Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Turk J Med Sci 2021 Apr 17. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic created concerns among patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy. Frequency of COVID-19 and impact of lockdown on treatment compliance in patients with vasculitis are largely unknown.

Patients And Method: Patients with ANCA-associated and large vessel vasculitis that have been followed-up in our clinic were contacted by phone and a questionnaire containing home isolation status, treatment adherence and history of COVID-19 between March 1st and June 30th, 2020 was applied. Read More

Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Hospital, Duesseldorf, Germany.

Objectives:  The global shortage of donor organs has urged transplanting units to extend donor selection criteria, for example, impaired left ventricular function (LVF), leading to the use of marginal donor hearts. We retrospectively analyzed our patients after orthotopic heart transplantation (oHTX) with a focus on the clinical outcome depending on donor LVF.

Methods:  Donor reports, intraoperative, echocardiographic, and clinical follow-up data of patients undergoing oHTX at a single-center between September 2010 and June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Read More

Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany.

Background:  Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a potential treatment option in critically ill COVID-19 patients suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) if mechanical ventilation (MV) is insufficient; however, thromboembolic and bleeding events (TEBE) during ECMO treatment still need to be investigated.

Methods:  We conducted a retrospective, single-center study including COVID-19 patients treated with ECMO. Additionally, we performed a univariate analysis of 85 pre-ECMO variables to identify factors influencing incidences of thromboembolic events (TEE) and bleeding events (BE), respectively. Read More

J Neurosurg Pediatr 2021 Apr 16:1-11. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

1Department of Neurosurgery, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London.

Objective: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established treatment for pediatric dystonia. The accuracy of electrode implantation is multifactorial and remains a challenge in this age group, mainly due to smaller anatomical targets in very young patients compared to adults, and also due to anatomical abnormalities frequently associated with some etiologies of dystonia. Data on the accuracy of robot-assisted DBS surgery in children are limited. Read More

World Neurosurg 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Purpose: The 2017 WHO classification of pituitary adenomas identifies the plurihormonal PIT-1 positive adenoma (PP1) as a distinct subtype. Literature suggests PP1 encompasses the former class of Silent Subtype 3 adenoma (SS3), and may have an aggressive phenotype. This study summarizes the current clinical data on PP1 and SS3 tumors and compares this published data to a single institutional cohort. Read More

Acta Orthop Belg 2020 Dec;86(4):614-620

A single-center prospective study was conducted over one-year period to determine the performance (sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values) of the synovasure test for the diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection using the MSIS consensus criteria as the reference. The study included all patients admitted for resumption of hip or knee prosthesis whatever the reason, all couples of friction, patients under antibiotic treatment, immuno-compromised or with systemic inflammatory diseases. 62 consecutive patients were preoperatively distributed into three groups (infected, uninfected and questionable). Read More

J Altern Complement Med 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Center for Kampo Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

This single-center observational study aimed to assess the inter-rater reliability (IRR) of Kampo medicine pattern diagnosis, which is modularized into three modules for chronic diseases, using 64 participants' information documents. The linearly weighted percentage of agreement and Gwet's agreement coefficient (AC) 2 for the deficiency-excess module, among three specialists, were 85.9% and 0. Read More

J Neurosurg Pediatr 2020 Nov 31;26(5):525-532. Epub 2020 Jul 31.

Department of Neurosurgery, Mount Sinai West.

Objective: Approximately 75% of pediatric patients who suffer from epilepsy are successfully treated with antiepileptic drugs, while the disease is drug resistant in the remaining patients, who continue to have seizures. Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) may have options to undergo invasive treatment such as resection, laser ablation of the epileptogenic focus, or vagus nerve stimulation. To date, treatment with responsive neurostimulation (RNS) has not been sufficiently studied in the pediatric population because the FDA has not approved the RNS device for patients younger than 18 years of age. Read More

J Bone Joint Surg Am 2021 Feb 26. Epub 2021 Feb 26.

1Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery Department, Kremlin Bicêtre Hospital and Paris Saclay University, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France 2Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, Centre Chirurgical Marie Lannelongue and Paris Saclay University, Le Plessis Robinson, France.

Background: In en bloc vertebrectomy, the posterior approach is associated with limited access to anterior structures (vertebral body, esophagus, aorta, azygos vein). Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) might prove to be advantageous during thoracic en bloc vertebrectomy by allowing a combined anterior-posterior access in the prone position. We describe the technique and review the outcomes of 33 cases of video-assisted thoracoscopic en bloc vertebrectomy. Read More

J Card Surg 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Background: Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) are standardly implanted via full sternotomy. Nonsternotomy approaches are gaining popularity, but potential benefits of this approach have not been well-studied. We hypothesized that LVAD implantation by bi-thoracotomy (BT) would demonstrate smaller and more consistent inflow cannula angles leading to improved postoperative outcomes compared to sternotomy. Read More

Hepatol Int 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori, Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.

