Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a mucinous tumour of the appendix that spreads into the peritoneal cavity in the form of gelatinous deposits. The incidence of PMP is believed to be approximately 1-3 out of a million per year. Nonetheless, due to its indolent nature, it is usually discovered at an advanced stage and severely impacts quality of life. Curative treatment for PMP is complete cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). An extensive literature review was conducted searching EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases for PMP in aims to delineate a clinical approach to diagnosis and treatment. Literature was limited to the years 2007-2018. We found the 5-year overall survival with CRS and HIPEC estimated to be between 23%-82% and rates of major complications as high as 24%. Therefore, it is important to appropriately stage and select patients that should undergo CRS with HIPEC. Modalities like MDCT radiological scores have been shown to have sensitivity and specificity of 94% and 81%, respectively, in being able to predict resectability and survival. Despite treatment, the disease often recurs. Tumor markers have significant potential for establishing prognosis pre-operatively, and this paper will review the most recent evidence in support of them.

The liver is a major organ and an essential component in maintaining an appropriate nutritional status in healthy individuals through metabolism of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. In individuals with chronic liver disease (CLD), along with a number of other essential functions that the liver serves, its role in nutrition maintenance is severely impaired. Common causes of CLD include hepatitis C, alcoholic liver disease, and non-alcoholic liver disease. Amongst this population, the most common manifestation of impaired nutritional maintenance is protein-calorie malnutrition. Aside from inherent abnormalities in metabolism, such as malabsorption and maldigestion, CLD can be associated with anorexia as well as increased metabolic requirements, all of which contribute to a state of malnutrition. Given the systemic implications and impact on prognosis of malnutrition, proper nutritional assessment is essential and can be achieved through a thorough history and physical, as well as biochemical investigations and anthropometry as needed. Following an appropriate assessment of a patient’s nutritional status, an approach to management can be decided upon and is based on the extent of malnutrition which directly reflects the severity of disease. Management options can be grossly separated into enteral and parenteral nutrition. The former is usually sufficient in the form of oral supplements in less severe cases of malnutrition, but as the CLD worsens, parenteral nutrition becomes necessary. With appropriate assessment and early intervention, many of the complications of CLD can be avoided, and ultimately better outcomes can be achieved.

ObjectivesTo investigate predictors of healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) attitudes towards family involvement in safety-relevant behaviours.DesignA cross-sectional fractional factorial survey that assessed HCPs’ attitudes towards family involvement in two error scenarios relating to hand hygiene and medication safety. Each survey comprised two randomised vignettes that described the potential error, how the family member communicated with the HCP about the error and how the HCP responded to the family member’s question.Setting5 teaching hospitals in London, the Midlands and York. HCPs were approached on a range of medical and surgical wards.Participants160 HCPs (73 doctors; 87 nurses) aged between 21 and 65 years (mean 37) 102 were female.Outcome measuresHCP approval of family member’s behaviour; HCP reaction to the family member; anticipated effects on the family member–HCP relationship; HCP support for being questioned about hand hygiene/medication; affective rating responses.ResultsHCPs supported family member's intervening (88%) but only 41% agreed this would have positive effects on the family member/HCP relationship. Across vignettes and error scenarios the strongest predictors of attitudes were how the HCP (in the scenario) responded to the family member and whether an error actually occurred. Doctors (vs nurses) provided systematically more positive affective ratings to the vignettes.ConclusionsImportant predictors of HCPs’ attitudes towards family members’ involvement in patient safety have been highlighted. In particular, a discouraging response from HCP’s decreased support for family members being involved and had strong perceived negative effects on the family member/HCP relationship.

P resentation at research conferences serves as a valuable channel for individuals to share new knowledge and advances in a given clinical field. The ultimate goal of a conference presentation is usually subsequent manuscript publication. The process of submitting a manuscript for publication typically requires extensive peer review and revisions (1). Research quality plays a major role in whether a study is accepted by a journal. Therefore, assessing the rate at which presentations at major conferences are published can serve as a surrogate marker of the quality of conference presentations.Insight into publication rate raises the question of which factors, if any, increase the likelihood of a conference abstract ultimately being published in a peer-reviewed journal. For example, past studies have demonstrated publication bias, in which studies with positive or statistically significant results are more likely to be accepted by a journal compared with those with nonsignificant results (2).The publication rate of presentations at major conferences varies depending on the specialty and conference. Publication rates for various national surgical conferences have been shown to range from 36% to 65% (3-6). Other example publication rates include 32% for emergency medicine, 35%-50% for pediatrics, and 50% for cardiology (3, 7). A previous meta-analysis reviewed the number of abstracts that went on to publication for several specialty conferences and reported publication rates that varied from 32%-67% (3). I N T E R V E N T I O N A L R A D I O LO G Y O R I G I N A L A R T I C L E PURPOSEWe aimed to determine the publication rate and factors predictive of publication of oral presentations at the annual meetings of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe (CIRSE) and the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR). METHODSKeywords and authors from oral presentation abstracts at the 2012 CIRSE and SIR annual meetings were used to search PubMed and GoogleScholar for subsequent publication. Logistic regression was performed to identify whether number of authors, country of origin, subject category, methodology, study type, and/or study results were predictive of publication. RESULTSA total of 421 abstracts (CIRSE-126, SIR-295) met the inclusion criteria. The overall publication rate across both conferences was 44.9%. Time from conference presentation to publication was 15±8.9 months for CIRSE and 16.3±8.8 months for SIR (P > 0.05), with a combined time interval of 15.9±8.8 months for both. The median impact factor of published abstracts was 2.075 (interquartile range, 2.075-2.775) for CIRSE and 2.093 (2.075-2.856) for SIR (P > 0.05). The most common country of origin for published abstracts was Germany (27.1%) at CIRSE and the United States (69%) at SIR. Logistic regression did not identify factors that were predictive of future publication. CONCLUSIONPublication rates were similar for CIRSE and SIR. Factors such as country of origin, topic of study and study results were not predictive of future pub...

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