Evidence on postoperative abdominal binding. A systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background: Midline laparotomy is an unavoidable approach to many surgical procedures. Many surgeons prescript the use of postoperative abdominal binder during the first mobilization after surgery. The use and the cost effective of this device is still debated by many surgeons. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE and the CENTRAL were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCT) comparing patients who wore abdominal binder ("binder") and patient who did not wear any abdominal binder ("non-binder") up to March 2020. The primary outcomes measured in the comparison were postoperative pain, pulmonary functions, the entity of physical activity, the comfort. A meta-analysis of relevant studies was performed using RevMan 5.3. Results: wearing an abdominal binder after midline laparotomy seems to reduce postoperative pain on first and third postoperative day, to improve the physical activity on third postoperative day, and not affect pulmonary functions. Generally, an elastic abdominal binder is well tolerated during postoperative. Conclusions: the use of elastic abdominal binder permits a comfortable early postoperative mobilization reducing pain, increases physical activity and seems to not affect pulmonary functions

New Insights into the Epidemiology of Vulvar Cancer: Systematic Literature Review for an Update of Incidence and Risk Factors

The aim of this review was an update of vulvar cancer incidence rates and trends and of all known and putative risk factors for the disease. The most recent incidence data were sought from official sources (WHO Cancer Incidence in Five Continents). To obtain an estimate of time trends in some areas, we compared data from Cancer Incidence in Five Continents with the few available studies that measured incidence using comparable methods. With respect to risk factors, a systematic PubMed search identified 1585 relevant articles published between 1980 and 2021. Abstracts and full texts were screened. Sixty-nine eligible original cohort and case-control studies were selected. Information was extracted using a PRISMA predesigned form. Nineteen risk factors, or risk factor categories, were investigated by two or more original studies. Solitary, unreplicated studies addressed the putative role of eight more factors. Recent advances have provided further evidence supporting the carcinogenic model centred on human papillomavirus infection with different defects of the immune function. Conversely, the model centred on the role of vulvar lichen sclerosus and the often associated differentiated vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia has continued to be epidemiologically understudied. More research on the association between these two conditions and vulvar cancer is a priority

A comprehensive analysis of all-cause and cause-specific excess deaths in 30 countries during 2020

The impact of COVID-19 on mortality from specific causes of death remains poorly understood. This study analysed cause-of-death data provided by the World Health Organization from 2011 to 2019 to estimate excess deaths in 2020 in 30 countries. Over-dispersed Poisson regression models were used to estimate the number of deaths that would have been expected if the pandemic had not occurred, separately for men and women. The models included year and age categories to account for temporal trends and changes in size and age structure of the populations. Excess deaths were calculated by subtracting observed deaths from expected ones. Our analysis revealed significant excess deaths from ischemic heart diseases (IHD) (in 10 countries), cerebrovascular diseases (CVD) (in 10 countries), and diabetes (in 19 countries). The majority of countries experienced excess mortality greater than 10%, including Mexico (+ 38·8% for IHD, + 34·9% for diabetes), Guatemala (+ 30·0% for IHD, + 10·2% for CVD, + 39·7% for diabetes), Cuba (+ 18·8% for diabetes), Brazil (+ 12·9% for diabetes), the USA (+ 15·1% for diabetes), Slovenia (+ 33·8% for diabetes), Poland (+ 30·2% for IHD, + 19·5% for CVD, + 26 1% for diabetes), Estonia (+ 26·9% for CVD, + 34·7% for diabetes), Bulgaria (+ 22·8% for IHD, + 11·4% for diabetes), Spain (+ 19·7% for diabetes), Italy (+ 18·0% for diabetes), Lithuania (+ 17·6% for diabetes), Finland (+ 13·2% for diabetes) and Georgia (+ 10·7% for IHD, + 19·0% for diabetes). In 2020, 22 out of 30 countries had a significant increase in total mortality. Some of this excess was attributed to COVID-19, but a substantial increase was also observed in deaths attributed to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes

