Supervised exercise therapy and revascularization: Single-center experience of intermittent claudication management

Guidelines recommend supervised exercise therapy (SET) as first-line treatment for intermittent claudication. However, the use of revascularization is widespread. We addressed the effectiveness of preventing (additional) invasive revascularization after primary SET or revascularization based on lesion and patient characteristics. In this single-center, retrospective, cohort study, 474 patients with intermittent claudication were included. Patients with occlusive disease of the aortoiliac tract and/or common femoral artery (inflow) were primarily considered for revascularization, while patients with more distal disease (outflow) were primarily considered for SET. In total, 232 patients were referred for SET and 242 patients received revascularization. The primary outcome was freedom from (additional) intervention, analyzed by Kaplan–Meier estimates. Secondary outcomes were survival, critical ischemia, freedom from target lesion revascularization (TLR), and an increase in maximum walking distance. In the SET-first strategy, 71% of patients had significant outflow lesions. Freedom from intervention was 0.90 ± 0.02 at 1-year and 0.82 ± 0.03 at 2-year follow-up. In the primary revascularization group, 90% of patients had inflow lesions. Freedom from additional intervention was 0.78 ± 0.03 at 1-year and only 0.65 ± 0.04 at 2-year follow-up, despite freedom from TLR of 0.91 ± 0.02 and 0.85 ± 0.03 at 1- and 2-year follow-up, respectively. In conclusion, SET was effective in preventing invasive treatment for patients with mainly outflow lesions. In contrast, secondary intervention rates following our strategy of primary revascularization for inflow lesions were unexpectedly high. These findings further support the guideline recommendations of SET as first-line treatment for all patients with intermittent claudication irrespective of level of disease

2 days versus 5 days of postoperative antibiotics for complex appendicitis:a pragmatic, open-label, multicentre, non-inferiority randomised trial

Background: The appropriate duration of postoperative antibiotics for complex appendicitis is unclear. The increasing global threat of antimicrobial resistance warrants restrictive antibiotic use, which could also reduce side-effects, length of hospital stay, and costs. Methods: In this pragmatic, open-label, non-inferiority trial in 15 hospitals in the Netherlands, patients with complex appendicitis (aged ≥8 years) were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive 2 days or 5 days of intravenous antibiotics after appendicectomy. Randomisation was stratified by centre, and treating physicians and patients were not masked to treatment allocation. The primary endpoint was a composite endpoint of infectious complications and mortality within 90 days. The main outcome was the absolute risk difference (95% CI) in the primary endpoint, adjusted for age and severity of appendicitis, with a non-inferiority margin of 7·5%. Outcome assessment was based on electronic patient records and a telephone consultation 90 days after appendicectomy. Efficacy was analysed in the intention-to-treat and per-protocol populations. Safety outcomes were analysed in the intention-to-treat population. This trial was registered with the Netherlands Trial Register, NL5946. Findings: Between April 12, 2017, and June 3, 2021, 13 267 patients were screened and 1066 were randomly assigned, 533 to each group. 31 were excluded from intention-to-treat analysis of the 2-day group and 30 from the 5-day group owing to errors in recruitment or consent. Appendicectomy was done laparoscopically in 955 (95%) of 1005 patients. The telephone follow-up was completed in 664 (66%) of 1005 patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 51 (10%) of 502 patients analysed in the 2-day group and 41 (8%) of 503 patients analysed in the 5-day group (adjusted absolute risk difference 2·0%, 95% CI −1·6 to 5·6). Rates of complications and re-interventions were similar between trial groups. Fewer patients had adverse effects of antibiotics in the 2-day group (45 [9%] of 502 patients) than in the 5-day group (112 [22%] of 503 patients; odds ratio [OR] 0·344, 95% CI 0·237 to 0·498). Re-admission to hospital was more frequent in the 2-day group (58 [12%] of 502 patients) than in the 5-day group (29 [6%] of 503 patients; OR 2·135, 1·342 to 3·396). There were no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation: 2 days of postoperative intravenous antibiotics for complex appendicitis is non-inferior to 5 days in terms of infectious complications and mortality within 90 days, based on a non-inferiority margin of 7·5%. These findings apply to laparoscopic appendicectomy conducted in a well resourced health-care setting. Adopting this strategy will reduce adverse effects of antibiotics and length of hospital stay. Funding: The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development.</p

Ex situ diet influences the bacterial community associated with the skin of red-eyed tree frogs (Agalychnis callidryas)

Amphibians support symbiotic bacterial communities on their skin that protect against a range of infectious pathogens, including the amphibian chytrid fungus. The conditions under which amphibians are maintained in captivity (e.g. diet, substrate, enrichment) in ex situ conservation programmes may affect the composition of the bacterial community. In addition, ex situ amphibian populations may support different bacterial communities in comparison to in situ populations of the same species. This could have implications for the suitability of populations intended for reintroduction, as well as the success of probiotic bacterial inoculations intended to provide amphibians with a bacterial community that resists invasion by the chytrid fungus. We aimed to investigate the effect of a carotenoid-enriched diet on the culturable bacterial community associated with captive red-eyed tree frogs (Agalychnis callidryas) and make comparisons to bacteria isolated from a wild population from the Chiquibul Rainforest in Belize. We successfully showed carotenoid availability influences the overall community composition, species richness and abundance of the bacterial community associated with the skin of captive frogs, with A. callidryas fed a carotenoid-enriched diet supporting a greater species richness and abundance of bacteria than those fed a carotenoid-free diet. Our results suggest that availability of carotenoids in the diet of captive frogs is likely to be beneficial for the bacterial community associated with the skin. We also found wild A. callidryas hosted more than double the number of different bacterial species than captive frogs with very little commonality between species. This suggests frogs in captivity may support a reduced and diverged bacterial community in comparison to wild populations of the same species, which could have particular relevance for ex situ conservation projects

Supervised exercise therapy and revascularization:Single-center experience of intermittent claudication management

Guidelines recommend supervised exercise therapy (SET) as first-line treatment for intermittent claudication. However, the use of revascularization is widespread. We addressed the effectiveness of preventing (additional) invasive revascularization after primary SET or revascularization based on lesion and patient characteristics. In this single-center, retrospective, cohort study, 474 patients with intermittent claudication were included. Patients with occlusive disease of the aortoiliac tract and/or common femoral artery (inflow) were primarily considered for revascularization, while patients with more distal disease (outflow) were primarily considered for SET. In total, 232 patients were referred for SET and 242 patients received revascularization. The primary outcome was freedom from (additional) intervention, analyzed by Kaplan-Meier estimates. Secondary outcomes were survival, critical ischemia, freedom from target lesion revascularization (TLR), and an increase in maximum walking distance. In the SET-first strategy, 71% of patients had significant outflow lesions. Freedom from intervention was 0.90 +/- 0.02 at 1-year and 0.82 +/- 0.03 at 2-year follow-up. In the primary revascularization group, 90% of patients had inflow lesions. Freedom from additional intervention was 0.78 +/- 0.03 at 1-year and only 0.65 +/- 0.04 at 2-year follow-up, despite freedom from TLR of 0.91 +/- 0.02 and 0.85 +/- 0.03 at 1- and 2-year follow-up, respectively. In conclusion, SET was effective in preventing invasive treatment for patients with mainly outflow lesions. In contrast, secondary intervention rates following our strategy of primary revascularization for inflow lesions were unexpectedly high. These findings further support the guideline recommendations of SET as first-line treatment for all patients with intermittent claudication irrespective of level of disease