SLN biopsy is readily feasible with identification of SLN in at least 90% of patients with colorectal cancers. Our results indicate that 45% of patients initially staged as Dukes B had tumor cells identified in their SLN when these were subjected to our protocol. This represented a 25% upgrading rate when our complete study population is considered. However, controversy persist about the clinical significance and metastatic potential of these often very small clusters of tumor cells.
Patients with peripheral vascular disease have a high prevalence of coronary artery disease and are at increased risk for cardiac morbidity and death after vascular reconstruction. The present study was undertaken to assess the value of 18 clinical parameters, of 7 clinical scoring systems, and of quantitative dipyridamole-thallium imaging for predicting the occurrence of postoperative myocardial infarction or cardiac death. Vascular surgery was performed in 125 patients. Thirteen postoperative cardiac events occurred, including 10 cardiac deaths and 3 nonfatal infarctions. Clinical parameters were not useful in predicting postoperative outcome. All 63 patients with normal scan results or fixed perfusion defects underwent surgery uneventfully, whereas 21% (13/62) of patients with reversible defects had a postoperative cardiac complication. By use of quantitative scintigraphic indexes we found that patients with reversible defects could be stratified into intermediate and high-risk subgroups with postoperative event rates of 5% (2/47) and 85% (11/13), respectively, despite intensive postoperative monitoring and antianginal medication. Thus in patients unable to complete a standard exercise stress test, postoperative outcome cannot be predicted clinically, whereas dipyridamole-thallium imaging successfully identified all patients who had a postoperative cardiac event. By use of quantification we found that patients with reversible defects can be stratified into an intermediate risk subgroup that can undergo surgery with minimal complication rate and a high-risk subgroup that requires coronary angiography.
A total of 360 patients underwent preoperative cardiac risk assessment using 23 clinical parameters, seven multivariate clinical scoring systems, and quantitative dipyridamole-thallium imaging to predict postoperative and long-term myocardial infarction and cardiac death after noncardiac surgery. There were 30 postoperative and an additional 13 cumulative long-term cardiac events after an average follow-up of 15 months. Clinical descriptors were not useful in predicting the outcome of individual patients. The postoperative and long-term cardiac event rates were 1% and 3.5%, respectively, in patients with normal scans or fixed perfusion defects, and 17.5% and 22% in patients with reversible defects. Using quantitative indices reflecting the amount of jeopardized myocardium, patients could be stratified by dipyridamole imaging into multiple scintigraphic subsets, with corresponding postoperative and 1-year coronary morbidity and mortality rates ranging from 0.5% to 100% (p = 0.0001). Thus, postoperative and long-term cardiac events cannot be predicted clinically, whereas quantitative dipyridamole imaging accurately identifies high-risk patients who require preoperative coronary angiography.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.