Background: Biochemical response to treatment in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) reflects prognosis. However, the best predictive criteria to detect biochemical response remain undetermined. In addition, because these criteria need > 6 months until definition, parameters that can estimate its results before initiating treatment are needed. Read More

Clin Res Cardiol 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Heart Center, Segeberger Kliniken GmbH, Academic Teaching Hospital of the Universities of Kiel, Lübeck, and Hamburg, Am Kurpark 1, 23795, Bad Segeberg, Germany.

Objective: To compare Orsiro biodegradable-polymer sirolimus-eluting stent (Orsiro BP-SES) with durable-polymer everolimus-eluting stent (DP-EES) regarding target lesion failure (TLF) after rotational atherectomy (RA), with a focus on small stents (diameter ≤ 3 mm) where Orsiro BP-SES has 60 µm strut thickness, while DP-EES remains with 81 µm strut thickness.

Background: New-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) is superior to early-generation DES in all percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) settings including RA. Recently, the Orsiro BP-SES was superior to a DP-EES in an all comer's population. Read More

Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Department of Ophthalmology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, E-7, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.

Purpose: To examine the associations between the disorganization of the retinal inner layers (DRIL) and optical coherence tomography angiography characteristics and visual acuity (VA) outcomes in eyes with macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO).

Methods: In this single-center cross-sectional cohort study, the data of 43 patients with macular edema secondary to BRVO that received pro re nata anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy were analyzed. B-scan and en face angiographic images were obtained by swept-source-based wide-field optical coherence tomography angiography performed at a single visit 1 month after the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy session and evaluated. Read More

Helicobacter 2021 Apr 16:e12804. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Department of Gastroenterology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.

Background: Antibiotic resistance is the main cause of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) treatment failure. This study aimed to explore the characteristics of antibiotic resistance of H. Read More

Przegl Epidemiol 2020 ;74(4):596-605

Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze, Poland. Heart transplantation outpatient clinic.

Introduction: The study is a prospective clinical observation of patients after orthotopic heart transplantation in a large academic medical center in relation to COVID-19 morbidity. The study population was comprised of 552 patients. All patients were consulted and advised by telephone as regards the prophylaxis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Read More

Surg Today 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Department of Gastric Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin's Clinical Research Cancer for Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, China.

Purpose: To explore the clinicopathological features and prognosis of papillary gastric adenocarcinoma (PGC).

Methods: The subjects of this retrospective analysis were 1525 patients with gastric cancer in a single center in China.

Results: The patients with PGC were generally of advanced age and the tumor was located in the upper 1/3 of the stomach. Read More

Adv Wound Care (New Rochelle) 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 71541, Center for Wound Healing, Washington, District of Columbia, United States;

Objective: To analyze long-term outcomes following inpatient treatment of infected wounds with antimicrobial or normal saline instillation during negative-pressure wound therapy.

Approach: This was a single-center retrospective study analyzing the course of patients receiving 0.9% normal saline or 0. Read More

Ultraschall Med 2021 Apr 15. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Interventional, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Ultrasound Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Sant'Orsola Malpighi Hospital, Bologna, Italy.

Aim:  Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a reliable, radiation-free, and bedside imaging technique used to assess several pulmonary diseases. Although COVID-19 is diagnosed with a nasopharyngeal swab, detection of pulmonary involvement is crucial for safe patient discharge. Computed tomography (CT) is currently the gold standard. Read More

Surg Endosc 2021 Apr 15. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Geriatrics, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic.

Endoscopic full-thickness resection (FTR) is a novel technique of endoscopic treatment of colorectal neoplastic lesions not suitable for endoscopic polypectomy or mucosal resection. FTR appears to be a reasonable alternative to technically demanding endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for lesions ≤ 30 mm. However, comparison between FTR and ESD has not been published yet and their mutual positioning in the treatment algorithm is still unclear. Read More

PRiMER 2021 22;5. Epub 2021 Jan 22.

University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine.

Background And Objectives: Hepatitis C (HCV) is a commonly diagnosed disease state in primary care. Regimen simplification has made eradication possible with improvements in treatment and improved access through primary care physician (PCP) education. Little has been published discussing the role of resident physicians in the treatment of HCV. Read More

Hepatol Commun 2021 Apr 5;5(4):608-617. Epub 2021 Jan 5.

