Irish journal of medical science
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Despite the increased uptake of intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) for treating severely calcified coronary lesions, there is limited patient-level data examining the effect of IVL on quality of life, symptomatology, and outcomes beyond 30 days. We sought to assess demographics, procedural characteristics, outcomes, and impact of IVL on patient-reported angina after a minimum of 6 months follow-up. ⋯ Coronary IVL is a safe and effective adjunctive therapy for treating heavily calcified coronary lesions. This cohort shows high procedural success and a significant reduction in CCS angina at follow-up.
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Vitamin B12 (VB12) deficiency is a well-described complication post-gastrectomy. It is caused by the loss of parietal cell mass leading to megaloblastic anaemia. This closed-loop audit assesses patient understanding of and adherence with VB12 supplementation guidelines post-gastrectomy. ⋯ This study demonstrates good adherence in those undergoing TG. Patient understanding correlates with adherence, suggesting that patient education and knowledge reinforcement may be key to adherence with VB12 supplementation. A simple educational intervention can improve adherence with VB12 supplementation in patients undergoing gastrectomy.
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Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor is widely utilized in advanced-stage carcinomas including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), while its neoadjuvant application plus transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in HCC remains unexplored. Thereby, the current study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of TACE plus PD-1 inhibitor as neoadjuvant therapy bridging to surgical resection in intermediate-stage HCC patients. ⋯ Neoadjuvant TACE plus PD-1 inhibitor realizes a satisfying downstaging rate, acceptable survival profile, and tolerance in intermediate-stage HCC patients.
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Apatinib, a small molecule targeting VEGFR2, is commonly used for advanced gastric cancer treatment. This prospective cohort study further investigated the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant apatinib plus chemotherapy in locally advanced gastric carcinoma patients. ⋯ Neoadjuvant apatinib plus chemotherapy realizes better clinical response, pathological response, survival profile, and non-inferior safety profile compared to chemotherapy in locally advanced gastric carcinoma.
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Altered mental status occurs in one in four older adults, and the risk increases with age. Numerous scoring systems have been improved to predict mortality, but data are limited for these scoring systems to interpret older adult patients. ⋯ NEWS2 score can be used to predict 48-h mortality, 30-day mortality, and intensive care unit hospitalization compared with qSOFA in older adults with altered mental status.