The British journal of surgery
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Superparamagnetic iron oxide-enhanced MRI at 3 T for accurate axillary staging in breast cancer.
The aim of this study was to evaluate whether MRI at 3 T with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) enhancement is an accurate and useful method for detecting metastases in sentinel nodes identified by CT-lymphography (CT-LG) in patients with breast cancer. The results were compared with those obtained using CT-LG alone and diagnosing metastasis according to size criteria. ⋯ SPIO-enhanced MRI at 3 T is useful for accurate diagnosis of metastatic sentinel nodes, indicating that sentinel node biopsy may be avoided in patients with breast cancer who have non-metastatic sentinel nodes on imaging.
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Observational Study
Characteristics, incidence and temporal trends of sepsis in elderly patients undergoing surgery.
Despite increasing rates of surgery in the elderly, there is limited population-based information on sepsis in this age group. This study aimed to characterize the epidemiology and national trends of sepsis among elderly patients undergoing surgery in Spain. ⋯ Rates of sepsis are increasing among elderly patients undergoing surgery, whereas in-hospital case fatality, although common, is showing a decreasing trend.
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Risk adjustment models for short-term outcomes after surgical resection for oesophagogastric cancer.
Outcomes for oesophagogastric cancer surgery are compared with the aim of benchmarking quality of care. Adjusting for patient characteristics is crucial to avoid biased comparisons between providers. The study objective was to develop a case-mix adjustment model for comparing 30- and 90-day mortality and anastomotic leakage rates after oesophagogastric cancer resections. ⋯ Based on available data, three case-mix adjustment models for postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing curative surgery for oesophagogastric cancer were developed. These models should be used for risk adjustment when assessing hospital performance in the National Health Service, and tested in other large health systems.
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Treatment guidelines for stage II and III rectal cancer include neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, surgery and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. Although data support this recommendation in younger patients, it is unclear whether this benefit can be extrapolated to elderly patients (aged 75 years or older). ⋯ A multimodal approach in elderly patients with stage III rectal cancer improved oncological outcomes.
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Breast cancer screening, improved imaging and neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST) have led to increased numbers of non-palpable tumours suitable for breast-conserving surgery (BCS). Accurate tumour localization is essential to achieve a complete resection in these patients. This study evaluated the role of radioactive seed localization (RSL) in improving breast- and axilla-conserving surgery in patients with breast cancer with or without NST. ⋯ In the present study of more than 1200 patients and 7 years of experience, RSL was shown to facilitate breast- and axilla-conserving surgery in a diverse patient population. There was a significant reduction in resection volume while maintaining low positive resection margin rates after BCS.