No abstract

Background: Careful assessment of the reasons for discontinuation of active surveillance (AS) is required for men with prostate cancer (PCa). Objective: Using Movember's Global Action Plan Prostate Cancer Active Surveillance initiative (GAP3) database, we report on reasons for AS discontinuation. Design, setting, and participants: We compared data from 10 296 men on AS from 21 centres across 12 countries. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Cumulative incidence methods were used to estimate the cumulative incidence rates of AS discontinuation. Results and limitations: During 5-yr follow-up, 27.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 26.4-28.6%) men showed signs of disease progression, 12.8% (95% CI: 12.0-13.6%) converted to active treatment without evidence of progression, 1.7% (95% CI: 1.5-2.0%) continued to watchful waiting, and 1.7% (95% CI: 1.4-2.1%) died from other causes. Of the 7049 men who remained on AS, 2339 had follow-up for >5 yr, 4561 had follow-up for <5 yr, and 149 were lost to follow-up. Cumulative incidence of progression was 27.5% (95% CI: 26.4-28.6%) at 5 yr and 38.2% (95% CI: 36.7-39.9%) at 10 yr. A limitation is that not all centres were included due to limited information on the reason for discontinuation and limited follow-up. Conclusions: Our descriptive analyses of current AS practices worldwide showed that 43.6% of men drop out of AS during 5-yr follow-up, mainly due to signs of disease progression. Improvements in selection tools for AS are thus needed to correctly allocate men with PCa to AS, which will also reduce discontinuation due to conversion to active treatment without evidence of disease progression. Patient summary: Our assessment of a worldwide database of men with prostate cancer (PCa) on active surveillance (AS) shows that 43.6% drop out of AS within 5 yr, mainly due to signs of disease progression. Better tools are needed to select and monitor men with PCa as part of AS.

Preoperative self-reported assessment of depression and pain can assist with identifying patients at higher risk of longer lengths of stay. Patient's self-reported preoperative measures of depression and pain should be incorporated into patient pathways. They provide opportunities for improving management of general surgery patients and possibly play a role in aligning hospital funding with patients' needs.

Background Depression and chronic pain are debilitating disorders that co-exist with many chronic diseases. Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is no exception. Nonetheless, little is known about the association between these co-related conditions and the treatment of CRS. The objective of this study is to measure outcomes following endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) in CRS patients reporting significant pre-operative depression and pain. Methods This is a prospective longitudinal cohort study examining patients with CRS who had failed maximal medical therapy and subsequently underwent ESS. Participants completed a several patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments pre-operatively and 6 months post-operatively. The PROs included the Sinonasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) measuring symptoms of depression and an assessment of chronic pain using the pain intensity (P), interference with enjoyment of life (E) and general (G) activity instrument, the PEG instrument. Results The study had 142 participants complete their pre-operative and post-operative surveys. The participation rate was 40.1% among eligible patients. The prevalence of at least moderate depression was 22 patients (15.5%) among participants. Compared with non-depressed participants, the pre-operative sino-nasal disease burden and pain scores were higher among depressed participants ( p <  0.001) and the gain in health following surgery was smaller ( p <  0.001). Conclusions Pre-operative disease burden is higher among depressed patients. Post-operative gains in sino-nasal quality of life attributable to endoscopic sinus surgery were significantly smaller among depressed participants. Pre-operative screening for depression could identify opportunities for medical intervention and improve outcomes among CRS patients.

Background:There is little research investigating which aspects of health-related quality of life change following ankle arthrodesis and total ankle replacement surgery. The objective of this study was to report on statistically and clinically relevant changes in multiple dimensions of health-related quality of life among patients undergoing ankle replacement or fusion surgery.Methods:This study was based on a prospective sample of ankle arthrodesis and total ankle replacement patients. Participants complete the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale, EuroQoL’s EQ-5D-3L, the Patient Health Questionnaire–9, and the pain intensity, interference with enjoyment of life, and general activity pain instrument. Instruments were completed preoperatively and postoperatively. Multivariate regression models were used to measure the change in health-related quality of life outcomes, adjusting for demographic, clinical, and health service utilization.Results:Participants achieved statistically significant improvements in health-related quality of life in each domain of measurement. The majority of participants reported clinically significant improvement in pain. Mild depressive symptoms were common, and clinically significant improvement in depression symptoms occurred in 22% of patients. Gains in health were more pronounced among participants reporting the worst preoperative health in all domains quality of life measured.Conclusions:Pain showed a clinically important improvement among 64% of participants whereas 22% reported a clinically meaningful improvement in their depression symptoms postoperatively. Clinically significant gains in health-related quality of life were not experienced by all participants in all dimensions. Further research is warranted to better understand the failure of some patients to improve in dimensions of health studied.Level of Evidence:Level III, comparative study.