AimsIt is uncertain whether the benefit from apixaban varies by type and duration of atrial fibrillation (AF).Methods and resultsA total of 18 201 patients with AF [2786 (15.3%) with paroxysmal and 15 412 (84.7%) with persistent or permanent] were randomized to apixaban or warfarin. In this pre-specified secondary analysis, we ...

BACKGROUND: Continuous passive motion after a major knee surgery optimizes functional prognosis, but causes severe pain. In this study, we assessed the effect of intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IVPCA) on postoperative pain management in unilateral and bilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: Data were collected retrospectively from a single medical center ...

BACKGROUND:: In thymoma patients without myasthenia gravis, it is debatable whether thymectomy should be performed in addition to thymomectomy, the procedure in which the thymoma alone is resected. In this study, we proposed to compare the surgical results in early-stage nonmyasthenic thymoma patients who underwent thymomectomy with and without extended ...

PURPOSE: Two-stage revision represents the gold standard in the treatment of infected total knee arthroplasty. Different techniques have been proposed, mostly not preserving range of motion. An articulated antibiotic-loaded cement spacer made in association with two unicompartmental implants has been used as an alternative to a static spacer in an ...

PURPOSE: Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) is a rare condition. Our purpose is to describe the largest series of patients with shoulder PVNS, massive irreparable rotator cuff tear, and glenohumeral osteoarthritis treated with arthroscopic debridement and synovectomy. METHODS: We treated 9 patients with PVNS of the shoulder, irreparable rotator cuff tear, ...

Background and AIM: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common inherited kidney disease. The major objective of this study was to analyse the natural history of disease progression in all patients with ADPKD seen at the Sheffield Kidney Institute between 1978 and 2012. METHODS: A retrospective analysis ...

We retrospectively assessed whether normalized bone marrow WT1 levels could be used for risk stratification in a consecutive series of of 584 AML patients. A cut-off value of 5065 copies at diagnosis identified two prognostic groups (OS 44±3% vs 36±3% p:0.023; LFS 47±3% vs 36±4% p:0.038; and CIR 37±3% vs ...

BACKGROUND: This article is aimed to assess quantitatively metamorphopsia using M-charts in patients suffering from wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treated with the intravitreal bevacizumab injections and to compare the results with traditional Amsler grid and ocular coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: Thirty-six patients diagnosed with wet AMD were examined one ...

OBJECTIVE: To present and evaluate our initial results with a modified double face onlay preputial flap (DOPF) for repair of different degrees of hypospadias. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From April 2004 to April 2009, 182 patients with different degrees of hypospadias (distal penile hypospadias = 122, mid penile hypospadias = 38, proximal penile hypospadias = 22) were ...

BACKGROUND: Thoracoscopic esophagectomy is a feasible technique that has been shown to be safe for the treatment of esophageal cancer. There continues to be controversy about the optimal position during thoracoscopic esophagectomy. In this study, we compared the intraoperative hemodynamic parameters, clinical pathological characteristics, as well as postoperative complications in ...

BACKGROUND: Cranioplasty using alternate alloplastic bone substitutes instead of autologous bone grafting is inevitable in the clinical field. The authors present their experiences with cranial reshaping using methyl methacrylate (MMA) and describe technical tips that are keys to a successful procedure. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of patients who underwent ...

PURPOSE: The OptEase vena cave filter (Cordis, Piscataway, NJ) is commercially available as a retrievable or permanent filter with short recommended indwelling time, presumably due to extensive contact of the filter side struts with the inferior vena cava wall and subsequent neointimal hyperplasia leading to incorporation. Our purpose was to ...

Although postoperative serum thyroglobulin (Tg) is a prognostic indicator for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), it is unreliable when Tg antibody (TgAb) is positive. We evaluated the prognostic significance of changes in serum TgAb levels of pre- and post-total thyroidectomy in TgAb-positive PTC patients. We reviewed our medical charts of 225 ...

PURPOSE: To compare two groups of patients who underwent two different arthroscopic procedures for repair of articular-sided partial-thickness rotator cuff tears (PTRCTs). MATERIALS THIS IS A COMPARATIVE PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF TWO METHODS FOR REPAIR OF PARTIAL CUFF TEARS: Thirty-two patients underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair with a transtendon technique (group ...

Up to 2008, dopamine was the catecholamine that was the most recommended in our intensive care unit (ICU) after fluid resuscitation. However, recently, norepinephrine has become the catecholamine that was most recommended in our ICU after fluid resuscitation. The aim of this study was to determine if there was an ...

Objective: To elucidate the effect of bone wax on postoperative bleeding, infection and wound healing.Methods: This study included two independent groups, consisting of 94 patients who were treated with bone wax and 90 patients who received nothing after median sternotomy and just before sternal closure. Demographic and postoperative data were ...

