Compliance and Toxicity of Total Neoadjuvant Therapy for Rectal Cancer: A Secondary Analysis of the OPRA Trial.

PURPOSE: Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer treated with total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) may achieve organ preservation without a compromise to oncologic outcomes. However, reports on patient compliance with TNT and with treatment-related toxicities are limited. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The OPRA trial assessed organ preservation rates and oncologic outcomes in patients with clinical stage II/III rectal adenocarcinoma randomized to induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiation (INCT-CRT) or chemoradiation followed by consolidation chemotherapy (CRT-CNCT). Systemic chemotherapy consisted of 8 cycles (16 weeks) of fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) or 5 cycles (15 weeks) of capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CAPEOX). Patients received >4500 cGy of radiation with sensitizing capecitabine or fluorouracil. In this report, we compare compliance and treatment-related toxicity in patients receiving INCT-CRT versus CRT-CNCT. Additionally, we evaluate the association of compliance to chemotherapy, compliance to chemoradiation, and toxicity with organ preservation and disease-free survival (DFS). RESULTS: Of the 324 patients randomized, fewer patients started chemoradiation in the INCT-CRT group compared with the CRT-CNCT group (93% vs 98%, P = .03), and fewer patients started systemic chemotherapy in the CRT-CNCT group compared with the INCT-CRT group (94% vs 99%, P = .04). Order of TNT did not affect the ability to complete all intended cycles of FOLFOX (86% INCT-CRT vs 83% CRT-CNCT, P = .60) or CAPEOX (74% INCT-CRT vs 77% CRT-CNCT, P = .80). A total of 97% of INCT and 98% of CRT-CNCT patients received >4500 cGy radiation (P = .93). Sixty-four patients (41%) treated with INCT-CRT and 57 CRT-CNCT patients (34%) experienced a grade 3+ adverse event (P = .30). Compliance and toxicity were not associated with organ preservation or DFS. CONCLUSIONS: We identified only minor differences in treatment compliance between patients treated with INCT-CRT and CRT-CNCT. No difference in adverse events was observed between groups. Treatment compliance and toxicity did not correlate with organ preservation rates or DFS.

Outcomes of surgical stabilization of rib fractures in a minority population: Retrospective analysis of a case series from an acute care facility.

Objective: The aim of was to examine the postoperative outcomes and associated factors of surgical stabilization of rib fracture (SSRF) in a minority population. Methods: A retrospective analysis with case series of 10 patients undergoing SSRF at an acute care facility in New York City was performed. Data, including patient demographic characteristics, comorbidities, hospital length of stay were collected. Results were presented in comparative tables and a Kaplan-Meier curve. Primary outcome was to compare outcomes of SSRF in minority patients to larger studies in nonminority populations. Secondary outcomes included various postoperative outcomes, including atelectasis, pain, and infection, and the influence of medical comorbidities on each. Results: The median time (with accompanying interquartile range) from diagnosis to SSRF, SSRF to discharge, and overall length of stay was 4.5 days (4.25), 6.0 days (17.00) and 10.5 days (18.25) days, respectively. The time until SSRF and postoperative complication rate were found to be comparable to those in larger studies. The Kaplan-Meier curve demonstrates a correlation between persistence of atelectasis to increased length of stay (P = .05). Increased time to SSRF was seen in elderly patients and patients with diabetes (P = .012 and P = .019, respecively). Increased pain requirements by patients with diabetes (P = .007), and higher infectious complications in patients with flail chest and diabetes (P = .035 and P = .002, respectively) were also seen. Conclusions: Preliminary outcomes and complication rates of SSRF in a minority population are shown to be comparable to larger studies in nonminority populations. Larger, higher-powered studies are required to further compare outcomes between these 2 populations.

