ABSTRACT
Objective@#To evaluate the value of preoperative diagnosis of extramural vascular invasion (EMVI) of rectal cancer with 3.0T high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the MRI-related factors of EMVI in rectal cancer.@*Methods@#The clinical and imaging data of 40 patients with rectal cancer were retrospectively analyzed. The postoperative pathological diagnosis was used as the gold standard to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of preoperative diagnosis of EMVI of rectal cancer by high-resolution MRI, and to analyze the relationship between the EMVI and clinical and MRI features.@*Results@#Of the 40 patients, 19 cases were diagnosed as positive EMVI and 21 were negative by MRI. Pathological diagnosis of EMVI was positive in 10 cases and negative in 30 cases. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of MRI in the diagnosis of EMVI were 100%, 70.0% and 77.5%, respectively. Preoperative MRI and postoperative pathology were moderately consistent in the diagnosis of EMVI in rectal cancer (Kappa=0.538, P<0.001). Pathological EMVI positivity were related to tumor size under MRI examination (P=0.028), degree of differentiation (P<0.001), depth of invasion (P=0.002), lymph node metastasis (P=0.001), liver metastasis (P=0.011), tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value (P=0.010) and exponential apparent diffusion coefficient (eADC) value (P=0.003). It also related to extramural nerve invasion by pathological examination (P=0.005).@*Conclusion@#According to the EMVI imaging score of rectal cancer, preoperative MRI has a high value in the diagnosis of EMVI of rectal cancer.
ABSTRACT
Objective: This study aimed to explore the gender differences in wishes and feelings regarding end-of-life care among Japanese elderly people requiring home care services.Patient/Materials and Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of the qualitative data previously compiled from a total of 102 elderly people living at home. The data was retrospectively collected from the participants’ nursing records, which included a designated advance care planning (ACP) form completed between January and July 2015. Out of the 102 participants, 86 men and women who were either living alone or with a spouse were selected for the present analysis. We reviewed the participants’ ACP forms based on which of the sentiments on the following checklist were expressed: anxiety about the future, abandonment of control, clinging to current daily life, inadequate support from spouse, and a tendency to delegate decision-making.Results: The most commonly expressed feeling was abandonment of control, among both men and women. Among elderly people living alone, women were more likely to want to be surrounded by good, caring people when approaching the end of their lives. Among elderly people living with a spouse, women were more likely to want to delegate decision-making to others.Conclusion: Our results pointed to a gender difference in the attitudes of elderly people toward interactions with the people surrounding them during the end-of-life decision-making process. In order to provide better overall care, health care professionals must come to realize the importance of this gender difference, as it has an impact on the ACP choices made by elderly people living in the community.