Division of Gastroenterology Department of Medicine Duke University Hospital Durham NC USA.

Identifying patients at higher risk for poor outcomes from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains challenging. Metabolomics, the comprehensive measurement of small molecules in biological samples, has the potential to reveal novel noninvasive biomarkers. The aim of this study was to determine if serum metabolite profiles in patients with NAFLD associate with future liver-related events. Read More

Hepatol Commun 2021 Apr 29;5(4):589-597. Epub 2020 Dec 29.

Liver Diseases Branch National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases National Institutes of Health Bethesda MD USA.

The recently developed lipoprotein insulin resistance index (LP-IR) incorporates lipoprotein particle numbers and sizes and is considered to reflect both hepatic and peripheral IR. As tissue IR is a strong component of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) pathogenesis, we aimed to assess the degree by which LP-IR associates with hepatic fat content. This was a single-center retrospective analysis of patients with NAFLD. Read More

Endosc Int Open 2021 Apr 12;9(4):E552-E561. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Center for Preventive Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

Recent advances in endoscopic equipment and diagnostic techniques have improved the detection of dysplasia in the inflamed mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). However, it remains difficult to endoscopically identify flat-type dysplasia which has been formerly recognized as invisible dysplasia. In this retrospective, single-center study, we endoscopically identified 10 cases of flat-type-predominant dysplasia by targeted biopsy among 38 intramucosal dysplasia lesions from patients with UC who underwent surgical or endoscopic resection from 2007 to 2017. Read More

Cureus 2021 Mar 11;13(3):e13822. Epub 2021 Mar 11.

Anaesthesia, Guy's & St Thomas' National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust, London, GBR.

Purpose: Regional anesthesia techniques may improve patient recovery beyond treating postoperative pain alone and may facilitate patients in their return to functional, psychological as well as emotional baselines. We hypothesized that the quality of recovery (QoR) experienced by patients following breast surgery was associated with the type of anesthesia received as well as the use of a regional anesthesia technique during surgery.

Methods: We performed a single-center prospective, observational cohort study of patients undergoing elective breast procedures (both cancer and non-cancer surgery). Read More

J Inflamm Res 2021 9;14:1331-1340. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Department of Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, People's Republic of China.

Background: Since Dec. 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has been an outbreak. T cells play an important role in dealing with various disease-causing pathogens. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 15;11(1):8309. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Patient care in a neurointensive care unit (neuro-ICU) is challenging. Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) are increasingly common in the routine clinical practice. We evaluated the impact of infection with MDROs on outcomes in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Read More

Otol Neurotol 2021 Apr 14. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Tusker Medical, Inc., a subsidiary of Smith + Nephew, Menlo Park, California Ear Medical Group ENT Clinics of San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas.

Objective: To evaluate local and systemic safety of bilateral iontophoretic administration of lidocaine with epinephrine or lidocaine alone to the tympanic membrane (TM).

Study Design: A randomized, double-blind, two-arm study was conducted at a single center. Healthy adults were randomized to bilateral iontophoretic treatment with 2% lidocaine, 1:100,000 epinephrine, or 2% lidocaine (control). Read More

Otol Neurotol 2021 Apr 14. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland Department of Otolaryngology, The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital; Otolaryngology, Department of Surgery, The University of Melbourne, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Shaare-Zedek Medical Center, Affiliated with the Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.

Objectives: Real-time electrocochleography (rt-ECochG) is a method to detect intracochlear potential changes during cochlear implantation (CI). Steep amplitude drops of the cochlear microphonic (CM) signal (so called "ECochG events") have been correlated with worse residual hearing outcomes. However, the sensitivity and specificity of monitoring CM amplitude on its own are too low to use it as a biomarker. Read More

Cornea 2021 Apr 14. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Purpose: To evaluate the outcome of phakic and pseudophakic eyes treated by Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) versus DMEK combined with cataract surgery (triple DMEK).

Methods: Retrospective cohort study based on the prospective Cologne DMEK data base. This study is a single-center analysis of 62 eyes undergoing phakic (age mean ± SD 52 ± 6. Read More

Surg Obes Relat Dis 2021 Mar 9. Epub 2021 Mar 9.

Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monterrey, México. Electronic address:

Background: Bariatric surgery has been a popular way for many women to reach a healthy body mass index, and as a consequence, a decreased body mass, which causes a greater chance of fertility, with improved pregnancy and better maternal outcomes.

Objective: Describe a single-center experience of pregnancies complicated by internal hernias after gastric bypass.

Setting: Academic Medical Center. Read More