Pediatric Neuro-Oncology in Low-/Middle-Income Countries

Pediatric cancer is becoming increasingly important in low-/middle-income countries (LMICs), due to the improvement in controlling communicable diseases, decrease infant, and early childhood mortalities associated with infection and malnutrition

Implementation of breast cancer continuum of care in low- and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women worldwide. The current COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented challenge leading to care disruption, which is more severe in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) due to existing economic obstacles. This review presents the global perspective and preparedness plans for breast cancer continuum of care amid the COVID-19 outbreak and discusses challenges faced by LMIC in implementing these strategies. Prioritization and triage of breast cancer patients in a multidisciplinary team setting are of paramount importance. Deescalation of systemic and radiation therapy can be utilized safely in selected clinical scenarios. The presence of a framework and resource-adapted recommendations exploiting available evidence-based data with judicious personalized use of current resources is essential for breast cancer care in LMIC during the COVID-19 pandemic

Endovascular coiling versus surgical clipping in the treatment of ruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysm in Cairo University Hospitals

AbstractIntroductionAneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH) remains a devastating and often fatal form of stroke. The aneurysm is targeted for obliteration to prevent re-bleeding and to manage the possible complications from the event. Endovascular coiling has emerged as a less invasive alternative to conventional surgical clipping to treat aneurysms.Patients and methodsThis study was done prospectively in the Cairo University (Kasr El-Eini) hospitals to evaluate the outcome of both modalities used in the treatment of ruptured anterior communicating artery (Acom) aneurysm. 30 patients with Hunt and Hess grade I, II or III. were classified into two groups of microsurgical clipping (Endoscopic assistance used in five cases) and endovascular coiling.ResultsMortality rate was higher in the clipping group (26.7%) compared to the coiling group while recurrence rate was high in the coiling group (26.7%). Complications including hydrocephalus, hemiparesis and failed procedures occurred in (6.7%).ConclusionWe concluded that coiling is better for treating cases of ruptured Acom aneurysms being less invasive and achieving a favorable outcome compared to surgery. While Endoscope-Assisted Microsurgical Clipping (EAM) gives better control during clipping provided that a well-trained, competent and experienced neurosurgeon is available

Chronic anti-coagulation therapy reduced mortality in patients with high cardiovascular risk early in COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with provoked thrombo-inflammatory responses. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic this was thought to contribute to hypercoagulability and multi-organ system complications in infected patients. Limited studies have evaluated the impact of therapeutic anti-coagulation therapy (AC) in alleviating these risks in COVID-19 positive patients. Our study aimed to investigate whether long-term therapeutic AC can decrease the risk of multi-organ system complications (MOSC) including stroke, limb ischemia, gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, in-hospital and intensive care unit death in COVID-19 positive patients hospitalized during the early phase of the pandemic in the United States. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted of all COVID-19 positive United States Veterans between March 2020 and October 2020. Patients receiving continuous outpatient therapeutic AC for a least 90 days prior to their initial COVID-19 positive test were assigned to the AC group. Patients who did not receive AC were included in a control group. We analyzed the primary study outcome of MOSC between the AC and control groups using binary logistic regression analysis (Odd-Ratio; OR). RESULTS: We identified 48,066 COVID-19 patients, of them 879 (1.8%) were receiving continuous therapeutic AC. The AC cohort had significantly worse comorbidities than the control group. On the adjusted binary logistic regression model, therapeutic AC significantly decreased in-hospital mortality rate (OR; 0.67, p = 0.04), despite a higher incidence of GI bleeding (OR; 4.00, p = 0.02). However, therapeutic AC did not significantly reduce other adverse events. CONCLUSION: AC therapy reduced in-hospital death early in the COVID-19 pandemic among patients who were hospitalized with the infection. However, it did not decrease the risk of MOSC. Additional trials are needed to determine the effectiveness of AC in preventing complications associated with ongoing emerging strains of the COVID-19 virus

Totally percutaneous endovascular repair for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms

PURPOSE: The PEVAR Trial demonstrated that compared to open femoral exposure, elective percutaneous endovascular AAA repair (ePEVAR) is associated with decreased perioperative morbidity and access site complications. We hypothesized that PEVAR for ruptured AAA (rPEVAR) may also improve perioperative morbidity compared to open femoral exposure (rEVAR). There are currently no reports that evaluate the utility and outcomes of rPEVAR. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2015 to 2021, all patients who underwent an endovascular repair of a ruptured AAA at a single institution were included in the study and grouped into rPEVAR and rEVAR. Demographics, procedural details (successful preclose technique, conversion to femoral cutdown), postoperative variables (blood transfusion, ICU and hospital length of stay) and short-term outcomes (30-day major adverse events (30-day MAE) and 30-day femoral access-site complications (30-day FAAC)) were collected and compared with 50 historical ePEVAR patients from the PEVAR Trial. Statistical significance was determined using RESULTS: 35 patients were identified (21 rPEVAR; 14 rEVAR), 86% were male with a mean age of 72 ± 9 years. All patients underwent emergent endovascular aortic repair with 100% technical success. Seventeen patients (49%) presented with evidence of hemorrhagic shock and 22 patients (63%) had blood transfusion. 30-day MAE occurred in 12 patients (34%) (7 rPEVAR; 5 rEVAR). There was no difference in demographic, perioperative outcomes and 30-day MAE rate between rPEVAR and rEVAR patients. Compared to ePEVAR patient (from PEVAR trial), rPEVAR patients had higher rate of 30-day MAE (34% vs. 6%; CONCLUSION: Emergent rPEVAR appears to have similar outcomes when compared to rEVAR. Although patients undergoing rPEVAR have higher 30-day major adverse events rate compared to ePEVAR, the method of percutaneous femoral cannulation does not appear to increase the overall procedural or 30-day femoral artery access-site complications

