Refining integrated thinking

Purpose Integrated thinking involves a holistic, multi-capital approach to decision-making and operations to promote value creation and sustainability. This paper aims to outline a schematic which can be used to gauge the levels of integrated thinking by organisations. Design/methodology/approach The researchers partnered with an independent consulting firm (“Sustain-X”) which has developed a tool for evaluating integrated thinking. A two-stage mixed-method design is used to evaluate the tool. Firstly, in keeping with the exploratory nature of the paper, the tool’s integrated thinking principles and indicators are contrasted with findings from an extensive review of the integrated thinking research and interviews with experts on how integrated thinking is understood and operationalised. Secondly, the tool was applied to a sample of South African listed firms’ integrated reports and used to generate integrated thinking scores. These scores are evaluated by testing the strength of their association with other generally accepted proxies for integrated thinking. Findings The principles of the schematic include integrated awareness and understanding; integrated leadership commitment and capability; integrated structures; integrated organisational performance management; and integrated external communication. Empirical results show that the integrated thinking measures generated using the Sustain-X schematic are aligned with integrated report quality scores and ratings of the sophistication of organisations’ accounting, management and governance structures. Research limitations/implications A combination of earlier research findings, detailed interviews (conducted independently of Sustain-X) and a battery of quantitative tests have been used to evaluate the schematic, but more refined testing using additional case studies or ethnographies has been deferred. Practical implications The tool offers a practical means for stakeholders to evaluate integrated thinking. It is flexible enough to be used with data collected during private engagements with companies or only publicly available information. Social implications The schematic is one of the first to outline the dimensions of integrated thinking and should be useful for academics and practitioners concerned with the development and application of integrated thinking. Originality/value This paper adds to the literature on integrated thinking and answers the call for further research to evaluate integrated thinking practices

Two Case Reports of Biliary Tract Injuries during Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Background and Study Aims. Biliary tract injuries (BTI) represent the most serious and potentially life-threatening complication of cholecystectomy occurring also during laparoscopic approaches. Patients and Methods. We describe and discuss two different cases of BTI occurring during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Results. Two patients developed BTI during LC and one evidenced the complication during the LC itself and was treated during the same LC in real time. The other patient evidenced BTI only after the primary intervention and was successfully reoperated in laparotomy after 10 days from the LC. Conclusions. The factors that predispose to the occurrence of BTI during cholecystectomy and the cautions to be used to prevent BTI are discussed

A 40-Year Cohort Study of Evolving Hypothalamic Dysfunction in Infants and Young Children (<3 years) with Optic Pathway Gliomas

Despite high survival, paediatric optic pathway hypothalamic gliomas are associated with significant morbidity and late mortality. Those youngest at presentation have the worst outcomes. We aimed to assess presenting disease, tumour location, and treatment factors implicated in the evolution of neuroendocrine, metabolic, and neurobehavioural morbidity in 90 infants/children diagnosed before their third birthday and followed-up for 9.5 years (range 0.5–25.0). A total of 52 (57.8%) patients experienced endo-metabolic dysfunction (EMD), the large majority (46) of whom had hypothalamic involvement (H+) and lower endocrine event-free survival (EEFS) rates. EMD was greatly increased by a diencephalic syndrome presentation (85.2% vs. 46%, p = 0.001)), H+ (OR 6.1 95% CI 1.7–21.7, p 0.005), radiotherapy (OR 16.2, 95% CI 1.7–158.6, p = 0.017) and surgery (OR 4.8 95% CI 1.3–17.2, p = 0.015), all associated with anterior pituitary disorders. Obesity occurred in 25% of cases and was clustered with the endocrinopathies. Neurobehavioural deficits occurred in over half (52) of the cohort and were associated with H+ (OR 2.5 95% C.I. 1.1–5.9, p = 0.043) and radiotherapy (OR 23.1 C.I. 2.9–182, p = 0.003). Very young children with OPHG carry a high risk of endo-metabolic and neurobehavioural comorbidities which deserve better understanding and timely/parallel support from diagnosis to improve outcomes. These evolve in complex, hierarchical patterns over time whose aetiology appears predominantly determined by injury from the hypothalamic tumour location alongside adjuvant treatment strategies

Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Prevention: The Role and the Limitations of Currently Available Antiplatelet Drugs