Does C reactive protein/Albumin ratio have prognostic value in patients with COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: There is paucity of data regarding C reactive protein/Albumin (CRP/Alb) ratio in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. We aimed to evaluate the significance of CRP/Alb ratio in COVID-19 patients. METHODOLOGY: Patients hospitalized between March - April 2020 with COVID-19, who had CRP and Albumin levels documented within 24 hours from admission were retrospectively analyzed. Unpaired Student's t-test was used for continuous and Pearson Chi-square (χ²) test for categorical variables. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were developed to assess the relationship between CRP/Alb and mortality. Nonparametric correlations were calculated using Spearman's Rho correlation coefficient. RESULTS: 75 patients were included. Mean age was 62.92, 26 females (34.67%) and 49 males (65.33%), mean Body Mass Index (BMI) 29.86, mean body temperature 101.3 and mean length of stay (LOS) was 14.80 days. 24 (32%) patients required invasive mechanical ventilation and 51 (68%) did not, mean CRP/Alb ratio was 6.89 and 4.7 respectively (p = 0.036). 15 (20%) patients died, 60 (80%) survived and the mean CRP/Alb difference between these groups was also statistically significant (7.74 vs 4.83, p = 0.02). LOS (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.57.-0.88, p < 0.001) and BUN (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01.-1.07, p = 0.006) were independent predictors of mortality by multivariate logistic regression, whereas CRP/Alb (OR 1.21, 95% CI 0.96.-1.51, p = 0.06) was not. CONCLUSIONS: CRP/Alb ratio could be useful as a prognostic indicator of disease severity in COVID-19, but we could not corroborate its potential to predict mortality. The work was conducted at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons at Harlem Hospital.

Transgender surgery - Knowledge gap among physicians impacting patient care.

Transgender surgeries are increasingly performed across the globe and in the United States. Although comprehensive centers exist, which are well equipped to cater and tailor to the needs of this population subset, quite often their resultant complications are handled at a different institution owing to the acuity of the condition. However, interestingly the psychosocial needs, medical pathophysiology, available surgical procedures, and their resultant complications are still not a part of the regular medical curriculum. This translates into inadequate care when physicians from vast majority of institutions that do not routinely perform transgender surgery encounter these patients with complications from gender-affirming surgeries. We present a case of a patient who underwent complex multiple gender-affirming surgeries, presenting to our emergency department with an acute abdomen; this resulted in a diagnostic and management dilemma and review of brief pertinent literature. We recommend that transgender medicine and its basics needs should be exposed to currently practicing physicians by continuing medical education, trainees and medical students alike via incorporation into their curriculum, to decrease health disparities among the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community.

Role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte, lymphocyte-to-monocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios as predictors of disease severity in COVID-19 patients.

Direct viral damage and uncontrolled inflammation contribute to disease severity in SARS-CoV-2 infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte [NLR], lymphocyte-to-monocyte [LMR] and platelet-to-lymphocyte [PLR] ratios in COVID-19 patients. All 184 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in our institution between March - April 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were grouped into intubated and non-intubated, and subgrouped into survived and deceased. An unpaired Student's t-test was used for continuous variables, and the Pearson Chi-square (χ2) test for categorical. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were developed to assess the independent relationship between NLR, LMR and PLR and unfavorable outcomes. Non-parametric correlations were calculated using Spearman's Rho correlation coefficient. The mean age of the patients was 64.7; mean BMI was 29.10; 73 (39.67%) were female and 111 male (60.33%). No statistical difference between groups was identified with regard to NLR (mean 8.29, standard deviation [SD] 7.86). On multivariate regression analysis, only PLR and LMR were shown to influence the ratio and it was positively correlated with PLR, lactate and C-reactive protein [CRP]. LMR for non-intubated survived [NI-S] (mean 2.29, SD 1.31) and non-intubated deceased [NI-D] (mean 1.79, SD 0.81) groups were statistically significant (p=0.03). LMR was influenced only by NLR on regression analysis. A positive correlation of LMR with body mass index [BMI] was ascertained. No statistical significance was found between groups for PLR (mean 269.85, SD 207.98) and the ratio was influenced by age and NLR on regression analysis, and positively correlated with NLR. To conclude, previously reported findings of a prognostic role of NLR, LMR and PLR in COVID-19 were not validated in our cohort and we would caution against using the ratios in question as independent markers for disease severity.

