Background: Although laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) has been increasingly popular worldwide, there is lack of predictive model to evaluate the feasibility and safety of LLR. The aim of this study was to establish a scoring system for predicting the possibility of conversion and complication, which could facilitate the patient selection for clinicians and communication with patients and their relatives during the informed consent process. Methods: Consecutively 696 patients between August 1998 and December 2016 underwent LLR were recruited. The entire cohort was divided randomly into development and validation cohorts. The scoring system for conversion and complication were established according to risk factors identified from multiple logistic analysis. Subgroup analysis was performed to assess the clinical application. And the C-index and decision curve analysis (DCA) were conducted to evaluate the discrimination in comparison with other predictive models. Results: Six hundred and ninety-six patients were enrolled eventually. The rate of conversion in the development and validation cohorts was 8.3% and 10.3%, respectively. Compared with 12.6% complication rate in the development cohort, 12.9% was concluded in the validation cohort. Upon on the identified risk factors, the risk stratification model was established and validated. Subsequent subgroup analysis indicated low risk patients presented superior surgical outcomes compared with high risk patients. Besides, the C-index and DCA implied our models had better capacities of predicting conversion and complication in comparison with previous scoring systems. Conclusions: This novel scoring system presents the remarkable capacities of predicting conversion, complication in LLR. And thereby, it could be a useful instrument to facilitate the patient selection for clinicians and communication with patients and their relatives during the informed consent process.
Oral anticoagulants are the cornerstone of stroke prevention in high-risk patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Geriatric elements, such as cognitive impairment and frailty, commonly occur in these patients and are often cited as reasons for not prescribing oral anticoagulants. We sought to systematically assess geriatric impairments in patients with AF and determine whether they were associated with oral anticoagulant prescribing.Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the ongoing Systematic Assessment of Geriatric Elements in Atrial Fibrillation (SAGE-AF) prospective cohort study.Multicenter study with site locations in Massachusetts and Georgia that recruited participants from cardiology, electrophysiology, and primary care clinics from 2016 to 2018.Participants with AF age 65 years or older, CHA2 DS2 -VASc (congestive heart failure; hypertension; aged ≥75 y [doubled]; diabetes mellitus; prior stroke, transient ischemic attack, or thromboembolism [doubled]; vascular disease; age 65-74; female sex) score of 2 or higher, and no oral anticoagulant contraindications (n = 1244).A six-component geriatric assessment included validated measures of frailty, cognitive function, social support, depressive symptoms, vision, and hearing. Oral anticoagulant use was abstracted from the medical record.A total of 1244 participants (mean age = 76 y; 49% female; 85% white) were enrolled; 42% were cognitively impaired, 14% frail, 53% pre-frail, 12% socially isolated, and 29% had depressive symptoms. Oral anticoagulants were prescribed to 86% of the cohort. Oral anticoagulant prescribing did not vary according to any of the geriatric elements (adjusted odds ratios [ORs] for oral anticoagulant prescribing and cognitive impairment: OR = .75; 95% confidence interval [CI] = .51-1.09; frail OR = .69; 95% CI = .35-1.36; social isolation OR = .90; 95% CI = .52-1.54; depression OR = .79; 95% CI = .49-1.27; visual impairment OR = .98; 95% CI = .65-1.48; and hearing impairment OR = 1.05; 95% CI = .71-1.54).Geriatric impairments, particularly cognitive impairment and frailty, were common in our cohort, but treatment with oral anticoagulants did not differ by impairment status. These geriatric impairments are commonly cited as reasons for not prescribing oral anticoagulants, suggesting that prescribers may either be unaware or deliberately ignoring the presence of these factors in clinical settings. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:147-154, 2019.
Endurance and frequent exercise are associated with earlier onset of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) and ventricular arrhythmias (VA) in desmosomal gene variant carriers. Individuals with the pathogenic c.40_42del; p.(Arg14del) variant in the PLN gene are frequently diagnosed with ARVC or dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of exercise in PLN p.(Arg14del) carriers.In total, 207 adult PLN p.(Arg14del) carriers (39.1% male; mean age 53 ± 15 years) were interviewed on their regular physical activity since the age of 10 years. The association of exercise with diagnosis of ARVC, DCM, sustained VA and hospitalisation for heart failure (HF) was studied.Individuals participated in regular physical activities with a median of 1661 metabolic equivalent of task (MET) hours per year (31.9 MET-hours per week) until clinical presentation. The 50% most and least active individuals had a similar frequency of sustained VA (18.3% vs 18.4%; p = 0.974) and hospitalisation for HF (9.6% vs 8.7%; p = 0.827). There was no relationship between exercise and survival free from (incident) sustained VA (p = 0.65), hospitalisation for HF (p = 0.81), diagnosis of ARVC (p = 0.67) or DCM (p = 0.39) during follow-up. In multivariate analyses, exercise was not associated with sustained VA or HF hospitalisation during follow-up in this relatively not-active cohort.There was no association between the amount of exercise and the susceptibility to develop ARVC, DCM, VA or HF in PLN p.(Arg14del) carriers. This suggested unaffected PLN p.(Arg14del) carriers can safely perform mild-moderate exercise, in contrast to desmosomal variant carriers and ARVC patients.
