Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Fertility and hormone preservation and restoration for female children and adolescents receiving gonadotoxic cancer treatments: A systematic review.

The purpose of this systematic review by the American Pediatric Surgical Cancer Committee was to summarize evidence from the current medical literature regarding fertility restoration and hormone replacement for female children and adolescents treated with gonadotoxic treatments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Detection of insulin mRNA in the peripheral blood after human islet transplantion predicts deterioration of metabolic control

Recent updates of the Edmonton trial have shown that insulin independence is progressively lost in approximately 90% of islet transplant recipients over the first 5 years. Early prediction of islet graft injury could prompt the implementation of strategies attempting to salvage the transplanted islets. We hypothesize that islet damage is associated with the release and detection of insulin mRNA in the circulating blood. Whole blood samples were prospectively taken from 19 patients with type 1 diabetes receiving 31 islet transplants, immediately prior to transplantation and at regular time-points thereafter. After RNA extraction, levels of insulin mRNA were determined by quantitative reverse tran-scriptase-polymerase chain reaction. All patients exhibited a primary peak of insulin mRNA immediately after transplantation, without correlation of duration and amplitude with graft size or outcome. Twenty-five subsequent peaks were observed during the follow-up of 17 transplantations. Fourteen secondary peaks (56%) were closely followed by events related to islet graft function. Duration and amplitude of peaks were higher when they heralded occurrence of an adverse event. Peaks of insulin mRNA can be detected and are often associated with alterations of islet graft function. These data suggest that insulin mRNA detection in the peripheral blood is a promising method for the prediction of islet graft damage

PCR primer sets.

<p>PCR primer sets.</p

Induction of hepatocyte specific genes in adult and pediatric MSC after co-culture with Huh-7 cells.

<p>A) aMSC were cultured for 4 weeks in hepatogenic differentiation medium containing HGF, FGF4 and Oncostatin M. RT-PCR analysis of αFP and albumin expression shows no induction of hepatocyte specific gene expression. C-, negative control, PCR without polymerase. Huh-7, positive control for αFP and albumin expression. Lane 3, 4, 5 and 6: aMSC from different donors. B) Adult MSC were co-cultured with Huh-7 cells in a transwell system, with or without hepatogenic differentiation medium (Diff. Media+/−). C-, negative control. RT-PCR analysis was done on total RNA extracts from aMSC co-cultured with Huh-7 cells for αFP, albumin and API. Huh-7 cells from transwell of same experience were used as a positive control for αFP and albumin. In 2 of 10 independent experiments, we observed in MSC co-cultured with Huh-7 cells in hepatogenic differentiation medium. The result represents one of the two positives results obtained. C) PMSC were co-cultured under same conditions as aMSC. C-, negative control. In 5 of 8 independent experiments, we observed αFP, albumin and API expression in MSC, independently of the presence of hepatogenic differentiation medium. The result represents one of the 5 positives results obtained. API: alpha1 anti-trypsin; αFP: alpha fetoprotein; Huh-7: human hepatoma cell line.</p

Alpha smooth muscle actin expression in adult and pediatric MSC cultured in various conditions.

<p>A) Cell extracts from aMSC and pMSC cultured with or without Huh-7 cells in hepatogenic differentiation medium during 4 weeks were analyzed for their expression of αSMA and compared to aMSC cultured in control condition with low FCS concentration (IMDM 2% FCS) by Western blotting. B) Adult MSC and pMSC and EDX cells where incubated with medium (DMEM 5% FCS) conditioned by Huh-7 cells during 7 days. A and B show representative results of multiple blots. αSMA: alpha smooth muscle actin; aMSC: adult multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells; pMSC: pediatric multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells; EDX: human foreskin fibroblasts.</p

Liver engraftment of MSC in a mouse model of liver injury, after intrasplenic or intra-hepatic transplantation.

<p>A) When injected into the spleen of NOD/SCID mice, human adult and pediatric MSC engrafted and survived for 8 weeks in the spleen (a). Only few cells migrated to the liver with maximum 3 cells per high-power field observed (arrow, b). Anti-human vimentin Ab (panel a,b), Hoechst (panel c,d), overlay (lower panel e,f). B) When injected into liver parenchyma, MSC engrafted and high numbers of cells were detected (a,b). However, they retained their spindle shape morphology (b). Anti-human vimentin Ab (panel a,b), Hoechst (panel c,d), overlay (panel e,f). Higher magnification (b,d,f).</p

Telomerase activity in adult and pediatric MSC.

<p>Telomerase activity of adult and pediatric MSC from 4 different donors and at different passages (1 to 4) was measured and normalized to a provided positive control set as 100 percent. Immortalized human hepatocytes (IHH) were used as quality controls of cell extracts containing telomerase; IHH are immortalized cells transduced with lentivectors coding for telomerase <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0006657#pone.0006657-Nguyen1" target="_blank">[44]</a>. As compared to control, telomerase activity was low and not significantly different between aMSC and pMSC (p>0.4).</p