Gastrointestinal manifestations in American minority population with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The spectrum of gastrointestinal (GI) injuries by the SARS-CoV-2 remain largely unknown. Ethnicity data is missing or unspecified. We analyzed GI involvement in American minority patients with COVID-19 infection. METHODS: Retrospective study of hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 in March-April 2020. RESULTS: 183 patients included: 114 (62.30%) African-Americans, 58 (31.69%) Hispanics and 11 (6.01%) Asians. 73 females, 110 males; mean age 64.77, mean BMI 29.03 (50.82%); GI manifestations upon presentation: anorexia (29.51%), diarrhea (22.40%), nausea/vomiting (18.03%), abdominal pain (9.84%). No difference observed between three ethnical groups for GI symptoms and liver function tests. C Reactive Protein (CPR) (P=0.008), Lactate (P=0.03) and Prothrombin Time (PT) (P=0.03) were significantly elevated in patients without GI symptoms. No difference was observed for other laboratory tests. Patients with severe disease course/intubated had higher levels of Aspartate Transaminase (AST) (109.17 vs 53.97, P=0.018), Alanine Transaminase (ALT) (79.53 vs 40.03, P=0.02) and total bilirubin (0.82 vs 0.60, P=0.03) vs non-intubated patents as well as body temperature (101.38 vs 100.70, p=0.0006), CRP (24.06 v 15.96, P=0.019) and lactate (3.28 vs 2.13, P=0.009). There was no correlation between severity of the disease and GI symptoms, PT, platelets and albumin. However, CRP and lactate were markedly elevated in deceased vs survived patients: (27.09 vs 16.39, P=0.008) and (3.33 vs 2.10 P=0.005) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: ~ 50% of patients presented with GI symptoms and they had lower levels of inflammatory markers, better liver synthetic function, indicating less overall inflammatory response and direct viral damage. Our results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 virus targets GI tract along with the lung tissue, and the degree of hepatocyte damage correlated well with more severe disease.

New York Inner City Hospital COVID-19 Experience and Current Data: Retrospective Analysis at the Epicenter of the American Coronavirus Outbreak.

BACKGROUND: In the midst of the coronavirus disease pandemic, emerging clinical data across the world has equipped frontline health care workers, policy makers, and researchers to better understand and combat the illness. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to report the correlation of clinical and laboratory parameters with patients requiring mechanical ventilation and the mortality in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). METHODS: We did a review of patients with SARS-CoV-2 confirmed infection admitted and managed by our institution during the last month. Patients were grouped into intubated and nonintubated, and subgrouped to alive and deceased. A comprehensive analysis using the following parameters were performed: age, sex, ethnicity, BMI, comorbidities, inflammatory markers, laboratory values, cardiac and renal function, electrocardiogram (EKG), chest x-ray findings, temperature, treatment groups, and hospital-acquired patients with SARS-CoV-2. RESULTS: A total of 184 patients were included in our study with ages ranging from 28-97 years (mean 64.72 years) and including 73 females (39.67%) and 111 males (60.33%) with a mean BMI of 29.10. We had 114 African Americans (61.96%), 58 Hispanics (31.52%), 11 Asians (5.98%), and 1 Caucasian (0.54%), with a mean of 1.70 comorbidities. Overall, the mortality rate was 17.39% (n=32), 16.30% (n=30) of our patients required mechanical ventilation, and 11.41% (n=21) had hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infection. Pertinent and statistically significant results were found in the intubated versus nonintubated patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 for the following parameters: age (P=.01), BMI (P=.07), African American ethnicity (P<.001), Hispanic ethnicity (P=.02), diabetes mellitus (P=.001), creatinine (P=.29), blood urea nitrogen (BUN; P=.001), procalcitonin (P=.03), C-reactive protein (CRP; P=.007), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; P=.001), glucose (P=.01), temperature (P=.004), bilateral pulmonary infiltrates in chest x-rays (P<.001), and bilateral patchy opacity (P=.02). The results between the living and deceased subgroups of patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (linking to or against mortality) were BMI (P=.04), length of stay (P<.001), hypertension (P=.02), multiple comorbidity (P=.045), BUN (P=.04), and EKG findings with arrhythmias or blocks (P=.02). CONCLUSIONS: We arrived at the following conclusions based on a comprehensive review of our study group, data collection, and statistical analysis. Parameters that were strongly correlated with the need for mechanical ventilation were younger age group, overweight, Hispanic ethnicity, higher core body temperature, EKG findings with sinus tachycardia, and bilateral diffuse pulmonary infiltrates on the chest x-rays. Those intubated exhibited increased disease severity with significantly elevated levels of serum procalcitonin, CRP, LDH, mean glucose, creatinine, and BUN. Mortality was strongly correlated with BMI, African American ethnicity, hypertension, presence of multiple comorbidities (with a mean of 2.32), worsening renal function with acute kidney injury or acute chronic kidney injury, and EKG findings of arrhythmias and heart blocks.