The British journal of surgery
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Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Meta-analysis of α-blockade versus no blockade before adrenalectomy for phaeochromocytoma.
Preoperative α-blockade in phaeochromocytoma surgery is recommended by all guidelines to prevent intraoperative cardiocirculatory events. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the benefit of such preoperative treatment compared with no treatment before adrenalectomy for phaeochromocytoma. ⋯ This meta-analysis has shown a lack of evidence for preoperative α-blockade in surgery for phaeochromocytoma. RCTs are needed to evaluate whether preoperative α-blockade can be abandoned.
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Review Meta Analysis
Umbrella review and meta-analysis of antiplatelet therapy for peripheral artery disease.
The literature on antiplatelet therapy for peripheral artery disease has historically been summarized inconsistently, leading to conflict between international guidelines. An umbrella review and meta-analysis was performed to summarize the literature, allow assessment of competing safety risks and clinical benefits, and identify weak areas for future research. ⋯ Antiplatelet monotherapy has minimal clinical benefit for asymptomatic peripheral artery disease, and limited benefit for symptomatic disease, with a clear risk of major bleeding. There is a lack of evidence to guide antiplatelet prescribing after peripheral endovascular intervention.
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Magnetic sphincter augmentation (MSA) is reported to be an innovative alternative to antireflux surgery for patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Although used in practice, little is known about how it has been evaluated. This study aimed to systematically summarize and appraise the reporting of MSA and its introduction into clinical practice, in the context of guidelines (such as IDEAL) for evaluating innovative surgical devices. ⋯ Most studies on MSA lacked information about patient selection, governance, expertise, techniques and outcomes, or varied between studies. Currently, MSA is being used despite a lack of robust evidence for its effectiveness.
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A subset of patients with early gastric cancer demonstrate early recurrence and poor survival despite margin-negative resection. This study used an extremes-of-survivorship approach to identify an association between TP53 hotspot mutations co-occurring with loss of heterozygosity and unexpectedly poor survival in early gastric cancer. This distinct genomic profile may be a novel biomarker of poor survival in patients with completely resected early gastric cancer, and warrants large-scale validation. Promising, validation needed.