Incidence and risk factors for interval aortic events during staged fenestrated-branched endovascular aortic repair.

OBJECTIVE: Staged endovascular repair of complex aortic aneurysms with first-stage thoracic endovascular aortic repair may decrease the risk of spinal cord ischemia (SCI) associated with fenestrated-branched endovascular aortic repair (FB-EVAR) of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms or optimize the proximal landing zone in the cases requiring total aortic arch repair. However, a limitation of multistaged procedures is the risk of interval aortic events (IAEs) including mortality from a ruptured aneurysm. We aim to identify the incidence of and risk factors associated with IAEs during staged FB-EVAR. METHODS: This was a single-center, retrospective review of patients who underwent planned staged FB-EVAR from 2013 to 2021. Clinical and procedural details were reviewed. End points were the incidence of and risk factors associated with IAEs (defined as rupture, symptoms, and unexplained death) and outcomes in patients with or without IAEs. RESULTS: Of 591 planned FB-EVAR patients, 142 underwent first-stage repairs. Twenty-two did not have a planned second stage because of frailty, preference, severe comorbidities, or complications after the first stage and were excluded. The remaining 120 patients (mean age: 73 ± 6 years, 51% female) were planned for second-stage completion FB-EVAR and comprised our cohort. The incidence of IAEs was 13% (16 of 120). This included confirmed rupture in 6 patients, possible rupture in 4, symptomatic presentation in 4, and early unexplained interval death with possible rupture in 2. The median time to IAEs was 17 days (range: 2-101 days), and the median time to uncomplicated completion repairs was 82 days (interquartile range: 30-147 days). Age, sex, and comorbidities were similar between the groups. There were no differences in familial aortic disease, genetically triggered aneurysms, aneurysm extent, or presence of chronic dissection. Patients with IAEs had significantly larger aneurysm diameters than those without IAEs (76.6 vs 66.5 mm, P ≤ .001). This difference persisted with indexing for body surface area (aortic size index: 3.9 vs 3.5 cm/m2, P = .04) and height (aortic height index: 4.5 vs 3.9 cm/m, P ≤ .001). IAE mortality was 69% (11 of 16) compared with no perioperative deaths for those with uncomplicated completion repairs. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of IAEs was 13% in patients planned for staged FB-EVAR. This represented a notable morbidity, including rupture, which must be balanced with SCI and landing zone optimization when planning repair. Larger aneurysms, especially when adjusted for body surface area, are associated with IAEs. Minimizing time between stages vs single-stage repairs for larger (>7 cm) complex aortic aneurysms in patients with reasonable SCI risk should be considered when planning repair.

Total Endovascular Aortic Arch Repair Using 3-Vessel Inner Branch Stent Graft.

Endovascular repair has been introduced to decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with open surgical repair of aortic arch pathology. This case illustrates a 71-year-old male patient with an asymptomatic saccular aortic arch aneurysm treated by total endovascular aortic repair using 3-vessel inner branch stent graft. Postoperative course was unremarkable, and the patient was discharge home on postoperative day 3. Total endovascular aortic arch repair is a suitable alternative in higher-risk patients with aortic arch aneurysms who are not ideally suited for open surgical repair.

Malpractice allegations: A reality check for resident physicians.

BACKGROUND: Medical malpractice is a source of stress and cost to physicians. Little is known about how it impacts resident physicians. METHODS: We analyzed data from the Comparative Benchmarking System between 2007 and 2016. We also surveyed surgery residents at our institution regarding malpractice in training. RESULTS: 4% of cases identified a resident physician and 32% involved a surgical specialty. Common allegations were "improper performance of surgery" and "improper management of surgical patient". 1 case attributed supervision as the major allegation but supervision was a contributing factor in 26% of cases. 18% of cases named a resident as a defendant. Most residents correctly answered that they can be defendants, agreed that a medico-legal curriculum is at least "moderately important", but had "poor" to "terrible" malpractice knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: A significant number of medical malpractice claims involve resident physicians as a responsible party. Though universally recognized as important, medico-legal training in surgical residency is often lacking.

Expectant Management of High-Grade Anal Dysplasia in People with HIV: Long-term Data.