The aim of this study is to analyze if the infusion of hydrocortisone hemisuccinate improve outcome in severe scorpion-envenomated adult patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU). Pairwise retrospective case-control study with 1:1 matching was designed. Patients were defined as cases when they received hydrocortisone hemisuccinate (as alone steroids) during ...

OBJECTIVESThis study aimed to review the safety of a reusable sealing instrument, BiClamp®, as an alternative to the mechanical stapler for interlobar fissure division in pulmonary lobectomy.METHODSA retrospective review was conducted of 95 patients who underwent pulmonary lobectomy performed by a single surgeon between November 2005 and March 2010. The ...

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important risk factor for cardiac surgery. In the most recently reported NU-HIT trial for CKD with CKD patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) as subjects, carperitide was reported to be effective in terms of renal function. In the present study, a subanalysis ...

Background and study aims: The assessment of indications for follow-up colonoscopy may help to improve the allocation of available endoscopy resources. The aim of this study was to assess the timing of early follow-up colonoscopy and surveillance utilization in relation to adenoma detection rate (ADR) at follow-up.Methods: An assessment of ...

PURPOSE: To characterize the magnitude and kinetics of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) bounces after high-dose-rate (HDR) monotherapy and determine relationships between certain clinical factors and PSA bounce. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Longitudinal PSA data and various clinical parameters were examined in 157 consecutive patients treated with HDR monotherapy between 1996 and 2005. ...

BACKGROUND: In a recent propensity score study, we established that overall- and disease-free survival were worse after use of a colonic stent (CS) than after emergency surgery for colonic obstruction. The present study sought to explain the association between CS use and poor survival by analyzing pathological specimens. METHODS: From ...

BACKGROUND: Historically, a functional ACL has been a prerequisite for patients undergoing unicondylar knee arthroplasty (UKA). However, this premise has not been rigorously tested. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We compared (1) the survivorship free from revision and (2) the failure mechanisms of UKAs in ACL-deficient knees and UKAs in ACL-intact knees performed over ...

Thoracic radiation results in radiation-associated heart disease (RAHD), often requiring cardiothoracic surgery (CTS). We sought to measure long-term survival in RAHD patients undergoing CTS, to compare them with a matched control population undergoing similar surgical procedures, and to identify potential predictors of long-term survival. In this retrospective observational cohort study ...

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of literature concerning functional assessment at long-term followup of THAs in general and in young patients specifically. Functional data may be useful in determining differences in the performance of various implants and surgical techniques in THA. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: The purposes of this study were to evaluate ...

The aim of this case series report is to compare the results of the increase in keratinized mucosa using three different techniques of stage-two surgery. Thirty-two patients with one to eight dental implants who received prosthetic rehabilitation of the maxilla were included. Patients were divided into three groups based on ...

BACKGROUND: Since the advent of cardiopulmonary bypass, many efforts have been made to avoid the complications related with it. Any component of the pump participates in occurrence of these adverse events, one of which is the type of prime solution. In this study, we aimed to compare the effects of ...

BACKGROUND: The evolution of total hip arthroplasty (THA) generally has led to improved clinical results. However, THA in very young patients historically has been associated with lower survivorship, and it is unclear whether this, or results pertaining to pain and function, has improved with contemporary THA. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We performed a ...

Insulin stimulates proliferation of thyroid cells in culture. The presence of insulin resistance (IR) is associated with larger thyroid gland volume and an increased prevalence of thyroid nodules. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of any possible association between IR and thyroid cancer. Forty-one patients with ...

PURPOSE: To investigate the interchangeability of mixed and central venous-arterial carbon dioxide differences and the relation between the central difference (pCO2 gap) and cardiac index (CI). We also investigated the value of the pCO2 gap in outcome prediction. METHODS: We performed a post hoc analysis of a well-defined population of ...

INTRODUCTION: The pathophysiology of sepsis consists of two phases. A first phase characterized by a substantial increase of pro-inflammatory mediators including cytokines and systemic inflammatory markers, and a second phase (immunoparalysis, immunodysregulation) associated with the rise of anti-inflammatory mediators. In this study we prospectively analyzed 52 consecutive patients with diagnosis ...

Background: Gross mechanical efficiency (GE) of experienced wheelchair users is significantly higher than novice able-bodied individuals suggesting energy expenditure (EE) may be reduced in experienced individuals. With knowledge of the energy expended during wheelchair propulsion, nutritional recommendations can be provided for individuals in their early stages of rehabilitation and for ...

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term outcome (4 years) of high-intensity-focused-ultrasound (HIFU) cardiac ablation, the significance of postablation antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) and predictors of successful sinus rhythm (SR) restoration.Methods: 103 patients were prospectively enrolled in a single-center study. The preoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) type was ...