Abstract BACKGROUND AND AIMS Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common form of primary glomerulonephritis worldwide, with an estimated annual incidence of 25 per million. Patients with persistent proteinuria ≥ 1 g/day are at increased risk of disease progression, with 30% or more progressing to kidney failure within 10 years. Hematuria and proteinuria are among the most common clinical manifestations of IgAN. The aim of this analysis was to better understand the clinical characteristics of IgAN patients from Europe, Asia and the USA, at the time of diagnosis. METHOD A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from the Adelphi IgAN Disease Specific Programme (DSP), a cross-sectional survey of IgAN-treating nephrologists in EU4 (France, Germany, Italy, UK), USA, China and Japan between June and October 2021. Nephrologists completed structured forms administered via online links for successive patients presenting with IgAN in their practice. The forms included demographic and clinical information including signs, symptoms and lab values amongst others. RESULTS A total of 269 nephrologists completed records for 1685 patients in this survey. Mean patient age was 43.3 years, and most were male (58%). The diagnosis was confirmed by biopsy in 86% of the patients. The mean eGFR at diagnosis ranged from 58.1 (median 55.5) in the USA to 78.3 (median 79.0) mL/min/1.73 m2, in China and Japan. Mean proteinuria ranged from 2.7 (median 2.0) in the USA to 3.4 (median 2.1) g/day in EU4 (Table 1). The main clinical signs at diagnosis were proteinuria (75%) and visible hematuria (63%). Edema and fatigue were reported in 38% and 27% of patients; 10% and 9% of patients reported appetite loss and sleep problems. A sizable proportion of patients (31%) also experienced pain in various parts of the body. CONCLUSION This comprehensive study of IgAN patients across varied geographies presents evidence that patients experience substantial symptomatic and clinical burden at diagnosis, irrespective of the region. The relatively high levels of proteinuria and low eGFR levels, especially in the USA, suggest that the disease is often severe and advanced by the time of diagnosis. Facilitating early diagnosis of IgAN—perhaps through better recognition of clinical signs and symptoms—could be beneficial in optimizing early treatment and preventing disease progression.
To find the potential interference factors for the detection of NT-proBNP and BNP in patients with chronic heart failure.EP15-A2 issued by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) was employed to compare the precision and accuracy of commercial NT-proBNP and BNP analyzer electrochemiluminescence immunoassay system Cobas E601 and chemiluminescence system ADVIA Centaur. Moreover, NT-proBNP and BNP were detected in different time interval and in different interfered sampling conditions (haematolysis, choloplania, lipemia). NT-proBNP and BNP of 203 patients with heart failure or heart failure complicated with acute cerebral infarction were analyzed to find the deviation caused by patients' endogenous factors.The precision and accuracy were comparable for NT-proBNP and BNP detection using Cobas E601 and ADVIA Centaur (total-CV below 2.9% and 3.5%, the deviation from definite value below 2.38% and 3.91%). The most suitable sample type for NT-proBNP and BNP detection was serum and EDTA-anticoagulant plasma. The detection results of NT-proBNP and BNP were comparable for at least 120 min post sampling and not affected by Hb (2 g/L), DB (428 µmol/L) and chyle (2000 FIU). NT-proBNP was significantly higher in heart failure patients complicated with cerebral infarction (P = 0.003) than in heart failure patients. BNP was significantly higher in heart failure grade III patients complicated with cerebral infarction (P < 0.01).Cobas E601 and ADVIA Centaur supplied satisfactory detection of NT-proBNP and BNP in patients with chronic heart failure with strong anti-interference capacity. The diagnostic value of NT-proBNP and BNP for chronic heart failure should be analyzed objectively in the presence of complicating diseases.
Objective: This study aimed at to raise the awareness understanding of primary pulmonary lymphoma (PPL) by analyzing the clinical manifestation, imaging, pathology, diagnosis, treatment, and prognostic features of 50 cases of PPL. Methods: The study of 50 individuals with PPL diagnosed at the First affiliated hospital of Nanchang university between January 2009 and December 2019 was performed. Results: Overall, 27 males and 23 females were enrolled, with an average age of 57.6 ± 15.6 years. The primary symptoms included, cough (n = 37), expectoration (n = 25), sputum with blood (n = 12), and chest pain (n = 12). Two individuals had Hodgkin's lymphoma and 48 patients had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). We divided the NHL cases into mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (MALT) (n = 21), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (n = 12), small lymphocytic lymphoma (n = 2), mantle B-cell lymphoma (n = 2), follicular lymphoma (n = 1), B-cell lymphoma without further classification (n = 8), and T-cell lymphoma (n = 2). The imaging findings revealed that unilateral lung involvement was more common among the patients. The longest follow-up duration up to December 2019 was 123 months with 40 surviving patients. The 5-year overall survival and progression-free survival were 46.7% and 44.4%, respectively. Age was an independent predictive factor for the 5-year survival (hazard ratio, 8.900; P = .038), (P < .05). Conclusion: PPL is a uncommon disease with atypical clinical manifestations and is often misdiagnosed. Immunohistochemistry is currently the standard used in pathologic evaluation of PPL. MALT prognosis is better in contrast with other kinds of PPL. Surgery or radiotherapy can be considered in patients with limited lesions, and chemotherapy is the first treatment option for diffuse lesions. Age of ≥ 60 years was reported as an independent adverse predictive factor.