Ketosis prevents abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture through C-C chemokine receptor type 2 downregulation and enhanced extracellular matrix balance

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are prevalent with aging, and AAA rupture is associated with increased mortality. There is currently no effective medical therapy to prevent AAA rupture. The monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP-1)/C-C chemokine receptor type 2 (CCR2) axis critically regulates AAA inflammation, matrix-metalloproteinase (MMP) production, and extracellular matrix (ECM) stability. We therefore hypothesized that a diet intervention that can modulate CCR2 axis may therapeutically impact AAA risk of rupture. Since ketone bodies (KBs) can trigger repair mechanisms in response to inflammation, we evaluated whether systemic ketosis in vivo could reduce CCR2 and AAA progression. Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent surgical AAA formation using porcine pancreatic elastase and received daily β-aminopropionitrile to promote AAA rupture. Rats with AAAs received either a standard diet, ketogenic diet (KD), or exogenous KBs (EKB). Rats receiving KD and EKB reached a state of ketosis and had significant reduction in AAA expansion and incidence of rupture. Ketosis also led to significantly reduced aortic CCR2 content, improved MMP balance, and reduced ECM degradation. Consistent with these findings, we also observed that Ccr2-/- mice have significantly reduced AAA expansion and rupture. In summary, this study demonstrates that CCR2 is essential for AAA expansion, and that its modulation with ketosis can reduce AAA pathology. This provides an impetus for future clinical studies that will evaluate the impact of ketosis on human AAA disease

Survival of Inflammatory Breast Cancer Patients Compared to Non‐inflammatory Breast Cancer Patients in Egypt

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86964/1/j.1524-4741.2011.01146.x.pd

Biliary fistula and late recurrence of liver hydatid cyst: Role of cysto-biliary communication: A prospective multicenter study

Background: Hydatid cyst disease (HCD) is common in certain locations. Surgery is associated with postoperative biliary fistula (POBF) and recurrence. The primary aim of this study was to identify whether occult cysto-biliary communication (CBC) can predict recurrent HCD. The secondary aim was to assess the role of cystic fluid bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels in predicting POBF and recurrent HCD. Aim: To identify whether occult CBC can predict recurrent HCD. The secondary aim was to assess the role of cystic fluid bilirubin and ALP levels in predicting POBF and recurrent HCD. Methods: From September 2010 to September 2016, a prospective multicenter study was undertaken involving 244 patients with solitary primary superficial stage cystic echinococcosis 2 and cystic echinococcosis 3b HCD who underwent laparoscopic partial cystectomy with omentoplasty. Univariable logistic regression analysis assessed independent factors determining biliary complications and recurrence. Results: There was a highly statistically significant association (P ≤ 0.001) between cystic fluid biochemical indices and the development of biliary complications (of 16 patients with POBF, 15 patients had high cyst fluid bilirubin and ALP levels), where patients with high bilirubin-ALP levels were 3405 times more likely to have biliary complications. There was a highly statistically significant association (P ≤ 0.001) between biliary complications, biochemical indices, and the occurrence of recurrent HCD (of 30 patients with recurrent HCD, 15 patients had high cyst fluid bilirubin and ALP; all 16 patients who had POBF later developed recurrent HCD), where patients who developed biliary complications and high bilirubin-ALP were 244.6 and 214 times more likely to have recurrent hydatid cysts, respectively. Conclusion: Occult CBC can predict recurrent HCD. Elevated cyst fluid bilirubin and ALP levels predicted POBF and recurrent HCD

Mitigation of Radiation-Induced Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) Sensor Drifts in Intense Radiation Environments Based on Long-Short-Term Memory (LSTM) Network

This paper reports in-pile testing results of radiation-resistant fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors at high temperatures, intense neutron irradiation environments, and machine learning methods for radiation-induced sensor drift mitigation and reactor anomaly identification. The in-pile testing of fiber sensors was carried out in an MIT test reactor for 180 days at a nominal operational temperature of 640°C and high neutron flux. The test results show that FBG sensors inscribed by a femtosecond laser in random airline pure silica fiber can withstand harsh environments in the reactor core but exhibit significant radiation-induced drifts. Machine learning algorithms based on long short-term memory (LSTM) networks have been used to detect reactor anomaly events and mitigate sensor drifts over a duration of up to 85 days. Through progressive supervised learning, the LSTM neural network can achieve FBG wavelength-to-temperature mapping within ±0.95°C, ±2.63°C and ±6.49°C with over 80.2%, 90%, and 95% levels of accuracy confidence, respectively. The LSTM can also identify reactor anomaly samples with an accuracy of over 94%. The results presented in this paper show that despite sensor drifts and anomaly interruptions, the LSTM-based method can effectively elucidate data harnessed by fiber sensors. Machine learning algorithms have the potential to improve situational awareness and control for a wide range of harsh environment applications, including nuclear power generation