Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Multicenter Study
Acute Fibrinolysis Shutdown after Injury Occurs Frequently and Increases Mortality: A Multicenter Evaluation of 2,540 Severely Injured Patients.
Fibrinolysis is a physiologic process that maintains microvascular patency by breaking down excessive fibrin clot. Hyperfibrinolysis is associated with a doubling of mortality. Fibrinolysis shutdown, an acute impairment of fibrinolysis, has been recognized as a risk factor for increased mortality. The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence and outcomes of fibrinolysis phenotypes in 2 urban trauma centers. ⋯ Fibrinolysis shutdown is the most common phenotype on admission and is associated with increased mortality. These data provide additional evidence of distinct phenotypes of coagulation impairment and that individualized hemostatic therapy may be required.
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Level 1 data demonstrate that adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) improves survival after surgical resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), (adjuvant gemcitabine, CONKO-001 study; adjuvant 5-FU, ESPAC3 study). The role of adjuvant chemoradiation therapy (ACRT) remains controversial. What is less clear is whether adjuvant therapy influences patterns of recurrence. The purpose of this study was to perform the first multicenter study analyzing patterns of recurrence after adjuvant therapy for PDAC. ⋯ This is the first analysis demonstrating differences in recurrence patterns in PDAC patients based on type of adjuvant therapy. Adjuvant chemotherapy provided an OS advantage likely related to its effect on reducing both LR and DR. Adjuvant chemoradiation therapy appears to decrease LR, but not DR, and therefore has less impact on OS. Future investigations and treatment protocols should consider additional ACT rather than ACRT in the treatment of PDAC.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Patients with Complicated Intra-abdominal Infection Presenting with Sepsis Do Not Require Longer Duration of Antimicrobial Therapy.
A recent prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial found that 4 days of antibiotics after source control of complicated intra-abdominal infections resulted in similar outcomes when compared with longer duration. We hypothesized that the subset of patients presenting with sepsis have similar outcomes when treated with the shorter course of antibiotics. ⋯ There was no difference in outcomes between short and long-course antimicrobial therapy in patients with complicated intra-abdominal infection presenting with sepsis. Our findings suggest that the presence of systemic illness does not mandate a longer antimicrobial course if source control of complicated intra-abdominal infection is obtained.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Molecular Staging of Sentinel Lymph Nodes Identifies Melanoma Patients at Increased Risk of Nodal Recurrence.
Molecular staging of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) may identify patients who are node-negative by standard microscopic staging but are at increased risk for regional nodal recurrence; such patients may benefit from completion lymph node dissection (CLND). ⋯ Patients with microscopically negative/PCR+ SLN have an increased risk of nodal recurrence that was mitigated by CLND. Although CLND did not affect OS, these data suggest that molecular detection of melanoma-specific mRNA in the SLN predicts a greater risk of nodal recurrence and deserves further study.
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Multicenter Study
Outcomes of Adjuvant Mitotane after Resection of Adrenocortical Carcinoma: A 13-Institution Study by the US Adrenocortical Carcinoma Group.
Current treatment guidelines recommend adjuvant mitotane after resection of adrenocortical carcinoma with high-risk features (eg, tumor rupture, positive margins, positive lymph nodes, high grade, elevated mitotic index, and advanced stage). Limited data exist on the outcomes associated with these practice guidelines. ⋯ When accounting for stage and adverse tumor and treatment-related factors, adjuvant mitotane after resection of adrenocortical carcinoma is not associated with improved RFS or OS. Current guidelines should be revisited and prospective trials are needed.