Abstract Background: Development of a deep learning method to identify Barrett's esophagus (BE) scopes in endoscopic images. Methods: 443 endoscopic images from 187 patients of BE were included in this study. The gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) and squamous-columnar junction (SCJ) of BE were manually annotated in endoscopic images by experts. Fully convolutional neural networks (FCN) were developed to automatically identify the BE scopes in endoscopic images. The networks were trained and evaluated in two separate image sets. The performance of segmentation was evaluated by intersection over union (IOU). Results: The deep learning method was proved to be satisfying in the automated identification of BE in endoscopic images. The values of the IOU were 0.56 (GEJ) and 0.82 (SCJ), respectively. Conclusions: Deep learning algorithm is promising with accuracies of concordance with manual human assessment in segmentation of the BE scope in endoscopic images. This automated recognition method helps clinicians to locate and recognize the scopes of BE in endoscopic examinations.
Background: Current guidelines encourage adults with atrial fibrillation (AF) to engage in regular physical activity. However, little is known about the association between meeting the recommended level of regular physical activity and clinical outcomes among older adults with AF. Objective: To examine the association between meeting the recommended level of physical activity and clinical outcomes including mortality, stroke, and major bleeding. Methods: We used data collected from the Systemic Assessment of Geriatrics Elements (SAGE)-AF study which include patients with AF (≥65 years) and a CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score ≥2. Participants were recruited from several clinics in Massachusetts and Georgia. We used the Minnesota Leisure Time Physical Activity questionnaire to examine if participants met the recommended level of physical activity (i.e. at least 500 metabolic equivalent task (MET)-minutes per week). A multivariable cox regression model was used to examine the association between meeting the recommended level of physical activity and our clinical outcomes while controlling for several potentially confounding variables. Results: A total of 1,244 participants (average age 75 years; 49% male; 85 % non-Hispanic White) were included in this study. Nearly one-half of participants engaged in regular physical activity. Meeting the recommended level of physical activity was associated with improved survival (adjusted HR (aHR) = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.38-0.96). However, engaging in regular physical activity was not significantly associated with reduced risk of stroke or major bleeding ( aHR = 1.37, 95% CI = 0.51-3.69; aHR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.56-1.33, respectively ), although we may have lacked power for these associations, therefore, these results should be interpreted with caution. Conclusions: Meeting the recommended level of physical activity among older adults with AF significantly reduces the risk of mortality. Clinicians and health care providers should promote and encourage engagement in physical activity and tailor interventions to address barriers of engagement to improve patient survival.
Background: The evidence on the association between resting heart rate and incident atrial fibrillation (AF) is conflicting. Whether temporal change in resting heart rate is associated with incident AF is unknown. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that high baseline resting heart rate and temporal increase in heart rate are associated with incident AF. Methods: We evaluated 11,545 participants (age: 57 ± 5.7 years) free of AF at baseline (1990-1992) and not taking medications affecting heart rate. Resting heart rates were obtained from 10-second ECGs at baseline and 3 years later. AF was diagnosed by visit ECGs, discharge records, and death certificates through 2013. High and low resting heart rates were defined as ≥ 80 and 15 and Results: After a mean of 22.5-years of follow-up, 1746 (15%) participants developed AF. After adjusting for traditional AF risk factors, baseline high resting heart rate, compared to normal, was associated with incident AF (hazard ratio [HR]=1.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0-1.5). Temporal increase in heart rate, compared to stable heart rate, was also associated with incident AF (HR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1-1.9). However, this association disappeared after further adjustment for incident heart failure. Compared to their counterparts, increase in heart rate was only associated with incident AF in participants Conclusions: In a middle-aged population, baseline high resting heart rate is associated with incident AF. Temporal increase in heart rate is also associated with incident AF, especially in individuals at lower baseline risk of AF.
Objective To introduce the recent developments in cancer immunoinformatics with an emphasis on the latest trends and future direction. Data sources All related articles in this review were searched from PubMed published in English from 1992 to 2013. The search terms were cancer, immunoinformatics, immunological databases, and computational vaccinology. Study selection Original articles and reviews those were related to application of cancer immunoinformatics about tumor basic and clinical research were selected. Results Cancer immunoinformatics has been widely researched and applied in a series of fields of cancer research, including computational tools for cancer, cancer immunological databases, computational vaccinology, and cancer diagnostic workflows. Furthermore, the improvement of its theory and technology brings an enlightening insight into understanding and researching cancer and helps expound more deep and complete mechanisms of tumorigenesis and progression. Conclusion Cancer immunoinformatics provides promising methods and novel strategies for the discovery and development of tumor basic and clinical research.