Age-Independent Clinical Outcome in Proximal Humeral Fractures: 2-Year Results Using the Example of a Precontoured Locking Plate

Introduction: The optimal treatment strategy for the proximal humeral fracture (PHF) remains controversial. The debate is centered around the correct treatment strategy in the elderly patient population. The present study investigated whether age predicts the functional outcome of locking plate osteosynthesis for this fracture entity. Methods: A consecutive series of patients with surgically treated displaced PHF between 01/2017 and 01/2018 was retrospectively analyzed. Patients were treated by locking plate osteosynthesis. The cohort was divided into two groups: Group 1 (≥65 years) and Group 2 (<65 years). At the follow-up examination, the SSV, CMS, ASES, and Oxford Shoulder Score (OS), as well as a radiological follow-up, was obtained. The quality of fracture reduction is evaluated according to Schnetzke et al. Results: Of the 95 patients, 79 were followed up (83.1%). Group 1 consists of 42 patients (age range: 65–89 years, FU: 25 months) and Group 2 of 37 patients (28–64 years, FU: 24 months). The clinical results showed no significant differences between both groups: SSV 73.4 ± 23.4% (Group 1) vs. 80.5 ± 189% (Group 2). CMS: 79.4 ± 21 vs. 81.9 ± 16, ASES: 77.2 ± 20.4 vs. 77.5 ± 23.1, OS: 39.5 ± 9.1 vs. 40.8 ± 8.2; OS: 39.5 ± 9.1 vs. 40.8 ± 8.2. In the radiological follow-up, fractures healed in all cases. Furthermore, the quality of fracture reduction in both groups is comparable without significant differences. The revision rate was 9.5% in Group 1 vs. 16.2% in Group 2. Discussion: Both age groups show comparable functional outcomes and complication rates. Thus, the locking plate osteosynthesis can be used irrespective of patient age; the treatment decision should instead be based on fracture morphology and individual patient factors.

Effect of stroke etiology on endovascular thrombectomy with or without intravenous alteplase: a subgroup analysis of DIRECT-MT

BackgroundStroke etiology might influence the clinical outcomes in patients with large vessel occlusion receiving endovascular treatment (EVT) with or without thrombolysis.ObjectiveTo examine whether stroke etiology resulted in different efficacy and safety in patients treated with EVT-alone or EVT preceded by intravenous alteplase (combined therapy).MethodsWe assessed the efficacy and safety of treatment strategy based on prespecified stroke etiology, cardioembolism (CE), large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA), and undetermined cause (UC) for patients enrolled in the DIRECT-MT trial. The primary outcome was the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at 90 days. Multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the adjusted common OR for a shift of better mRS score for EVT-alone versus combined therapy. A term was entered to test for interaction.ResultsIn this study, 656 patients were grouped into three prespecified stroke etiologic subgroups. The adjusted common ORs for improvement in the 90-day ordinal mRS score with EVT-alone were 1.2 (95% CI 0.8 to 1.8) for CE, 1.6 (95% CI 0.8 to 3.3) for LAA, and 0.8 (95% CI 0.5 to 1.3) for UC. Compared with CE, EVT-alone was more likely to result in an mRS score of 0–1 (pinteraction=0.047) and extended Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction ≥2b (pinteraction=0.041) in the LAA group. The differences in mortality and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage within 90 days were not significant between the subgroups (p＞0.05).ConclusionsThe results did not support the hypothesis that a specific treatment strategy based on stroke etiology should be used for patients with large vessel occlusion (NCT03469206).

Effective treatment of different types of polycystic ovary syndrome in adolescent girls

This review is addressing an urgent problem of diagnosis and treatment strategy of polycystic ovary syndrome in adolescent girls. We analysed data from modern literary publications on the epidemiology and classification of the disease, as well as the adaptation of general principles for the management of young female patients tailored to their age peculiarities. The effective treatment strategies for adolescent girls with PCOS depending on its type are presented. Today there are several contradictions associated with both the diagnosis and treatment of the disease in the medical community. Thus, the use of the well-known Rotterdam criteria makes it difficult to diagnose PCOS in adolescent girls, since the criteria do not take into account characteristic changes that occur during puberty. Such manifestations as acne, hirsutism, menstrual irregularities, high androgen levels and morphology of polycystic ovaries on pelvic ultrasound imaging should be assessed with due account for age, puberty, hormonal balance with an assessment of the ratio of LH (luteinizing hormone)/FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) and Free Androgen Index. There is no consensus in the medical community regarding the treatment strategy for PCOS. International communities have identified two main goals in the management of patients: normalization of menstrual function and improvement of the patients’ quality of life by preventing clinical symptoms of hyperandrogenism, and metabolic disorders of hyperplastic processes in target organs.Our analysis of objective scientific data showed that modern monophasic combined oral contraceptives (COCs) supplemented by of a folate component should be used to treat young female patients with PCOS, hyperandrogenism and psychosomatic disorders.

