Analysis of the interval between submission and publication in genetics journals.

One of the main factors that attracts authors to choose a journal is the time interval between submission and publication, which varies between journals and subject matter. Here, we evaluated the time intervals between submission and publication according to journal impact factor and continent of author's affiliation, considering articles with authors from single or multiple continents. Altogether, 72 journals indexed in the Web of Science database within the subject matter "Genetics and Heredity", divided by impact factor into four quartiles and randomly selected were analyzed for time intervals from article submission to publication. Data from a total of 46,349 articles published from 2016 to 2020 were collected and analyzed considering the following time intervals: submission to acceptance (SA), acceptance to publication (AP) and submission to publication (SP). The median of the quartiles for the SP interval was 166 (IQR [118-225]) days for Q1, 147 (IQR [103-206]) days for Q2, 161 (IQR [116-226]) days for Q3 and 137 (IQR [69-264]) days for Q4, showing a significant difference among quartiles (p < 0.001). In Q4, median interval of time was shorter in interval SA but longer in interval AP, and overall, articles in Q4 had the shortest interval of time in SP. A potential association of the median time interval and authors' continent was analysed and no significant difference was observed between articles with authors from single versus multiple continents or between continents in articles with authors from only one continent. However, in journals from Q4, time from submission to publication was longer for articles with authors from North America and Europe than from other continents, although the difference was not significant. Finally, articles of authors from the African continent had the smallest representation in journals from Q1-Q3 and articles from Oceania were underrepresented in group Q4. The study provides a global analysis of the total time required for submission, acceptance and publication in journals in the field of genetics and heredity. Our results may contribute in the development of strategies to expedite the process of scientific publishing in the field, and to promote equity in knowledge production and dissemination for researchers from all continents.

Cordoma Sacral: Relato de uma Rara Neoplasia Maligna / Sacral Chordoma: Report of a Rare Malignant Neoplasm / Cordoma Sacral: Relato de uma Rara Neoplasia Maligna

Introdução: O cordoma é um tipo de sarcoma cuja malignidade óssea primária se origina da notocorda e se localiza no eixo espinhal entre o clivus e o sacro. A primeira descrição dessa patologia foi em 1857. Na epidemiologia da doença, são mais afetados pacientes entre 40 e 60 anos, sendo o principal sítio de acometimento a região sacrococcígea. O quadro clínico é variável conforme o local acometido com sintomas geralmente inespecíficos, gerando atrasos no diagnóstico feito por biópsia. Entre as opções de tratamento, o principal método é a ressecção cirúrgica com margens, que pode ser associada à radioterapia ou à radiocirurgia quando necessário; os sítios de metástases mais comuns são pulmões, ossos, fígado e linfonodos locais. Relato do caso: Paciente, sexo feminino, 62 anos, iniciou com quadro de dor em região coccígea com piora ao sentar-se e surgimento de lesão nodular com crescimento progressivo recebendo diagnóstico de cordoma, após biópsia da lesão, depois de três anos. Em razão da lesão extensa, optou-se inicialmente por tratamento com quimio e radioterapia para citorredução. Pela pouca responsividade, foi submetida ao tratamento de sacralectomia com sucesso, porém apresentou como complicação deiscência de ferida operatória e necessidade de reabordagem, desde então sem recorrência no seguimento clínico. Conclusão: Assim, evidencia-se a necessidade de novas pesquisas sobre o cordoma, um tumor raro e de baixa responsividade aos tratamentos não cirúrgicos, visando a melhorar a terapêutica quimioterápica dessa neoplasia potencialmente deformante.

Introduction: Chordoma is a type of sarcoma, a primary bone malignancy that originates from the notochord and is located on the spinal axis between the clivus and the sacrum. The first description of this pathology occurred in 1857. Patients between 40 and 60 years old are the most affected according to the disease's epidemiology, the main site involved is the sacral/coccygeal region. The clinical condition is variable depending on the site affected, with generally nonspecific symptoms, delaying the diagnosis made by biopsy. Among the treatment options, surgical resection with margins is currently the main method, and may be associated with radiotherapy or radiosurgery when necessary; the most common metastatic sites are lungs, bones, liver and local lymph nodes. Case report: A 62-year-old female patient had pain in the coccygeal region, worsening while sitting and the appearance of a nodular lesion with progressive growth, diagnosed as a chordoma three years later, after biopsy of the lesion. Due to the extensive lesion, initially she was submitted to chemotherapy and radiotherapy for cytoreduction, but because of the poor response, she was successfully submitted to sacralectomy, however, dehiscence of the surgical wound was detected, and the patient underwent a new approach; since then, no recurrence in the clinical follow-up. Conclusion: Apparently, it is clear the necessity for further investigations on chordoma, a rare tumor with poor response to non-surgical treatments, in order to improve the chemotherapy for this potentially deforming neoplasm.

