Polskie Archiwum Medycyny Wewnętrznej
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Feb 2022
The relevance of atrial fibrillation to the safety and efficacy of mechanical thrombectomy in stroke patients.
The association between atrial fibrillation (AF) and the outcome of mechanical throm‑bectomy (MT) in patients with stroke has not been determined so far. ⋯ Atrial fibrillation does not affect MT outcomes in patients with acute stroke. Age, the de‑gree of postinterventional reperfusion, and neurologic status in ultra ‑acute stroke are the strongest predictors of poor functional status.
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Radiotherapy is one of the oldest cancer treatment modalities, used for over 100 years. As its efficacy has been steadily increasing due to the introduction of novel treatment methods, adverse events (AEs) still pose a major obstacle limiting the therapeutic benefits in some patients and negatively impacting treatment outcomes. In light of the technological progress, the focus has been shifted from improving the efficacy to safeguarding patients from the most severe AEs through improvements of safety and accuracy of radiation delivery. ⋯ In this review, we present the most common and severe AEs of radiotherapy associated with damage to the nervous, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and urogenital systems. We also describe the pathogenesis of these AEs, and provide guidelines for prevention, risk assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Novel findings and future perspectives in this field are also elucidated, including examples of ongoing clinical trials aimed not only at improving treatment outcomes but also at reducing the risk of radiotherapy complications in cancer treatment survivors.