BACKGROUND: Both ablation and expectant management of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions have been proposed. Expectant management would be reasonable if 1) the rate of high-grade squamous epithelial lesion progression to anal squamous cell carcinoma were low, and 2) anal squamous cell carcinoma arising under surveillance had a better prognosis than anal squamous cell carcinoma presenting without an identified precursor. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to quantify aspects of high-grade squamous epithelial lesion/anal squamous cell carcinoma clinical evolution in a surgical practice. DESIGN: This is a retrospective cohort study. SETTINGS: This study was performed in 1 colorectal surgeon's practice over a 20-year period. PATIENTS: Consecutive patients with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion and anal squamous cell carcinoma were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We looked at the rate and timing of progression to anal squamous cell carcinoma, and the stage, treatment, and outcome of anal squamous cell carcinoma. We reviewed a comparison group of HIV-positive patients presenting de novo with anal squamous cell carcinoma (no prior history of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion). RESULTS: With consideration of only HIV-positive patients, 341 patients had a mean 5.6 years follow-up from high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion diagnosis to the most recent documented anal examination. Twenty-four of these surveillance patients developed anal squamous cell carcinoma, yielding a progression rate of 1.3% per patient-year. Mean follow-up was 7.3 years from the initial cancer diagnosis to the most recent contact. Forty-seven patients who presented de novo with anal squamous cell carcinoma developed 74 lesions, with a mean follow-up of 5.7 years after initial diagnosis. This de novo group had higher anal squamous cell carcinoma-specific mortality (3% per patient-year vs 0.05%). Our study did not show a significantly higher rate of high stage (stage III or IV) at anal squamous cell carcinoma diagnosis in the de novo group in comparison with the surveillance group (25.5% vs 8.3% (p = 0.09)). LIMITATIONS: This study was retrospective in nature and had a predominately male population. CONCLUSIONS: The progression of untreated high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion to anal squamous cell carcinoma approximates 1% per patient-year. Anal squamous cell carcinoma developing under surveillance tends to be of an earlier stage and to require fewer major interventions than anal squamous cell carcinoma presenting de novo. Cancer-specific mortality was lower for malignancies that developed under surveillance. We suggest that expectant management of patients with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion is a rational strategy for preventing anal cancer morbidity. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/A699.

Twenty Years of a Veterans' Spinal Cord Injury Colorectal Clinic: Flexible Sigmoidoscopy and Multiple Hemorrhoid Ligation.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal and anal problems arise in chronic spinal cord injury care. We review 20 years of experience in a colorectal clinic at a veterans medical center treating mostly male veterans who have spinal cord injury. OBJECTIVE: We aim to show the results of colorectal interventions in a population with chronic spinal cord injury. DESIGN: This study is a retrospective records review. SETTINGS: This study was conducted at a Department of Veterans Affairs regional spinal cord injury center. PATIENTS: Six hundred forty-one individuals (625 males) made 1208 visits. Mean age was 56 ± 13 years; ages ranged from 21 to 90 years. INTERVENTIONS: Flexible sigmoidoscopy was done for diagnosis and screening, and hemorrhoid ligation was performed for symptomatic hemorrhoids. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes measured were the frequency, timing, and results of procedures. RESULTS: Five hundred forty-eight people had 781 flexible sigmoidoscopies. At first examination, mean age was 65 ± 12 and the duration of injury was 19 ± 15 years. Sixty examinations (7.7%) displayed poor preparation. The interval between adequate-prepared examinations was 5.7 ± 2.0 years. The adenoma detection rate was 4.7%. Two hundred fifteen people had 406 hemorrhoid ligations. At first banding, the mean age was 52 ± 13 and the duration of injury was 20 ± 15 years. Mean number of ligations per procedure was 4.9 ± 2.0; a range of 1 to 20. Nine hemorrhoid operations were done in this period. Regarding the futility of procedures, 250 people died, with a mean age at death of 69 ± 11. The median time between any procedure and death was 4.4 years. Seventeen procedures were done within 6 months of death; these deaths were either unexpected or because of conditions identified at or after the procedure. LIMITATIONS: This was a retrospective review of a single institution, it involved a mostly male population, and it used a subjective assessment of bowel preparation. CONCLUSIONS: In a spinal cord injury colorectal clinic, sigmoidoscopy can keep screening current, with an acceptable level of poor preparation. The adenoma detection rate may or may not be adequate. Hemorrhoid ligation can be expanded beyond its limits in the non-spinal cord-injured population, including multiple and external banding, taking the place of an operation in most cases. These procedures are well tolerated and rarely futile.

