Correspondence between neurophysiological and clinical measurements of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: secondary analysis of data from the CI-PeriNoms study

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) lacks standardized clinical measurement. The objective of the current secondary analysis was to examine data from the CIPN Outcomes Standardization (CI-PeriNomS) study for associations between clinical examinations and neurophysiological abnormalities. Logistic regression estimated the strength of associations of vibration, pin, and monofilament examinations with lower limb sensory and motor amplitudes. Examinations were classified as normal (0), moderately abnormal (1), or severely abnormal (2). Among 218 participants, those with class 1 upper extremity (UE) and classes 1 or 2 lower extremity (LE) monofilament abnormality were 2.79 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28-6.07), 3.49 (95%CI: 1.61-7.55), and 4.42 (95%CI: 1.35-14.46) times more likely to have abnormal sural nerve amplitudes, respectively, compared to individuals with normal examinations. Likewise, those with class 2 UE and classes 1 or 2 LE vibration abnormality were 8.65 (95%CI: 1.81-41.42), 2.54 (95%CI: 1.19-5.41), and 7.47 (95%CI: 2.49-22.40) times more likely to have abnormal sural nerve amplitudes, respectively, compared to participants with normal examinations. Abnormalities in vibration and monofilament examinations are associated with abnormal sural nerve amplitudes and are useful in identifying CIPN

Knowledge and Self-Efficacy Assessment of Residents and Fellows Following Palliative Care Unit Rotation: A Pilot Study

Background: In Germany, some units of specialized palliative care (SPC) offer a 6- to 12-month rotation for resident physicians (RPs) and fellows from different specialties. Objective: This pilot study aimed to evaluate feasibility of assessing palliative care knowledge (PCK) and palliative care self-efficacy (PCSE) using a paper-based questionnaire. Methods: Palliative care knowledge and PCSE were assessed by introducing a score, followed by a descriptive analysis (determination of frequency, mean, median, and range) using nonparametric tests (χ2 test, Mann–Whitney U test). Results: We assessed 17 RPs following SPC rotation and 16 board-certified specialists (BCSs) who had no experience in SPC from 3 German comprehensive cancer centers. Resident physicians were predominantly enrolled in residency programs of hematology and oncology (n = 6), anesthesiology (n = 6), and psychosomatic medicine (n = 3). Resident physicians rotated between year 1 and 8 of residency. Fifteen RPs (88%) had elected this rotation and 72% preferred 12-month duration. The total PCK score of PCK was 27 (RPs) and 24 (BCSs; P = .002). Mean PCSE scores were 46 (RPs) and 39 (BCSs; P = .016). Of 71% of RPs, only 27% of BCSs knew how support of hospice service was initiated (P = .004). Participants rated the items as comprehensible (n = 24; 73%), relevant (n = 25; 76%) and the questionnaire as adequately long (n = 23; 70%). Conclusion: An improved PCK and PCSE were observed in physicians who rotated through an SPC unit; this resulted in an increased tangibility of local palliative care and hospice services. The questionnaire was comprehensible, relevant in terms of content, and adequate in length for a prospective multicenter survey

Simultaneous 11C-Methionine Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Suspected Primary Brain Tumors.

The objective of this study was to assess the diagnostic value of integrated 11C- methionine PET/MRI for suspected primary brain tumors, in comparison to MRI alone.Forty-eight consecutive patients with suspected primary brain tumor were prospectively enrolled for an integrated 11C-methionine PET/MRI. Two neuro-radiologists separately evaluated the MRI alone and the integrated PET/MRI data sets regarding most likely diagnosis and diagnostic confidence on a 5-point scale. Reference standard was histopathology or follow-up imaging.Fifty-one suspicious lesions were detected: 16 high-grade glioma and 25 low-grade glioma. Ten non-malignant cerebral lesions were described by the reference standard. MRI alone and integrated PET/MRI each correctly classified 42 of the 51 lesions (82.4%) as neoplastic lesions (WHO grade II, III and IV) or non-malignant lesions (infectious and neoplastic lesions). Diagnostic confidence for all lesions, low-grade astrocytoma and high-grade astrocytoma (3.7 vs. 4.2, 3,1 vs. 3.8, 4.0 vs. 4,7) were significantly (p < 0.05) better with integrated PET/MRI than in MRI alone.The present study demonstrates the high potential of integrated 11C-methionine-PET/MRI for the assessment of suspected primary brain tumors. Although integrated methionine PET/MRI does not lead to an improvement of correct diagnoses, diagnostic confidence is significantly improved

Resulting scores for diagnostic confidence of low-grade astrocytoma.

<p>Resulting scores for diagnostic confidence of low-grade astrocytoma.</p

The data display diagnosis based on the reference standard for vascular, autoimmune and other lesions with structural MRI alone and with integrated 11C-methionine PET/MRI.

<p>The data display diagnosis based on the reference standard for vascular, autoimmune and other lesions with structural MRI alone and with integrated 11C-methionine PET/MRI.</p

Astrocytoma grade II.

<p>21-year old male patient with a left sided temporomesial, blurry demarked FLAIR-hyperintens lesion (A), without contrast-enhancement (B), but with focal methionine uptake (SUVmax 1.5, T/N ratio 1.9) (C, D (PET-fusion image with FLAIR-images)). No correlate of the lesion was found in native T1w (E), SWI (F), DWI-b1000 (G) and ADC-images (H). 10 months after initial methionine PET/MRI a progress from a formerly astrocytoma °2 to a high-grade glioma was suspected and operation finally revealed a histopathologically confirmed GBM.</p

Resulting scores for diagnostic confidence of all lesions.

<p>Resulting scores for diagnostic confidence of all lesions.</p

Boxplot of low-grade and high-grade glioma.

<p>Boxplot of the SUVmax T/N ratios of low-grade and high-grade glioma. Despite the means differed significantly both entities showed a broad overlap.</p

Resulting scores for diagnostic confidence of high-grade astrocytoma.

<p>Resulting scores for diagnostic confidence of high-grade astrocytoma.</p