Introducción: El cordoma es un tipo de sarcoma, una malignidad ósea primaria que se origina en la notocorda y se localiza en el eje espinal entre el clivus y el sacro. La primera descripción de esta patología fue en 1857. En la epidemiología de la enfermedad, los pacientes entre 40 y 60 años son los más afectados, siendo el principal sitio de afectación la región sacrocoxígea. El cuadro clínico es variable según el sitio afectado, con síntomas generalmente inespecíficos, lo que provoca retrasos en el diagnóstico realizado mediante biopsia. Entre las opciones de tratamiento, la resección quirúrgica con márgenes es actualmente el principal método, pudiendo asociarse a radioterapia o radiocirugía cuando sea necesario; los sitios más comunes de metástasis son los pulmones, los huesos, el hígado y los ganglios linfáticos locales. Informe del caso: Paciente, sexo femenino, de 62 años inició con dolor en la región coccígea, empeorando al sentarse y aparición de una lesión nodular con crecimiento progresivo, recibiendo diagnóstico de cordoma, luego de biopsia de la lesión, después de tres años. Debido a la extensión de la lesión optó inicialmente por tratamiento con quimio y radioterapia para citorreducción, por la poca reactividad fue sometida con éxito al tratamiento de sacralectomía, pero presentó como complicación dehiscencia de la herida quirúrgica y necesidad de reabordaje. Desde entonces sin recurrencia en el seguimiento clínico. Conclusión: Por lo tanto, es evidente la necesidad de seguir investigando sobre el cordoma, un tumor poco frecuente con escasa respuesta a los tratamientos no quirúrgicos, con el fin de mejorar la terapia de quimioterapia para esa neoplasia potencialmente deformante.

Out-of-office measurement of blood pressure: practice, patient adherence and impact on blood pressure control in a high-complexity public outpatient facility

INTRODUCTION: Out-of-Office Measurement of Blood Pressure (BP) is recommended in addition to office BP for the diagnosis and follow-up of hypertensive patients. Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM); Home Blood Pressure Monitoring (HBPM); and Self-Monitoring of BP (SMBP) are the currently available options and their indication may vary according to the context. The aim of the present study was to assess how Out-of-Office Measurement of BP takes place in clinical practice and its impact on BP control in a public tertiary outpatient clinic. METHODS: We evaluated 225 consecutive patients seen at a high-complexity public outpatient facility (mean age: 66.7 ± 11.9 years; female: 62.7%). All patients were routinely requested to perform SMBP according to a prespecified institutional protocol. ABPM and HBPM were indicated for selected cases at the discretion of the attending physician. Patient Adherence to Out-of-Office Measurement of BP was labeled into 5 possible categories: a) No Measurement; b) ABPM; c) HBPM; d) Adequate SMBP e) Inadequate SMBP. Patient Adherence was also stratified according to sex, age, number of antihypertensive drugs, schooling, length of follow-up at the facility, comorbidities and availability of BP monitor at home. Rates of BP control were related with Patient Adherence, as well as with the aforementioned variables. RESULTS: 87.5% of the study population reported having a BP monitor at home. However, adding up the 5 possible categories, adequate Out-of-Office Measurement of BP was available in only 46.7% of the sample (40.9% of the patients did not bring any measurement; 13.8% underwent ABPM; 32.9% adequate SMBP; 12.4% inadequate SMBP; 0% HBPM). Availability of a BP monitor at home (p<0.001) and the number of antihypertensive drugs in use (p=0.019) were strongly associated with adherence to SMBP. Prevalence of smoking was 2 folds higher (7.5% vs 3.4%) in those who returned without SMBP. Rate of BP control based on office BP was 42.6% (79.5% of the sample was under ≥3 classes of antihypertensive drugs). Out-of-office BP measurements were not associated with higher rates of BP control (p=0.377), but allowed to identify a White Coat Effect (WCE) in 1 out of 3 patients with uncontrolled BP according to office BP (WCE prevalence: 29 % among uncontrolled patients vs 3.9% among controlled ones. CONCLUSIONS: Outof-Office Measurement of BP is still an unmet need in the treatment of hypertension.

Study of anesthetics for euthanasia in rats and mice: A systematic review and meta-analysis on the impact upon biological outcomes (SAFE-RM).