Optimal surgical treatment for paratesticular leiomyosarcoma: retrospective analysis of 217 reported cases

Background Paratesticular leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a rare tumor. Conventionally, tumor resection by high inguinal orchiectomy is performed as the preferred treatment approach for paratesticular sarcoma. On the other hand, testis-sparing surgery has recently attracted attention as a less-invasive treatment option for paratesticular sarcoma. However, the prognostic predictors and optimal treatment strategy for paratesticular LMS remain unclear because of its rarity. In this study, we systematically reviewed previously reported cases of paratesticular LMS to evaluate the prognostic factors and establish the optimal treatment strategy. Methods A systematic search of Medline, Web of Science, Embase, and Google was performed to find articles describing localized paratesticular LMS published between 1971 and 2020 in English. The final cohort included 217 patients in 167 articles. The starting point of this study was the time of definitive surgical treatment, and the end point was the time of local recurrence (LR), distant metastasis (DM), and disease-specific mortality. Results Patients with cutaneous LMS had a slightly better LR-free survival, DM-free survival, and disease-specific survival than those with subcutaneous LMS (p = 0.745, p = 0.033, and p = 0.126, respectively). Patients with higher grade tumors had a significantly higher risk of DM and disease-specific mortality (Grade 3 vs Grade 1 p < 0.001, and Grade 3 vs Grade 1 p < 0.001, respectively). In addition, those with a microscopic positive margin had a significantly higher risk of LR and DM than those with a negative margin (p < 0.001, and p = 0.018, respectively). Patients who underwent simple tumorectomy had a slightly higher risk of LR than those who underwent high inguinal orchiectomy (p = 0.067). Subgroup analysis of cutaneous LMS demonstrated that the difference in LR between simple tumorectomy and high inguinal orchiectomy was limited (p = 0.212). On the other hand, subgroup analysis of subcutaneous LMS revealed a significant difference in LR (p = 0.039). Conclusions Our study demonstrated that subcutaneous LMS and high-grade tumors are prognostic factors for paratesticular LMS. For subcutaneous LMS, tumorectomy with high inguinal orchiectomy should be the optimal treatment strategy to achieve a negative surgical margin.

Palliative Radiotherapy for Gastric Cancer Bleeding: A Multi-Institutional Retrospective Study.

Background: Palliative radiotherapy for gastric cancer bleeding has been reported to be a safe and effective treatment, but predictive factors for achievement of hemostasis and overall survival have not been established.Methods: In this retrospective study, 120 courses of palliative radiotherapy for gastric cancer bleeding in 117 patients in 4 institutes in Japan were reviewed with approval of the ethical committee in each institute. The rate of achieving hemostasis was evaluated by 50% or more reduction of red blood cell transfusion before and after the start of radiotherapy, elevation of blood hemoglobin concentration in a period of 4 weeks from the start of radiotherapy or improvement of subjective or objective clinical symptoms in a period of 4 weeks from the start of radiotherapy. Predictive factors for overall survival and achieving hemostasis were investigated with the Cox hazards model.Results: The median overall survival period was 3.7 months. Multivariate analysis showed that absence of metastatic disease, higher biological effective dose, higher serum albumin level, lower blood urea nitrogen level and lower neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were associated with longer overall survival. Elevation of hemoglobin concentration in a period of 4 weeks from the start of radiotherapy (mean concentration: 8.2 g/dL vs. 8.9 g/dL, p=0.006) and decrease in the amount of red cell transfusion from a 4-week period before to a 4-week period after the start of radiotherapy (mean amount: 716 mL vs. 230 mL, p<0.0001) were observed. The overall rate of achievement of hemostasis was 59.6%. In multivariate analysis, higher biological effective dose was associated with achievement of hemostasis. Grade 2 or higher acute adverse effects related to radiotherapy were observed in 17.5% of cases in 120 treatment courses. Six cases (5.0%) had grade 3 or 4 adverse effects including gastric penetration in 1 patient and anorexia requiring total parental nutrition in 3 patients. No grade 5 adverse effects were observed.Conclusions: Palliative radiotherapy for gastric cancer bleeding seems to be an effective and safe treatment strategy. Higher treatment dose was associated with longer overall survival and a hemostatic effect. Some hematological parameters may predict overall survival, and they would be helpful for deciding the treatment strategy.

Effect of Charlson Comorbidity Index and Treatment Strategy on Survival of Elderly Patients After Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Gastric Adenocarcinoma: A Multicenter Retrospective Study

Background: The optimal treatment strategy for elderly patients with early gastric adenocarcinoma (EGAC) after non-curative endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) remains unclear. The purpose of this research was to explore the effectiveness of additional treatments after ESD and the factors affecting survival in elderly patients (≥60 years of age) with EGAC.Methods: A total of 639 elderly patients (≥60 years) treated with ESD for EGAC from 2006 to 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Positive lymphatic infiltration, submucosal infiltration, and positive/indeterminate vertical resection margins are considered high risk factors in histology. According to the risk of lymph node metastasis in patients with EAGC and the treatment strategies adopted after ESD, patients were divided into three groups: there were 484 patients in group A with low risk, 121 patients in group B with high risk, without additional treatment, and 36 patients in group C with high risk, with additional treatment. The 5- and 8-year survival rate, as well as the prognostic factors of survival rate after ESD was studied.Results: The median follow-up time was 38, 40, and 49 months, respectively. There were 3, 4, and 3 deaths related to gastric adenocarcinoma in groups A, B, and C, while deaths from other diseases were 20, 5, and 3, respectively. There were significant differences in overall survival rates between groups (94.3; 86.4; 81.2%, p = 0.110), but there was no significant difference in disease-specific survival rates (98.4; 92.7; 92.4%, p = 0.016). In the multivariate analysis, the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) ≥ 2 was an independent risk factor for death after ESD (hazard ratio 2.39; 95% confidence interval 1.20–4.77; p = 0.014).Conclusions: The strategy of ESD with no subsequent additional treatment for EGAC may be a suitable option for elderly patients at high risk, especially for CCI ≥ 2.