Diseases of the colon and rectum
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Patients with Crohn's disease treated with anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha agents may have an increased risk of surgical complications. ⋯ In studies with a low risk of bias, anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha agents increased the risk of anastomotic complications. Inadequate bias control may lead to an underestimated risk of anastomotic complications.
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Peritoneal carcinomatosis and liver metastases are common metastatic sites in patients who have colorectal cancer. Quite frequently, patients present with both synchronous liver and peritoneal metastases, which may result in a dilemma regarding the optimal treatment. ⋯ Both liver metastasis and peritoneal carcinomatosis were present in 8% of patients presenting with metastasized colorectal cancer. Population-based survival was only 5 months, with none of the patients undergoing treatment with curative intent. Median survival rates of up to 36 months after treatment with curative intent as published in the literature may be regarded as promising for selected patients.
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Spin has been defined as "specific reporting that could distort the interpretation of results and mislead readers." ⋯ The distortion of nonsignificant results in laparoscopic trials was highly prevalent in this review. Readers of trials with nonsignificant results should be cautious of the authors' interpretations. Editors, reviewers, and publishers should ensure that author's conclusions correspond to the study's results and design.