Prehabilitation programs in liver resection: a narrative review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Liver resection (LR) is a commonly performed surgical procedure for the management of hepatocellular carcinoma and other liver conditions. Despite its benefits in providing patients a potential cure, it is also associated with significant postoperative complications and prolonged recovery periods. In recent years, pre-operative rehabilitation (prehabilitation) has emerged as an up-and-coming strategy to optimize patients' physical, psychological and functional status before LR, leading to improved surgical and patient postoperative outcomes. Hence, our review aims to explore and synthesize the existing literature on prehabilitation in LR to provide an overview of the current evidence to help guide physicians in managing their patients. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in multiple electronic databases from inception to July 2023. The search strategy was tailored to capture studies investigating the role of prehabilitation in LR, and the factors that contribute to beneficial outcomes in the postoperative period. KEY CONTENT AND FINDINGS: Prehabilitation programs encompass a multifaceted approach to enhance surgical outcomes and patient well-being. This considers the specific needs of the varying patient populations, such as the elderly, or the cancer ridden. Improving physical fitness, nutritional supplementation and psychological support are the common tenets of prehabilitation. In physical prehabilitation, patients are engaged in intensive physical exercise often by means of a cycle ergometer. Addressing nutritional deficiencies through supplements and dietary interventions is also vital. Psychosocial assessments, advance care planning, music therapy, and progressive relaxation exercises are shown to enhance patient resilience and well-being. In addition, innovative approaches such as optimizing fluid balance, avoiding epidural analgesia, perioperative steroid administration, phosphate correction and branched-chain amino acid supplementation are being explored. CONCLUSIONS: Prehabilitation is important in optimizing patients before LR and is key in improving postoperative outcomes. Several prehabilitation strategies exist, but no formal consensus exists on patient selection and an ideal program.

Predicting new-baseline glomerular filtration rate (NBGFR) after donor nephrectomy: validation of a split renal function (SRF)-based formula.

BACKGROUND: Accurate prediction of post-donor nephrectomy (DN) glomerular filtration rate is potentially useful for evaluating and counselling living kidney donors. Currently, there are limited tools to evaluate post-operative new-baseline glomerular filtration rate (NBGFR) in kidney donors. We aim to validate a conceptually simple formula based on split renal function (SRF) previously developed for radical nephrectomy patients. METHODS: Eighty-three consecutive patients who underwent DN from 2010 to 2016 were included. Pre-operative CT imaging and functional data including pre-DN baseline Global GFR (108.2 ± 13.2 mL/min/1.73m2) were included. Observed NBGFR was defined as the latest eGFR 3-12 months post-DN. SRF, defined as volume of the contralateral non-resected kidney normalised by total volume of kidneys, was determined from pre-operative cross-sectional imaging (49.2 ± 2.36%). The equation derived from Rathi et al. is as detailed: Predicted NBGFR = 1.24 × (Global GFR Pre-DN) x (SRF). RESULTS: The relationship between predicted NBGFR (66.0 ± 8.29 mL/min/1.73m2) and observed NBGFR (74.9 ± 16.4 mL/min/1.73m2) was assessed by evaluating correlation coefficients, bias, precision, accuracy, and concordance. The new SRF-based formula for NBGFR prediction correlated strongly with observed post-operative NBGFR (Pearson's r = 0.729) demonstrating minimal bias (median difference = 7.190 mL/min/1.73m2) with good accuracy (96.4% within ± 30%, 62.7% within ± 15%) and precision (IQR of bias = - 0.094 to 16.227). CONCLUSION: The SRF-based formula was also able to accurately discriminate all but one patient to an NBGFR of > 45 mL/min/1.73m2. We utilised the newly developed SRF-based formula for predicting NBGFR in a living kidney donor population. Counselling of donor post-operative renal outcomes may then be optimised pre-operatively.

A cross-sectional quality assessment of TikTok content on benign prostatic hyperplasia.

BACKGROUND: With an increasing reliance on online sources for medical information, we studied the quality and completeness of health literacy videos on TikTok regarding BPH. METHODS: A cross-sectional systematic evaluation of TikTok videos using the search term "Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia" was performed on 14th April 2023, and included 49 patient information and educational videos. The videos were then analysed by two reviewers and scored using two instruments: the DISCERN instrument and a completeness analysis. RESULTS: Of the 49 videos, 38 were created by healthcare professionals (HCPs). The average length of each video was 62.7 ± 59.3 s, with a large average number of total views (24,990.1 ± 109,534.9 views). The DISCERN score trended higher in every category in videos published by HCPs compared to non-HCPs, with HCPs providing a statistically significant increase in reliability (19.0,14.6, p < 0.05) and total score (29.4,23, p < 0.05). Majority of videos were deemed as poor or worse (91.8%) in quality. The completeness of the videos' content was also evaluated across five categories with an average score of 2.53 ± 2.1 out of the maximum 12. The DISCERN scores did not correlate with the degree of completeness of the videos (r = 0.226). CONCLUSION: BPH videos on TikTok have a wide reach, but the videos are mostly of low quality and completeness. Future videos should be made with quality and completeness in mind given the large viewership and more can be done to evaluate the extent of BPH misinformation and its impact on patients.

Effect of distal interlocking of a cephalomedullary femoral nail on peri-implant fractures: A sawbone biomechanical analysis.

BACKGROUND: A large proportion of hip fractures involve inter-trochanteric fractures which are managed by cephalomedullary nails. There is ongoing debate about the advantages and disadvantages of locked versus unlocked long cephalomedullary femoral nails in the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures. The objectives of our study are to evaluate the biomechanical effects of a distal interlocking bolt on the type of peri-implant fractures in a healed intertrochanteric fracture with long cephalomedullary nail fixation. METHODS: 20 femoral sawbone specimens were prepared with the TFN-ADVANCED Proximal Femoral Nailing System (TFNA) and divided into 2 groups: locked and unlocked. The specimens were subjected to axial loading force until failure. Compressive forces, strain and fracture patterns were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the mean load to failure of the unlocked specimens compared to locked specimens. However, there was significant difference in the mean compressive stress at the time of failure with the unlocked specimen (1.79±0.17 MPa) compared to the locked group (1.92±0.05 MPa) (p < 0.05). Video review analysis showed unlocked specimens consistently having basi-cervical type peri-implant fractures while locked specimens showed complex, compound fractures of the head-neck region with 2 or more fracture propagation points. CONCLUSION: Distal-locked long cephalomedullary nails in a healed intertrochanteric fracture model are able to tolerate higher compressive stress at the point of failure but demonstrate more complex peri-implant fracture patterns in the femoral head-neck region as compared to unlocked specimens.