AIM: To summarize the knowledge on the effect of anesthetics employed right before euthanasia on biological outcomes. DATA SOURCE: A systematic review of the literature to find studies with isoflurane, ketamine, halothane, pentobarbital, or thiopental just before euthanasia of laboratory rats or mice. STUDY SELECTION: Controlled studies with quantitative data available. DATA EXTRACTION: The search, data extraction, and risk of bias (RoB) were performed independently by two reviewers using a structured form. For each outcome, an effect size (ES) was calculated relative to the control group. Meta-analysis was performed using robust variance meta-regression for hierarchical data structures, with adjustment for small samples. DATA SYNTHESIS: We included 20 studies with 407 biological outcomes (110 unique). RoB analysis indicated that 87.5% of the domains evaluated showed unclear risk, 2% high risk, and 10.5% low risk. The effect size for all anesthetics considered together was 0.99 (CI95% = 0.75-1.23; p < 0.0001). Sub-analyses indicate high effect sizes for pentobarbital (1.14; CI95% = 0.75-1.52; p < 0.0001), and isoflurane (1.01; CI95% = 0.58-1.44; p = 0.0005) but not for ketamine (1.49; CI95% = -7.95-10.9; p = 0.295). CONCLUSION: We showed that anesthetics interfere differently with the majority of the outcomes assessed. However, our data did not support the use of one anesthetic over others or even the killing without anesthetics. We conclude that outcomes cannot be compared among studies without considering the killing method. This protocol was registered at Prospero (CRD42019119520). FUNDING: There was no direct funding for this research.

Indicadores de Qualidade na condução de estudos clínicos / Quality indicators in the conduct of clinical studies

Introdução: A geração, análise e difusão de indicadores pertinentes é uma das estratégias fundamentais do processo de gestão de qualidade. Indicadores são mensurações que avaliam direta ou indiretamente os processos e desfechos da assistência ao participante de pesquisa. Padrões rigorosos de qualidade garantirão a validade dos dados obtidos nos estudos clínicos. Métodos: Estudo transversal descritivo e analítico, com dados coletados no Centro de Pesquisa Clínica de um Hospital Universitário, durante Novembro/2016 a Fevereiro/2019 quanto ao tempo de inclusão de dados no electronic case report form (IID), tempo de comunicação de desvios de protocolo ao Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa (ICD), tempo de resposta aos feasibilities recebidos (IRF) e tempo de resposta às pendências de monitoria (IRP). Resultados: Variações substanciais foram encontradas entre os escores de qualidade ao longo de 27 meses. O desempenho geral da equipe do Escritório de Projetos em Pesquisa alcançou a classificação excelente ou satisfatória em 61,40% das observações: 50,87% e 10,52% respectivamente. Entre 38,59% de observações críticas, 17,54% foram expressas pelo IRP, seguido de 12,28% por ICD e 7% atribuído ao IID que não atingiram a meta proposta. Conclusão: O Escritório de Projetos em Pesquisa elencou dois indicadores de qualidade, IID e IRP, que podem melhorar o tempo e a eficácia das entregas propostas da equipe. (AU)

Introduction: The generation, analysis and dissemination of relevant indicators is a fundamental strategy in the quality management process. Indicators are measurements that directly or indirectly evaluate the processes and outcomes of the care provided to research participants. Rigorous quality standards will guarantee the validity of the data obtained in clinical studies. Methods: This descriptive, analytical cross-sectional study collected data at the Clinical Research Center of a University Hospital, covering the period from November 2016 to February 2019, regarding the time of data inclusion in the electronic case report form (IID), communication of protocol deviations to the Research Ethics Committee (ICD), response time to received feasibilities (IRF) and response time to monitoring pending issues (IRP). Results: Substantial variations were found between quality scores in a period of 27 months. The overall performance of the Research Project Office team was excellent or satisfactory in 61.40% of the observations (50.87% and 10.52% respectively). Among critical observations (38.59%), 17.54% were expressed by IRP, 12.28% by ICD and 7% by IID, indicating those that did not reach the proposed target. Conclusions: The Research Project Office has listed two quality indicators, IID and IRP, which can improve the time and effectiveness of team deliveries.(AU)

Derivation and validation of a preoperative risk model for postoperative mortality (SAMPE model): An approach to care stratification.

Ascertaining which patients are at highest risk of poor postoperative outcomes could improve care and enhance safety. This study aimed to construct and validate a propensity index for 30-day postoperative mortality. A retrospective cohort study was conducted at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil, over a period of 3 years. A dataset of 13524 patients was used to develop the model and another dataset of 7254 was used to validate it. The primary outcome was 30-day in-hospital mortality. Overall mortality in the development dataset was 2.31% [n = 311; 95% confidence interval: 2.06-2.56%]. Four variables were significantly associated with outcome: age, ASA class, nature of surgery (urgent/emergency vs elective), and surgical severity (major/intermediate/minor). The index with this set of variables to predict mortality in the validation sample (n = 7253) gave an AUROC = 0.9137, 85.2% sensitivity, and 81.7% specificity. This sensitivity cut-off yielded four classes of death probability: class I, <2%; class II, 2-5%; class III, 5-10%; class IV, >10%. Model application showed that, amongst patients in risk class IV, the odds of death were approximately fivefold higher (odds ratio 5.43, 95% confidence interval: 2.82-10.46) in those admitted to intensive care after a period on the regular ward than in those sent to the intensive care unit directly after surgery. The SAMPE (Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine Service) model accurately predicted 30-day postoperative mortality. This model allows identification of high-risk patients and could be used as a practical tool for care stratification and rational postoperative allocation of critical care resources.