Socioeconomic status and risk of lung cancer by histological subtype in the Nordic countries

Background: While the excess in lung cancer risk among lower socioeconomic status individuals has been widely described, the magnitude of this association across lung cancer subtypes, as well as histotype-related long-term incidence trends, are inconclusively reported. Aims: We explored the variation in the incidence of the three main lung cancer histotypes (i.e. squamous cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma) by socioeconomic status (SES, i.e. upper and lower white collar, upper and lower blue collar, and farming/forestry/fishing) in the adult population of four Nordic countries (i.e. Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark). Materials & Methods: We have used data from the Nordic Occupational Cancer Study (NOCCA), computing age-standardized incidence rates per 100,000 person-years truncated at ages 50–69 years, by sex, histotype, country and SES, for the period 1971–2005. We estimated relative risks and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals through Poisson regression models, including terms for SES, age, sex and country, as indicated. Results: A clear socioeconomic gradient, with a progressive increase in lung cancer risk as SES level decreases, was observed in all subtypes and in both sexes. Favourable lung cancer incidence trends were seen among men for squamous cell and small cell carcinomas, although for adenocarcinomas rates were increasing everywhere except for Finland. Among women, upward temporal trends were seen in all SES groups and for all subtypes, although rates increased to a greater extent for low, compared to high, SES, especially in Denmark and Norway. Farmers showed comparatively lower risks compared to other SES categories. Discussion: This prospective cohort study shows that substantial socioeconomic inequalities in the incidence of the most important lung cancer histotypes exist in the Nordic Countries, and that these inequalities are on the rise, especially among women. Conclusion: Smoking habits are likely to largely explain the observed social gradient for lung cancer histotypes in both sexes.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Lung cancer mortality in the wake of the changing smoking epidemic: a descriptive study of the global burden in 2020 and 2040

Objectives Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer death in 2020, responsible for almost one in five (18.0%) deaths. This paper provides an overview of the descriptive epidemiology of LC based on national mortality estimates for 2020 from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and in the context of recent tobacco control policies.Design and setting For this descriptive study, age-standardised mortality rates per 100 000 person-years of LC for 185 countries by sex were obtained from the GLOBOCAN 2020 database and stratified by Human Development Index (HDI). LC deaths were projected to 2040 based on demographic changes alongside scenarios of annually increasing, stable or decreasing rates from the baseline year of 2020.Results LC mortality rates exhibited marked variations by geography and sex. Low HDI countries, many of them within sub-Saharan Africa, tend to have low levels of mortality and an upward trend in LC deaths is predicted for both sexes until 2040 according to demographic projections, irrespective of trends in rates. In very high HDI countries, including Europe, Northern America and Australia/New Zealand, there are broadly decreasing trends in men whereas in women, rates are still increasing or reaching a plateau.Conclusion The current and future burden of LC in a country or region largely depends on the present trajectory of the smoking epidemic in its constituent populations, with distinct gender differences in smoking patterns, both in transitioning and transitioned countries. Further elevations in LC mortality are expected worldwide, raising important social and political questions, especially in low-income and middle-income countries

Epidemiological findings on interventional cardiology procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-center study.

BACKGROUND The rates of in-hospital mortality following percutaneous interventional procedures (PIP) during the COVID-19 pandemic period compared to the non-pandemic period has not been reported so far. METHODS We retrospectively enrolled all consecutive patients admitted for PIP across five centers from February 2020 to May 2020. RESULTS A total of 4092 PIP were performed during the reference periods. The total number of procedures dropped from 2380 to 1712 (28.0% reduction). Overall in-hospital mortality increased from 1.1% in 2019, to 2.6% in 2020 (63% relative increase). CONCLUSION During the COVID-19 pandemic, in-hospital all-cause mortality significantly increased in patients admitted for cardiological PIP