The purposes of this study were to describe a method for measuring tibiofemoral subluxation in UKA, and to report the mean amount of tibiofemoral subluxation seen both preoperatively and postoperatively in a cohort of patients undergoing UKA. Two hundred thirty-five patients who received a medial UKA, and 39 patients who ...

PURPOSE: We sought to evaluate (1) clinical and radiologic results after arthroscopic calcific deposit (CD) removal and (2) the relevance of remnant calcifications (RCs). METHODS: The study included 102 patients undergoing arthroscopic CD removal, preserving integrity of the rotator cuff. Postoperatively, we divided patients into 2 groups according to the ...

PURPOSE: Restoration of correct alignment is one of the main objectives of total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, the influence of residual malalignment on clinical and functional outcomes is currently uncertain. This study was therefore undertaken to ascertain its influence in patients undergoing TKA for varus osteoarthritis of the knee. METHODS: ...

OBJECTIVES: To compare the proportion of interval left-sided colorectal cancers (CRCs) after flexible sigmoidoscopy vs colonoscopy in older patients and to identify factors associated with interval CRC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare-linked database, we studied patients 67 years or older with left-sided CRC who had ...

BACKGROUND: Prior coronary surgery has been associated with a higher incidence of adverse outcomes after reoperative cardiac surgery compared with previous valve surgery. It is unclear whether this association is primarily due to greater patient comorbidity or the technical challenges posed by mediastinal reentry and operation in the setting of ...

Control of polyomavirus BK (BKV) is achieved by reducing immunosuppression allowing an effective BKV-specific T-cell response. The morphology of resolving BKV-associated nephropathy (PyVAN) has not been systematically investigated. Ninety-nine surveillance biopsies of 35 patients with BKV viremia treated exclusively by immunosuppression reduction were scored according to Banff criteria and grouped ...

BackgroundHeparin has been used for years as a locking solution in totally implantable venous access devices. Normal saline (NS) might be a safe alternative for heparin. However, evidence of non-inferiority of NS versus heparin is lacking.Patients and methodsWe randomly allocated 802 cancer patients with a newly inserted port either to ...

PURPOSE: Vascularized bone grafting (VBG) is one of the therapeutic approaches for treating advanced Kienböck disease; however, few reports on long-term outcomes are available for this technique. The purpose of this study is to evaluate long-term results by following up patients with stage III Kienböck disease for more than 10 ...

PURPOSE:: To report the outcome of bilobed flap (BF) reconstruction of inferior and/or lateral periorbital defects following tumor excision. METHODS:: Records of 20 patients who underwent inferior and/or lateral periorbital reconstruction with the BF were reviewed. The surgery was performed with local anesthesia in 18 patients and with general anesthesia ...

This study compares the effect of invaginating excision of hernia sac without ligation with the traditional method of high ligation of the hernia sac on postoperative pain and recurrence. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This multicenter prospective randomized study included 152 patients with 167 primary indirect inguinal hernias. In group I (54 ...

BACKGROUND: This prospective study was conducted to evaluate inter- and intra-fraction errors in NPC patients undergoing VMAT using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and to thus obtain PTV margins to effectively guide treatment in the future. METHODS: Fifteen NPC patients scheduled to undergo VMAT were prospectively enrolled in the study. For ...

BACKGROUND:Limited evidence exists as to the benefit of tonsillectomy in adult patients. We sought to determine the short-term efficacy of tonsillectomy for recurrent pharyngitis in adults. METHODS:We conducted a randomized, controlled, parallel-group trial at a tertiary care ear, throat and nose centre in Oulu, Finland, between October 2007 and December ...

: Fecal incontinence is a socially devastating problem that can be cured by the artificial bowel sphincter in selected cases. : This study evaluates short- and long-term morbidity and functional results of the artificial bowel sphincter. : This study is a retrospective evaluation of consecutive patients. : This study was ...

Background: Guidelines recommend discontinuing clopidogrel for at least 5 days before elective coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) to limit blood transfusions and for at least 24 hours before urgent CABG to reduce major bleeding complications. Studies have produced conflicting results regarding whether recent exposure to clopidogrel increases bleeding, the ...

The purpose of our study was to retrospectively assess and analyze the incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) after arthroscopically assisted anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) at our institution. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 249 arthroscopic ACLRs performed in our hospital between February 2009 and February 2012. The surgical ...

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the early clinical experience with the Zilver Vena stent in treating patients with iliofemoral venous obstruction at a tertiary referral hospital. Methods: Demographic, procedural, and follow-up data of 20 patients (12 women; mean age of 59±17 years) treated for iliofemoral vein ...

A massive transfusion response (MTR) was introduced in 2007 to provide blood and blood products in a timelier manner. Aim of this study was to determine whether implementation of the MTR was associated with a change in clinical practice or mortality. All MTR activations from 2008 to 2011 were included ...