Association of Metabolic Syndrome Components and Colonic Diverticulosis in the Very Elderly: A Tertiary Health Network Study.

Introduction There is scarce data about the association of metabolic syndrome (MetS) or its components with the development of colonic diverticulosis (CD) in the elderly. We aim to determine the association of MetS and its components with CD in the elderly aged ≥75 years. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review at St. Luke's University Health Network to identify patients who underwent a colonoscopy between 2011 and 2020. We collected data on patient demographics, comorbidities, and colonoscopy findings. Statistical analyses were conducted to compute means and frequencies of patient characteristics and rates of CD, as well as to test for associations between potential risk factors and the presence of CD.  Results A total of 1239 patients were included with a median age of 80 years, 57.6% females, 89.5% Caucasians, 72.9% with CD, and 66.7% having a left-sided disease. On bivariate analysis, the older age group (p=0.02), Caucasian ethnicity (p=0.01), and hypertension (p=0.04) were found to be significant risk factors for developing CD. Multivariate regression analysis showed older age group and hypertension (OR=1.47, 95% CI: 1.66-2.02, p=0.02) were major risk factors. A significant proportion of patients with left-sided disease had Caucasian ethnicity (p<0.001), while female gender, obesity, and iron deficiency anemia were also seen more frequently, although without statistical significance.  Conclusion In the elderly (>75 years old), our study found hypertension to be associated with an increased risk of CD, while impaired fasting glucose (IFG) was protective. Most patients exhibited isolated left-sided diverticulosis, with pan-diverticulosis associated with higher proportions of adverse health indicators, including American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score ≥3, IFG, hypertriglyceridemia, hypertension, and hypothyroidism. Further research with larger sample sizes in similar age groups is needed to expand upon these findings.

A Rare Case of Abdominal Wall Skeletal Muscle Metastasis From Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreatic Head.

Pancreatic cancer can be aggressive and commonly metastasizes to various organs. Most commonly, pancreatic cancer metastasizes to the lung, liver, bones, and peritoneum, but very rarely does it spread to the abdominal wall or skeletal muscle. In this case, we discuss a patient who initially presented with weight loss and jaundice from a pancreatic head adenocarcinoma that later metastasized to the rectus abdominis muscle. A 63-year-old female presented with jaundice and weight loss. CT imaging revealed a 2.8 cm pancreatic head mass with pancreatic and biliary ductal dilation. Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) level was also found to be elevated to 1810 U/mL. An endoscopic ultrasound-guided biopsy was later performed and confirmed pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The patient underwent a Whipple pancreatoduodenectomy following initial treatment with neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy. Following the Whipple procedure, she received adjuvant chemotherapy and subsequent imaging revealed no recurrence and decreased CA 19-9 level to 46 U/mL. Eight months afterward, the patient presented once again with lower abdominal pain. Repeat CA 19-9 level was found to have increased to 1503 U/mL. Repeat positron emission tomography scan imaging was performed and showed a 4.7 cm left rectus abdominis muscle mass. The mass was later biopsied, and pathology revealed recurrent, metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The patient was restarted on chemotherapy with paclitaxel and gemcitabine leading to a reduction in tumor size and CA 19-9 levels of 135 U/mL. However, surgical resection was later pursued due to increased tumor size only four months later. At this time, limited literature is available reporting the occurrence of pancreatic cancer metastasizing to the abdominal wall. Upon literature review, only five cases have been reported to date, and only two of the cases involved the skeletal muscle. Our rare case is the first-time documentation of rectus abdominis metastasis from pancreatic adenocarcinoma arising from the pancreatic head.

Impact of Epic Smartlist and Lumens Software in Improving OP-29 Compliance at a Tertiary Health Care Network.

