A SEER data-based nomogram for the prognostic analysis of survival of patients with Kaposi's sarcoma.

Background: This study developed the first comprehensive nomogram for predicting the cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Methods: Data on the demographic and clinical characteristics of 4143 patients with KS were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and used for the prognostic analysis. The patients were randomly divided into two groups: training cohort (n = 2900) and validation cohort (n = 1243). Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to identify the predictive variables for developing the first nomogram for the survival prediction of patients with KS. The new survival nomogram was further evaluated using the concordance index (C-index), area under the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), net reclassification improvement (NRI), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), calibration plotting, and decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: A nomogram was developed for determining the 3-, 5-, 8-, and 10-year CSS probabilities for patients with KS. The nomogram showed that tumor stage had the greatest influence on the CSS of patients with KS, followed by demographic variables (race, marital status, and age at diagnosis) and other clinical characteristics (surgery status, chemotherapy status, tumor risk classification, and radiotherapy status). The nomogram exhibited excellent performance based on the values of the C-index, AUC, NRI, and IDI as well as calibration plots. DCA further confirmed that the nomogram had good net benefits for 3-, 5-, 8-, and 10-year survival analyses. Conclusions: In this study, by using data from the SEER database, we developed the first comprehensive nomogram for analyzing the survival of patients with KS. This nomogram could serve as a convenient and reliable tool for clinicians to predict CSS probabilities for individual patients with KS.

Using red blood cell distribution width to predict death after abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture.

BACKGROUND: An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a life-threatening enlargement in the major vessel at the abdomen level. This study investigated the associations between different levels of red blood cell distribution width and all-cause mortality among patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture. It developed predictive models for all-cause mortality risk. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study using 2001 to 2012 MIMIC-III dataset. The study sample included 392 U.S. adults with abdominal aortic aneurysms who were admitted to ICU after the aneurysm rupture. Then we used two single-factor and four multivariable logistic regression models to examine the associations between different levels of red blood cell distribution and all-cause mortality (30 days and 90 days), controlling for demographics, comorbidities, vital signs, and other laboratory measurements. The receiver operator characteristic curves were calculated, and the areas under the curves were recorded. RESULTS: There were 140 (35.7%) patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm in the red blood cell distribution width range between 11.7 and 13.8%, 117 (29.8%) patients in the range between 13.9 and 14.9%, and 135 (34.5%) patients in the range between 15.0 and 21.6%. Patients with higher red blood cell distribution width level (> 13.8%) tended to have a higher mortality rate (both 30 days and 90 days), congestive heart failure, renal failure, coagulation disorders, lower hemoglobin, hematocrit, MCV, red blood cell count, higher levels of chloride, creatinine, sodium, and BUN (All P < 0.05). Results of multivariate logistic regression models indicated that patients with higher red blood cell distribution width levels (> 13.8%) had the highest statistically significant odd ratios of 30 days and 90 days of all-cause mortality than lower red blood cell distribution width levels. The area under the RDW curve was lower (P = 0.0009) than that of SAPSII scores. CONCLUSIONS: Our study found that patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture with a higher blood cell distribution had the highest risk of all-cause mortality. Using the blood cell distribution width level in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture to predict mortality should be considered in future clinical practice.

A Clinical Series in Patients with Naso-Pharyngeal Cancer and Their Outcomes with Stent Graft Treatment for Sentinel Bleeding to Prevent Frank Carotid Rupture.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of heparin-bonded VIABAHN stent graft for carotid rupture in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: A total of 1,596 patients with NPC were enrolled. Fifteen patients (8 male and 7 female), who developed carotid artery rupture (CAR) after radiotherapy between January 2016 and June 2019, were retrospectively analyzed. Complications and mortality were assessed at 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS: The incidence of carotid burst syndrome in the NPC cohort was 0.94%. The distribution of site of arterial rupture was as follows: common carotid artery (4 cases), C1 segment of internal carotid artery (8 cases), and C2 segment of internal carotid artery (3 cases). All patients successfully underwent emergency deployment of the heparin-bonded VIABAHN to seal off the ruptured carotid artery. The survival rate as of 12-month follow-up was 80.0%. Three patients died of short-term rebleeding, lung infection, and tumor progression. No stent-related complications occurred in our cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Heparin-bonded VIABAHN-covered stents may be a safe and effective treatment option for carotid rupture in patients with NPC.

Efficacy and safety of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy combined with lenvatinib and sequential ablation in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Evaluate the efficacy and safety of triple therapeutic method (Hepatic Aarterial Infusion Chemotherapy-HAIC, lenvatinib and sequential ablation) in the treatment for Advanced Hepatocellular carcinoma (Ad-HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From November 2018 to June 2021, data from 150 consecutive Ad-HCC patients were collected. All patients received HAIC combined with lenvatinib (H-L group, n = 97) or HAIC combined with lenvatinib and sequential ablation (H-L-A group, n = 53). Complications, overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and intrahepatic progression-free survival (IPFS) were compared between both groups. RESULTS: No significant differences of baseline characteristics were found between groups. The time of median follow-up was 17.8 months (range, 6.8, 37.6 months). In comparison to the H-L group, the H-L-A group patients showed significantly longer median OS (>30 months vs 13.6 months, respectively; p = 0.010), PFS (12.8 vs. 5.6 months, respectively; p < 0.001), and IPFS (14.6 vs. 6.8 months, respectively; p = 0.002). According to the results from uni- and multivariable analyses, we considered α-fetoprotein and treatment modality as two survival independent prognostic factors. No significant change of the complication incidences was observed between H-L group and H-L-A group (12.4% vs. 11.3%, p = 0.890). CONCLUSION: Compared to HAIC combined with lenvatinib only, HAIC combined with lenvatinib and sequential ablation was safer and more effective, improving survival outcomes of Ad-HCC patients. A prospective study will be designed validate the retrospective results.

