0.05); pulmonary complications −0.05 (95%CI -0.13; 0.03); pneumonia −0.06 (95% CI-0.18; 0.05); anastomotic fistula −0.01 (95% CI -0.09; 0.08). In addition, there was no significant mean difference for: length of hospital stay −0.10 (95%CI -0.38; 0.1); and ICU length of stay 0.00 (95%CI -0.22; 0.22). Conclusion Early extubation after esophagectomy does not increase the risk for reintubation, mortality, complications, and lenght of stay.


2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-38
Author(s):  
Dejan Stojakov ◽  
Predrag Sabljak ◽  
Bratislav Spica ◽  
Dejan Velickovic ◽  
Vladimir Sljukic ◽  
...  

Esophageal resection with reconstruction is complex surgical procedure with high rate of postoperative morbidity, with decreasing mortality rate during last decades, particularly in high-volume hospitals. Numerous preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative factors have contribute to incidence and type of complications. Intraoperative haemorrhage and tracheobronchial lesions could be avoid by good surgical judgement and operative technique. Pulmonary complications are often, with multifactorial etiology, and they are the main cause of postoperative mortality after esophagectomy. Dehiscence of esophageal anastomosis could be fatal, and only high index of suspicion and early diagnosis lead to successful treatment. In majority of such cases conservative measures are successful, however, conduit necrosis is indication for surgical reoperation. Vocal cord palsy due to intraoperative injury of recurrent laryngeal nerves is not rare and increases pulmonary complications rate. New onset of arrhythmia could be associate with other surgical complications. Postesophagectomy chylothorax is life-threatening complication due to rapid development of immunosuppression and septic complications, and early ligation of thoracic duct is often mandatory. Intrathoracic herniation of intrabdominal viscera is rare, and ischemic spinal cord lesions are very rare after esophagectomy. Majority of perioperative complications could be prevented or solved, decreasing mortality rate of esophagectomy.


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