Preoperative malnutrition assessments as predictors of postoperative mortality and morbidity in colorectal cancer: an analysis of ACS-NSQIP.

BACKGROUND: Nutritional status is an important factor in predicting the risk associated with surgery for cancer patients. This is especially true in colorectal cancer. Many nutritional assessments are used in clinical practice, but those assessments are rarely evaluated for their ability to predict postoperative outcome. METHODS: This is a retrospective, multi-institutional study of the ACS-NSQIP database, investigating preoperative nutrition status and its association with postoperative mortality and morbidity. RESULTS: The prevalence of malnutrition is higher in colorectal cancer, when compared with other most common cancers. Among 42,483 colorectal cancer patients postoperative mortality was significantly associated with hypoalbuminemia (hazard ratio = 3.064, p < 0.001), body weight loss (hazard ratio = 1.229, p = 0.033) and body mass index of <18.5 kg/m(2) (hazard ratio = 1.797, p < 0.001). Only hypoalbuminemia significantly predicted all postoperative complications, even in further multivariate logistic regression analyses (p < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis showed that the hypoalbuminemia group had the highest coefficient in significant association with length of total hospital stay (B = 3.585, p < 0.001) and overall complication (B = 0.119, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In colorectal cancer, malnutrition significantly contributes to postoperative mortality, morbidity and length of total hospital stay. Hypoalbuminemia, with levels below 3.5 g/dl, serves as an excellent assessment tool and preoperative predictor of postoperative outcomes.

Tumor-infiltrating CD8(+) T lymphocytes associated with clinical outcome in anal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic significance of tumor-infiltrating CD8(+) T lymphocytes in anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) remains unclear. We designed the study to investigate the association between CD8(+) T cells and clinical prognosis among anal SCC patients. METHODS: The density of CD8(+) T cells was assessed by immunohistochemistry. The numbers of CD8(+) T cells were counted and their relationship with clinicopathological factors and survival was explored. RESULTS: A strong positive correlation was noted between intratumoral and peritumoral CD8(+) T cells (r = 0.77, P < 0.001). High intratumoral and peritumoral CD8(+) T cells was associated with well tumor differentiation, early-stage diagnosis, and better prognosis (P < 0.05). Better disease-free survival rates were demonstrated in patients with high CD8(+) T cell density in intratumoral nest (P = 0.01); peritumoral stroma (P = 0.004); and both in combination (P = 0.01). High peritumoral CD8(+) T cell was associated with overall survival (P = 0.025). In HIV-infected patients, high CD8(+) T cell density also had association with disease-free survival (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: High tumor-infiltrating CD8(+) T cell density showed the potential to indicate a favorable effect on prognosis and survival for anal SCC patients.

A cross-sectional survey of water and clean faces in trachoma endemic communities in Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Face washing is important to interrupt the transmission of trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. We aimed to assess the household and personal factors that affected water use and face washing practices in Kongwa, Tanzania. METHODS: We conducted a household water use survey in 173 households (329 children) in January, 2010. Self reported data on water use practices, observed water in the household, and observed clean faces in children were collected. Contingency table analyses and logistic regression analyses were used to measure associations between unclean faces and risk factors. RESULTS: We found that women are recognized as primary decision makers on water use in a household, and respondents who reported laziness as a reason that others do not wash children's faces were significantly more likely to have children with clean faces. Washing was reported as a priority for water use in most households. Sixty four percent (95% Confidence Interval = 59%-70%) of children had clean faces. CONCLUSIONS: Attitudes toward face washing and household water use appear to have changed dramatically from 20 years ago when clean faces were rare and men made decisions on water use in households. The sources of these attitudinal changes are not clear, but are positive changes that will assist the trachoma control program in strengthening its hygiene efforts.