Preoperative inspiratory muscle training for postoperative pulmonary complications in adults undergoing cardiac and major abdominal surgery.

IMPORTANCE Progression-free survival (PFS) has become a commonly used outcome to assess the efficacy of new cancer drugs. However, it is not clear if delay in progression leads to improved quality of life with or without overall survival benefit. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between PFS and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in oncology through a systematic review and quantitative analysis of published randomized clinical trials. Eligible trials addressed oral, intravenous, intraperitoneal, or intrapleural chemotherapy or biological treatments, and reported PFS or health-related quality of life. DATA SOURCES For this systematic review and quantitative analysis of randomized clinical trials of patients with cancer, we searched Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from January 1, 2000, through May 4, 2016. STUDY SELECTION Paired reviewers independently screened citations, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias of included studies. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS We examined the association of difference in median PFS duration (in months) between treatment groups with difference in global, physical, and emotional HRQoL scores between groups (standardized to a range of 0-100, with higher scores representing better HRQoL) using weighted simple regressions. MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURE The association between PFS duration and HRQoL. RESULTS Of 35 960 records screened, 52 articles reporting on 38 randomized clinical trials involving 13 979 patients across 12 cancer types using 6 different HRQoL instruments were included. The mean (SD) difference in median PFS between the intervention and the control arms was 1.91 (3.35) months. The mean (SD) differences in change of HRQoL adjusted to per-month values were −0.39 (3.59) for the global domain, 0.26 (5.56) for the physical domain, and 1.08 (3.49) for the emotional domain. The slope of the association between the difference in median PFS and the difference in change for global HRQoL (n = 30 trials) was 0.12 (95% CI, −0.27 to 0.52); for physical HRQoL (n = 20 trials) it was −0.20 (95% CI, −0.62 to 0.23); and for emotional HRQoL (n = 13 trials) it was 0.78 (95% CI, −0.05 to 1.60). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE We failed to find a significant association between PFS and HRQoL in cancer clinical trials. These findings raise questions regarding the assumption that interventions prolonging PFS also improve HRQoL in patients with cancer. Therefore, to ensure that patients are truly obtaining important benefit from cancer therapies, clinical trial investigators should measure HRQoL directly and accurately, ensuring adequate duration and follow-up.

Background and methodThe aim of this study was to assess retrospectively the clinical presentation, management and outcome of three patients with isolated SMA dissection encountered at Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Hospital, Japan from 2005 to 2006, along with a review of the literature. We follow up the patient's clinical symptoms and the image by using enhanced dynamic CT at 1 week, 1 or 2 months, 6 months, and yearly after onset.Case presentationWe present three patients with acute abdominal pain due to spontaneous dissection of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA), who were treated by surgical revascularization or conservative management. Two patients underwent surgery because of signs or symptoms of intestinal ischemia and one patient elected conservative management. The SMA was repaired by bypass graft in two cases, and in one of these, the graft was occluded because of prominent native flow from the SMA. All patients were symptom free and there was no evidence of disease recurrence after a median follow-up of 4.3 years.ConclusionAlthough the indications for surgery are still controversial, we should proceed with exploratory laparotomy if the patient has acute symptoms with suspicion of mesenteric ischemia. A non-operative approach for SMA dissection requires close follow-up abdominal CT, with a focus on the clinical signs of mesenteric ischemia and the vascular supply of the SMA, including collateral flow from the celiac artery and inferior mesenteric artery.

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2020 (J‐SSCG 2020), a Japanese‐specific set of clinical practice guidelines for sepsis and septic shock created as revised from J‐SSCG 2016 jointly by the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, was first released in September 2020 and published in February 2021. An English‐language version of these guidelines was created based on the contents of the original Japanese‐language version. The purpose of this guideline is to assist medical staff in making appropriate decisions to improve the prognosis of patients undergoing treatment for sepsis and septic shock. We aimed to provide high‐quality guidelines that are easy to use and understand for specialists, general clinicians, and multidisciplinary medical professionals. J‐SSCG 2016 took up new subjects that were not present in SSCG 2016 (e.g., ICU‐acquired weakness [ICU‐AW], post‐intensive care syndrome [PICS], and body temperature management). The J‐SSCG 2020 covered a total of 22 areas with four additional new areas (patient‐ and family‐centered care, sepsis treatment system, neuro‐intensive treatment, and stress ulcers). A total of 118 important clinical issues (clinical questions, CQs) were extracted regardless of the presence or absence of evidence. These CQs also include those that have been given particular focus within Japan. This is a large‐scale guideline covering multiple fields; thus, in addition to the 25 committee members, we had the participation and support of a total of 226 members who are professionals (physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, clinical engineers, and pharmacists) and medical workers with a history of sepsis or critical illness. The GRADE method was adopted for making recommendations, and the modified Delphi method was used to determine recommendations by voting from all committee members. As a result, 79 GRADE‐based recommendations, 5 Good Practice Statements (GPS), 18 expert consensuses, 27 answers to background questions (BQs), and summaries of definitions and diagnosis of sepsis were created as responses to 118 CQs. We also incorporated visual information for each CQ according to the time course of treatment, and we will also distribute this as an app. The J‐SSCG 2020 is expected to be widely used as a useful bedside guideline in the field of sepsis treatment both in Japan and overseas involving multiple disciplines.