Background OP-29 is a Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) measure to ensure that endoscopists recommend appropriate follow-up intervals after normal colonoscopy in average risk patients. Failure to report OP-29 compliance can adversely affect hospital quality star rating as well as reimbursement for health care. The aim of our quality improvement project was to improve OP-29 compliance to the top decile over three years. Methodology Our sample included patients between 50-75 years of age who received average risk screening colonoscopies with normal findings. We provided intensive education to endoscopists about the importance of OP-29 compliance, developed an Epic Smartlist that directs our endoscopists to list an appropriate reason for colonoscopy intervals other than 10 years, and monitored OP-29 compliance monthly. We became the first health network in the United States to implement the Lumens endoscopy report writing software (Epic Systems Corporation, Verona, USA) and added the OP-29-related Epic Smartlist to the Lumens colonoscopy note template. All statistical analyses were conducted in SPSS version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, USA) to compute the means and frequencies of outcomes. Results Our sample included 2,171 patients with a mean age of 60.5 years of whom the majority were female (57.2%) and Caucasians (90%). Our OP-29 score increased from 87.47% to 100% over the course of three years, and this steady improvement was seen broadly across our network. We compared our network score averages to our state and national averages and consistently demonstrated higher compliance rates while reaching the top decile by 2020. Conclusion We believe our improved OP-29 compliance has reduced colonoscopy overutilization, improved health care quality, and reduced health care costs for our patients and health network. To our knowledge, this is the first reported project towards improving OP-29 compliance utilizing the Epic Lumens software. Epic Lumens (Epic Systems Corporation, Verona, USA) added this Smartlist as quick buttons in the standard colonoscopy procedure note templates they built for other organizations to improve health care quality and cost nationally.

Esophageal Neuroendocrine Carcinoma Presenting After Definitive Chemoradiation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma in the Same Location.

Esophageal neuroendocrine carcinoma is very rare and highly aggressive. An 85-year-old man with a history of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in remission presented 4 years after definitive chemoradiation with new-onset dysphagia. Endoscopy with biopsy revealed high-grade malignancy consistent with neuroendocrine carcinoma. Treatment options were limited to chemotherapy because of his metastatic disease, and he unfortunately died 14 months after diagnosis. The occurrence of esophageal neuroendocrine carcinoma in a site of prior squamous cell carcinoma is very uncommon, and this likely represents a case of radiation-induced malignancy. Therefore, when undergoing radiotherapy, patients and providers should discuss the possibility of this life-threatening complication.

Ticagrelor: A Rare, Delayed Case of Angioedema.

Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with P2Y12 receptor inhibitors in conjunction with aspirin is the gold standard treatment for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and to prevent stent thrombosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). While there have been reported allergic effects-particularly angioedema-linked to clopidogrel there is limited data on hypersensitivity reactions to ticagrelor. Here, we discuss a case of delayed-onset ticagrelor-induced angioedema in a patient, three weeks following initiation of DAPT with aspirin and ticagrelor status post-PCI with DES placement. The patient presented with acute onset tongue swelling and was successfully treated with epinephrine, steroids, and antihistamine. The C1 esterase inhibitor and tryptase levels were within normal limits. Ticagrelor was discontinued and the patient was transitioned to prasugrel for DAPT, without recurrence of symptoms. Given the few cases reported involving ticagrelor-induced angioedema, and the even rare, delayed onset cases such as those described above, it is imperative that clinicians be made aware of this adverse effect and its management.

The Rolling Stone: Bouveret Syndrome Requiring Open Gastrotomy After Failing Electrohydraulic Lithotripsy.

Bouveret syndrome (BS) is an extremely rare form of gallstone ileus where a stone travels through a biliary-enteric fistula and causes gastric outlet obstruction. A 92-year-old male presented with gastric outlet obstruction secondary to an impacted gallstone in the duodenal bulb seen on imaging. Endoscopic therapy failed twice due to the immense gallstone size, and an open gastrotomy was required to remove the stone. The procedure was successful; however, the patient, unfortunately, passed away days after the operation due to other hospital illnesses. BS should be considered in patients with advanced age and significant comorbidities presenting with gastric outlet obstruction.

Comparison of Pneumonitis Rates and Severity in Patients With Lung Cancer Treated by Immunotherapy, Radiotherapy, and Immunoradiotherapy.

