Intensive care unit course of infants and children after cranial vault reconstruction for craniosynostosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Craniosynostosis (CSS) results from the premature closure of one or more cranial sutures, leading to deformed calvaria at birth. It is a common finding in children with an incidence of one in 2000 births. Surgery is required in order to release the synostotic constraint and promote normal calvaria growth. Cranial vault remodeling is the surgical approach to CSS repair at our institution and it involves excision of the frontal, parietal, and occipital bones. The purpose of this article is to describe the post-operative course of infants and children admitted to our PICU after undergoing cranial vault remodeling for primary CSS.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Complete data was available for analyses in only 82 patients, 44 males (M) and 38 females (F); M: F ratio was 1:1.2. Patients (pts) age in months (mo) ranged from 2 mo to 132 mo, mean 18.2 ±-24.9 mo and weights (wt) ranged from 4.7 kg to 31.4 kg, mean 10.24 ± 5.5 Kg.. Duration of surgery (DOS) ranged from 70 minutes to 573 minutes mean 331.6 ± 89.0 minutes. No significant correlation exist between duration of surgery, suture category, patient's age or use of blood products (P > 0.05). IOP blood loss was higher in older pts (P < 0.05) and it correlates with body temperature in the PICU (P < .0001). Post-op use of FFP correlated with intra-operative PRBC transfusion (P < 0.0001). More PRBC was transfused within 12 hrs-24 hrs in PICU compared to other time periods (P < 0.05). LOS in PICU was < 3 days in 68% and > 3 days in 32%. Pts with fever had prolonged LOS (P < 0. 05); re-intubation rate was 2.4% and MVD were 1.83 days. Repeat operation for poor cosmetic results occurred in 9.7% of pts.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Post-op morbidities from increased use of blood products can be minimized if cranial vault remodeling is done at a younger age in patients with primary CSS. PICU length of stay is determined in part by post-op pyrexia and it can be reduced if extensive evaluations of post-op fever are avoided.</p

Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery and chemotherapy or by surgery and chemoradiotherapy for patients with resectable gastric cancer (CRITICS)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Radical surgery is the cornerstone in the treatment of resectable gastric cancer. The Intergroup 0116 and MAGIC trials have shown benefit of postoperative chemoradiation and perioperative chemotherapy, respectively. Since these trials cannot be compared directly, both regimens are evaluated prospectively in the CRITICS trial. This study aims to obtain an improved overall survival for patients treated with preoperative chemotherapy and surgery by incorporating radiotherapy concurrently with chemotherapy postoperatively.</p> <p>Methods/design</p> <p>In this phase III multicentre study, patients with resectable gastric cancer are treated with three cycles of preoperative ECC (epirubicin, cisplatin and capecitabine), followed by surgery with adequate lymph node dissection, and then either another three cycles of ECC or concurrent chemoradiation (45 Gy, cisplatin and capecitabine). Surgical, pathological, and radiotherapeutic quality control is performed. The primary endpoint is overall survival, secondary endpoints are disease-free survival (DFS), toxicity, health-related quality of life (HRQL), prediction of response, and recurrence risk assessed by genomic and expression profiling. Accrual for the CRITICS trial is from the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark, and more countries are invited to participate.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Results of this study will demonstrate whether the combination of preoperative chemotherapy and postoperative chemoradiotherapy will improve the clinical outcome of the current European standard of perioperative chemotherapy, and will therefore play a key role in the future management of patients with resectable gastric cancer.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>clinicaltrials.gov <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00407186">NCT00407186</a></p

Gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is the second most frequent cause of cancer death worldwide, although much geographical variation in incidence exists. Prevention and personalised treatment are regarded as the best options to reduce gastric cancer mortality rates. Prevention strategies should be based on specific risk profiles, including Helicobacter pylori genotype, host gene polymorphisms, presence of precursor lesions, and environmental factors. Although adequate surgery remains the cornerstone of gastric cancer treatment, this single modality treatment seems to have reached its maximum achievable effect for local control and survival. Minimally invasive techniques can be used for treatment of early gastric cancers. Achievement of locoregional control for advanced disease remains very difficult. Extended resections that are standard practice in some Asian countries have not been shown to be as effective in other developed countries. We present an update of the incidence, causes, pathology, and treatment of gastric cancer, consisting of surgery, new strategies with neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or both, novel treatment strategies using gene signatures, and the effect of caseload on patient outcomes

Rare Moss-Built Microterraces in a High-Altitude, Acid Mine Drainage-Polluted Stream (Cordillera Negra, Peru)

The Rio Santiago in the Cordillera Negra of Peru is severely contaminated by acid mine drainage in its headwaters. In a strongly acid stream, at about 3800 m above sea level (masl), microterraces were found with terrace walls built up of dead moss, with encrustations and interstitial fine, creamy sediment. The stream water was turbid due to the presence of similar suspended sediment, which also occurred as a thin basal layer in inter-rim basins. The moss was identified as the rare bryophyte Anomobryum prostratum (Müll. Hal.) Besch. Chemical and mineralogical analyses show that green, living parts of the moss are gradually coated by Al/Fe (hydr)oxides, inducing their senescence and death. The necromass is covered by creamy crusts through precipitation of schwertmannite-type material from the stream water and simultaneous ‘capture’ of fine sediment. The latter consists of a mixture of precipitate and fine detrital primary minerals. These processes are held responsible for the formation of the microterraces, which regarding their composition and environment seem to be unique. Remarkable is the high As content of the creamy crusts and sediment, attributed to strong sorption of As, whereas its solute concentration is relatively low. This calls for more attention to suspended fine sediment in the assessment of environmental risks of stream water use. Lastly, the results raise serious doubts about the use of aquatic bryophytes as bioindicator for chemical pollution in acid mine drainage-polluted streams. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11270-015-2390-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users