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2020 (J-SSCG 2020), a Japanese-specific set of clinical practice guidelines for sepsis and septic shock created as revised from J-SSCG 2016 jointly by the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, was first released in September 2020 and published in February 2021. An English-language version of these guidelines was created based on the contents of the original Japanese-language version. The purpose of this guideline is to assist medical staff in making appropriate decisions to improve the prognosis of patients undergoing treatment for sepsis and septic shock. We aimed to provide high-quality guidelines that are easy to use and understand for specialists, general clinicians, and multidisciplinary medical professionals. J-SSCG 2016 took up new subjects that were not present in SSCG 2016 (e.g., ICU-acquired weakness [ICU-AW], post-intensive care syndrome [PICS], and body temperature management). The J-SSCG 2020 covered a total of 22 areas with four additional new areas (patient- and family-centered care, sepsis treatment system, neuro-intensive treatment, and stress ulcers). A total of 118 important clinical issues (clinical questions, CQs) were extracted regardless of the presence or absence of evidence. These CQs also include those that have been given particular focus within Japan. This is a large-scale guideline covering multiple fields; thus, in addition to the 25 committee members, we had the participation and support of a total of 226 members who are professionals (physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, clinical engineers, and pharmacists) and medical workers with a history of sepsis or critical illness. The GRADE method was adopted for making recommendations, and the modified Delphi method was used to determine recommendations by voting from all committee members.As a result, 79 GRADE-based recommendations, 5 Good Practice Statements (GPS), 18 expert consensuses, 27 answers to background questions (BQs), and summaries of definitions and diagnosis of sepsis were created as responses to 118 CQs. We also incorporated visual information for each CQ according to the time course of treatment, and we will also distribute this as an app. The J-SSCG 2020 is expected to be widely used as a useful bedside guideline in the field of sepsis treatment both in Japan and overseas involving multiple disciplines.

No abstract

We recommend treatment of all true PDA aneurysms at the time of diagnosis. True PDA aneurysm with celiac artery stenosis or occlusion requires precise techniques for embolization to preserve blood flow in the celiac artery territory.

IntroductionExtranodal lymphoma (ENL) in the muscles is a rare manifestation of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The aim of this case report is to describe and evaluate the clinical presentation and important radiologic features of ENL affecting the musculoskeletal system.Presentation of caseWe present a 52-year-old female with a 3-week history of left gluteal pain. Computed tomography (CT) showed a non-uniformly early enhancing mass in the left gluteal muscle, the tumor demonstrating central necrosis and adjacent bone involvement. Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET)/CT showed areas of increased 18F-FDG uptake in the left gluteal musculature, pelvic bones, para-aortic and mediastinal lymph nodes and both lungs. Histopathological examination showed a diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). After 8 cycles of R-CHOP chemotherapy, the mass in the left gluteal muscle has completely disappearedDiscussionAlthough destructive tumor originating in the gluteal muscle with adjacent bone involvement is more common in soft tissue sarcoma, lymphoma should be regularly included in the differential diagnosis. While CT is a useful modality for assessing soft tissue masses, disruption and injury of the surrounding tissues, PET/CT fusion is superior for the detection of unexpected extranodal sites of disease, or for exclusion of disease in the presence of nonspecific extranodal CT findings.ConclusionA rapid growth pattern and destructive masses that invade adjacent structures on CT are key findings of DLBCL, and 18F-FDG PET/CT is a useful imaging modality to accurately determine the disease stage and disease aggressiveness of NHL.