Introduction Radiation pneumonitis (RP) is a common dose-limiting toxicity of radiotherapy to the chest in lung cancer patients. Similarly, the revolutionary use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) to treat lung cancer can be complicated by immune-related adverse events (irAEs), particularly checkpoint inhibitor pneumonitis (CIP). Our study aimed to assess the effect of immunotherapy, with and without radiotherapy, on pneumonitis and other outcomes. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review of 680 lung cancer patients treated with either radiotherapy, immunotherapy, or both at St. Luke's University Health Network to determine the incidence rates of pneumonitis. Then, a more extensive review of 346 patients was completed, 181 of whom had pneumonitis, to investigate risk factors and outcomes. Results All-grade pneumonitis incidence was 26.6% while more severe pneumonitis (grade 3 or higher) was 13%. Receiving programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) or ligand-1 (PD-L1) inhibitors, having squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and having poorer performance status were independently and significantly associated with increased risk of pneumonitis, with AOR (adjusted odds ratios) of 8.32, 4.10, 2.91, and 1.71, respectively. Among those who had pneumonitis, more severe cases (grade 3 or higher) were related to immunotherapy, either alone (58.32%) or with radiation (55.7%), compared to radiation therapy alone (36.2%). Poorer performance status (defined as a higher Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score) was the only covariate we found to be significantly and independently associated with reduced odds of 18-months survival. More of the patients treated with both lung radiation and immunotherapy had progressive disease (53.8%) compared to those treated with only radiation (30.4%) or immunotherapy (36.7). Progressive disease occurred more in patients with pneumonitis grade 3 or higher (48.3%) than those with no or low-grade pneumonitis (27.2%). Conclusion Receiving PD-L1 and PD-1 inhibitors, either with or without radiotherapy, was associated with a higher risk of more severe pneumonitis (PD-L1 > PD-1) than radiotherapy alone. Given its high incidence and complications, more about therapy-induced pneumonitis is yet to be studied. Learning more about pneumonitis' risk factors and complications is of great clinical importance, as it may result in better treatment planning and improved outcomes. Future studies are needed to investigate the suggested association between symptomatic pneumonitis and poorer response to treatment and whether SCC increases the risk of higher-grade pneumonitis.

Does the Combined Use of Aspirin and Immunotherapy Result in Better Outcomes in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Than Immunotherapy Alone?

INTRODUCTION:  Immunotherapy works by stimulating the immune system against cancer cells. Resistance to immunotherapy represents a significant challenge in the field of medical oncology. The mechanisms by which cancer cells evade immunotherapy are not well understood. Prior research suggested overexpression of prostaglandin E-2 (PGE-2) by cancer cells, which bind to EP-2 and EP-4 receptors on the tumor-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) and suppress their anticancer role. This immunosuppressive effect is involved in evading the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) blockade of immunotherapy, which fuels cancer cell growth and recurrence. Studies found that combining PGE-2 blockade and a PD-1 signaling inhibitor helped promote the anticancer immunity cells. If confirmed in a clinical setting, the above in vitro findings could be of great clinical significance. METHODS:  Given that aspirin (ASA) blocks PGE-2 production, this work aimed to evaluate whether ASA use with immunotherapy results in better outcomes than immunotherapy alone. We performed a retrospective chart review of 500 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients aged 21 years or older treated with PD-1 and/or PD-L1 directed immunotherapy at St. Luke's University Health Network between July 2015 and July 2021. Relevant patient, disease, and treatment-related variables were collected, including ASA use (≥ 81 mg daily) and the type of immunotherapy. Bivariate analyses were conducted to determine which variables to include in a multivariable model.  The four primary outcomes included survival at 18-months, both after diagnosis and starting immunotherapy, achieving complete remission (CR), and having a progressive disease (PD), as defined by RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors) criteria. Secondary outcomes included therapy-related toxicities and complications in the different treatment groups.   Results: After bivariate analysis, no statistical significance was found for a difference in 18-month survival between ASA and non-ASA groups (50.3% vs 49.7%, p-value = 0.79). ASA with PD-L1 inhibitor showed a trend towards a higher likelihood of achieving CR [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.85] with a p-value close to statistical significance (0.06). However, ASA with PD-L1 showed high statistical significance as an independent variable associated with a decreased likelihood of having PD (AOR 0.44, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that NSCLC patients receiving PD-L1 inhibitors could benefit more from daily ASA than patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors. Our study emphasizes using the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scoring of the performance status (PS) in NSCLC patients. Poorer PS was associated with lower survival, decreased likelihood of CR, and more PD. Other variables associated with worse outcomes were advanced cancer stage at diagnosis and male gender. Low-PD-L1 expression in NSCLC was associated with an increased likelihood of survival; this could be of clinical significance, especially with previous studies suggesting better outcomes of using ASA in PD-L1 low tumors.  Conclusion: These findings suggest that daily ASA use with PD-L1 inhibitors is associated with more favorable outcomes in NSCLC. More studies are needed to investigate further the potential benefits vs. risks of using ASA with different immunotherapies and the other possible variables affecting treatment outcomes.