2D perfusion angiography: an alternative method to evaluate endovascular intervention for acute lower limb ischemia.

BACKGROUND: Despite advances in endovascular techniques to treat acute limb ischemia (ALI), evaluation of clinical outcomes for revascularization remains challenging, especially the accurate quantification of post-endovascular limb perfusion. This study aimed to investigate the accuracy and value of 2D perfusion angiography to evaluate endovascular intervention for ALI. METHODS: A total of 47 patients with ALI were retrospectively analyzed. The transcutaneous oxygen partial pressure (TcPO2) was obtained using laser Doppler blood perfusion monitoring. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) and angiographic images were obtained before and after endovascular intervention. iFlow imaging was used to obtain color-coded images. Regions of interest (ROIs) at the femoral head, knee joint, and ankle joint were selected to obtain the time to peak (TTP). The differences in the TTP between the knee and femoral head regions (TTP difference in the knee area) and between the ankle and knee regions (TTP difference in the ankle area) were observed. The TTP, ABI, and TcPO2 between the complete response (CR), partial response (PR), no response (NR), and amputation (AM) groups were compared. The correlation between TTP changes in the ankle area (ΔTTP) and changes in ABI (ΔABI)/changes in TcPO2 (ΔTcPO2) was analyzed. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in both TcPO2 and ABI compared with the pre-intervention values (27.75 ± 5.32 vs 40.92 ± 4.62, and 0.35 ± 0.16 vs 0.79 ± 0.15, respectively, all p < 0.01). The post-intervention TTP differences in the knee areas (5.12 ± 2.45 s) and ankle areas (6.93 ± 4.37 s) were significantly faster than pre-intervention TTP differences (7.03 ± 2.57 s and 10.66 ± 4.07 s, respectively, all p < 0.05). The post-operative TTP in the ankle area, post-operative TTP difference in the ankle area, and ΔTTP in the AM group were higher than the values in the CR and PR groups. The ΔTTP demonstrated strong correlation with ΔABI (r = -0.722, p < 0.01) and ΔTcPO2 (r = -0.734, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: 2D perfusion angiography with enhanced visual and quantitative analysis exhibits great potential to evaluate the efficacy of endovascular intervention, and provides a quantitative and sensitive tool to evaluate post-endovascular limb perfusion for ALI patients.

Application of relay puncture technique in treating patients with complicated lower extremity arterial diseases.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to introduce and evaluate the safety and efficacy of the relay puncture technique in patients with complicated lower extremity arterial diseases. METHODS: A total of 21 patients (16 male and five female patients; median age: 68.5 years old), who had suffered from lower extremity arterial diseases between December 2014 and July 2017, were retrospectively collected. For all patients, the contralateral femoral artery was not available for puncture access, and the length of the devices was too short for the brachial artery approach. Therefore, the relay puncture technique, in which the first puncture was performed on the brachial artery, followed by an antegrade puncture on the femoral artery, was used to accomplish the endovascular therapy. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and/or percutaneous transluminal stenting were/was used to assess the efficacy of the relay puncture technique. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) and Rutherford clinical classification were used to evaluate the improvement of symptoms after treatment. Patients were followed up for 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, and annually (mean: 16.6 months) after discharge. RESULTS: The relay puncture treatment had a 100% technical success rate, and immediately decreased the ischemic symptoms of patients after the procedure. The ABI significantly increased from 0.33 ± 0.18 to 0.75 ± 0.21 at the 1-year follow-up time point (P < 0.05). No serious complications occurred during the follow-up period. The 1-year primary patency rate was 71.43%. CONCLUSION: The relay puncture technique is a feasible technique in the hands of experienced and skilled equipment operators for the treatment of lower extremity arterial diseases, when the contralateral femoral artery is not available for puncture, and the length of the device is too short to treat the distal lesion of the femoral artery and popliteal artery through the brachial artery approach.

Color-coded Digital Subtraction Angiography for Assessing Acute Skeletal Muscle Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in a Rabbit Model.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: This paper describes an ongoing investigation of imaging and characterization of ischemia-reperfusion (IR) and investigated the use of color-coded digital subtraction angiography (DSA) to assess reperfusion injury or potential injury. METHODS: New Zealand white rabbits were subjected to right hindlimb ischemia (IR, n = 24) or sham operation (control, n = 6). After 3 hours, the IR rabbits underwent reperfusion and were assessed at 0, 6, 12, or 24 hours (n = 6 each). DSA of the bilateral vastus lateralis muscle of each animal was performed. The maximum contrast enhancement value of a consistent region of interest in the right and left hind limbs (peak enhancement-R/L) was determined. Associations between the relative ratio of the peak right limb to the peak left limb (peak-R/L) and the following blood indicators of IR injury were analyzed: lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). RESULTS: Serum LDH, CK, and MDA values in each IR group were significantly higher than those of the control group and were positively associated with the IR interval, whereas SOD was significantly lower and negatively associated. The mean peak-R/L decreased linearly with the IR interval from 1.07 ± 0.01 in the control group, and 0.93 ± 0.06, 0.79 ± 0.05, 0.65 ± 0.04, and 0.47 ± 0.04 at 0, 6, 12, and 24 hours in the IR groups. The coefficients of correlation between the peak-R/L and LDH, CK, MDA, SOD serum levels were -0.885, -0.908, -0.541, and 0.832, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Color-coded DSA may be used for monitoring the dynamics of skeletal muscle IR injury.