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with macrovascular and microvascular complications. Platelets have a “key role” in atherogenesis and its thrombotic complications in subjects with DM. Moreover, the concomitant presence of multiple “classical” cardiovascular risk factors in diabetic subjects contributes to enhanced atherothrombotic risk. Antiplatelet agents are effective in primary and secondary prevention of arterial thrombosis (cardiovascular events, ischaemic stroke, and peripheral arterial occlusive disease). The role of chronic administration of antiplatelet drugs in primary prevention of arterial vascular events is known to be less clear than in secondary prevention, and, also in diabetic patients, the decision to give primary prophylaxis should be taken on an individual-patient basis, after a careful evaluation of the balance between the expected benefits and the risk of major bleedings. Although, currently, treatment has proven useful in reducing vascular events, diabetic patients continue to have a higher risk of adverse cardiovascular events compared with those in nondiabetic patients. This paper reviews the role of currently available antiplatelet drugs in primary and secondary prevention of vascular events in diabetic patients and the limitations of these drugs, and it discusses the role of novel and more potent antiplatelets and of new agents currently under clinical development

Lack of Correlation between Liver Tests Abnormalities and Trabectedin Efficacy in the Treatment of Soft Tissue Sarcoma: A Retrospective Study

Elevation in liver transaminases is common in patients treated with the marine antitumor agent trabectedin. However, the impact of trabectedin-related transaminase elevations on treatment outcomes is unclear. This retrospective study investigated the correlation between liver tests abnormalities and treatment outcomes in patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic soft tissue sarcomas (STS) treated with trabectedin 1.5 mg/m2 once every 3 weeks at three reference centers in Italy. The effect of grade 3/4 elevations in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) during the first two cycles and at any time during trabectedin treatment on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. Liver tests abnormalities during the first two cycles of chemotherapy or at any time during trabectedin treatment did not significantly affect PFS or OS. Nor were survival outcomes significantly different in the subgroups of patients with or without ALT/AST increases or with ALT/AST elevations ≥15 × the upper limit of normal (ULN) versus those with ALT/AST elevation <15 × ULN. Although liver tests abnormalities are common in patients treated with trabectedin, elevations in ALT and AST are usually transient, occur during the first two cycles of treatment, and do not appear to affect survival

Diagnostic accuracy of p53 immunohistochemistry as surrogate of TP53 sequencing in endometrial cancer

Aberrant p53 immunohistochemical expression is used to identify the copy-number-high/TP53-mutant subgroup of endometrial cancer (EC). We aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of p53 immunohistochemistry as surrogate for TP53 sequencing through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Electronic databases were searched from their inception to June 2019. All studies assessing p53 expression and TP53 mutations in EC were included. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed based on area under the curve (AUC). Immunohistochemical criteria used to define aberrant p53 expression were “overexpression” and “overexpression or complete absence”. Subgroup analysis was based on the sequencing technique adopted (Polymerase Chain Reaction + sequencing, or next generation sequencing, NGS). Thirteen observational studies with 727 endometrial cancers were included. Both “overexpression” and “overexpression or complete absence” showed high diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.9088 and 0.9030, respectively). The subgroup with “overexpression” and NGS showed the best results, with very high diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.9927). In conclusion, immunohistochemistry for p53 is a highly accurate surrogate of TP53 sequencing. Overexpression of p53 in ≥70−80% showed the best accuracy in predicting TP53 mutations. Further studies in this field should adopt optimized immunohistochemical procedures and take into account less common p53 patterns (e.g. cytoplasmic expression)

Network references for rare diseases: state of the art for the paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

recently, healthcare network models have been proposed to improve general awareness of rare diseases for patients and specific knowledge about diagnosis, treatment, and management for healthcare services. Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare haematological disease that still has no framing in an official network. OBJECTIVES: to describe the use of network models in diagnosis, treatment, and management of PNH patients both in Italy and abroad and its impact on patients and healthcare service. DISEGN: literature search was performed using the keywords "Hemoglobinuria", "Network", "PHN", and "Screening" in both MedLine and EMBASE. Search was restricted to the articles published in the last 5 years and written in English, French or Italian language. RESULTS: from the total 251 articles of the initial search, only 21 were finally included in our review. None of the included study explicitly described a network model. In general, we were able to identify two different kind of networks implicitly described in the studies: laboratory networks for diagnostic harmonization or screening of the population at risk of PNH (10/21 studies) and PNH registry as network of clinical information to be use for better understanding of the natural history of the disease and to assess therapeutic effectiveness (11/21 studies). CONCLUSIONS: few network approaches in PNH diagnosis, treatment, and management are described in literature. Despite the scarce application of the networks, our review highlights the positive impact that networks have in both patients and healthcare services