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Journal and News Scan
August 23, 2019
Submitted by: Emily Robinson
Zhang and colleagues examined serum biomarker levels in patients undergoing a lobectomy using video-assisted thoracic surgery. Among 626 patients, they found that preoperative serum LDH was an independent predictor of 90-day cardiopulmonary complications. The authors recommend including LDH measurements in the risk assessment process prior to major lung resection.
August 23, 2019
Submitted by: Emily Robinson
Egyud and colleagues evaluated plasma levels of circulating tumor (ct)DNA in patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma, ranging from stage I to stage IV. The quantity of ctDNA and likelihood of ctDNA detection was greater at later stages, suggesting that it may be challenging to use for early-stage diagnosis. However, changes in ctDNA levels were indicative of response to therapy and recurrence, and the authors conclude that they may serve as a dynamic biomarker to monitor a patient’s response to treatment.
August 23, 2019
Submitted by: Aristotle Protopapas
Excellent and brief summary of the debate on functional mitral regurgitation on mechanical support.
August 22, 2019
Submitted by: Aristotle Protopapas
A robust RCT that denies association of nuclear CT-defined myocardial viability and long-term benefit from surgical coronary revascularisation. It is worth following the discussion this manuscript is certain to generate..
August 22, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
In this multiinstitutional retrospective study, administration of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with persistent nodal disease after induction therapy and esophagectomy was associated with improved survival.
August 22, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
This study of over 25,000 pts from the International Lung Cancer Consortium identified underweight and severly obese patients as having poorer survival than others, whereas a survival advantage was evident among patients who were overweight or mildly obese. Decreased BMI (wt loss) was associated with poorer outcomes across all BMI categories.
August 21, 2019
Submitted by: Aristotle Protopapas
An interesting discussion in this manuscript of a case-control study of 666 subjects.
August 20, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
It's never too late to quit. Among heavy smokers, smoking cessation resulted in a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease within five years of quitting (hazard ratio 0.61), although their risk remained elevated compared to never smokers.
August 20, 2019
Submitted by: Aristotle Protopapas
Interesting follow-up study of 208 pulmonary ground -glass opacities in 160 subjects, with a yield of three adenocardinomas.
August 19, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
In a QI study of nearly 5,400 operations, 188 adverse events were recorded. Of these, over 56% were associated with human error. Of all human performance deficiencies, cognitive error accounted for over half.