Medicine
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Observational Study
Pathological Characterization of Ovarian Cancer Patients Who Underwent Debulking Surgery in Combination With Diaphragmatic Surgery: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Despite exhaustive efforts to detect early-stage ovarian cancers, greater than two-thirds of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Although diaphragmatic metastasis is not rare in advanced ovarian cancer patients and often precludes optimal cytoreductive surgery, little is known about the mechanisms and predictive factors of metastasis to the diaphragm. Thus, as an initial step toward investigating such factors, the present study was conducted to characterize the pathological status of ovarian cancer patients who underwent debulking surgery in combination with diaphragmatic surgery. ⋯ However, no significant differences between the 2 groups were found for rates of histological subtypes (high-grade serous or non-high-grade serous), the presence of ascites, the presence of malignant ascites, exposure of cancer cells on the ovarian surface, blood vascular invasion in the primary lesion, and lymphovascular invasion in the primary lesion. Our study demonstrated that metastasis to the lymph node and nondiaphragmatic metastasis to the peritoneum are significantly associated with metastasis to the diaphragmatic peritoneum, indicating that these factors may be pathological predictors of diaphragmatic metastasis in patients with ovarian cancer. However, as the data available are not sufficient to demonstrate the predictive power of these factors, a further comprehensive, large-scale study should be performed.
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Observational Study
Hemorrhagic Complications Following Abdominal Paracentesis in Acute on Chronic Liver Failure: A Propensity Score Analysis.
Patients with acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF) usually present with severe coagulopathy. Abdominal paracentesis is often performed in these patients. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of hemorrhagic events after paracentesis and the predictive factors of this condition in ACLF populations. ⋯ The area under curve was 0.733 (95% CI 0.604-0.862, P value 0.002). Severe hemorrhagic complications occur more commonly in ALCF patients than previously thought. A low fibrinogen level is an independent predictor of bleeding events in patients with MELD >25.
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Observational Study
Low-Level Microsatellite Instability as a Potential Prognostic Factor in Sporadic Colorectal Cancer.
Although microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) colorectal cancers (CRCs) have been shown to exhibit a distinct phenotype, the clinical value of MSI-low (MSI-L) in CRC remains unclear. We designed this study to examine the clinicopathologic characteristics and oncologic implications associated with MSI-L CRCs. We retrospectively reviewed data of CRC patients from 3 tertiary referral hospitals in Korea, who underwent surgical resection between January 2003 and December 2009 and had available MSI testing results. ⋯ However, MSI-L was an independent prognostic factor for poor OS by Cox regression analysis (hazard ratio 1.358, 95% confidence interval 1.014-1.819, P = 0.040). MSI-L may be an independent prognostic factor for OS in sporadic CRCs despite their clinicopathologic similarity to MSS. Further studies investigating the significance of MSI-L in the genesis and prognosis of CRCs are needed.
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Studies on the association between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) are scant. This nationwide population-based cohort study assessed the relationship between IBD and further risk of PAD. This nationwide population-based cohort study was based on data obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database from 2000 to 2010, with a follow-up period extending to the end of 2011. ⋯ The patients with IBD who required 2 or more hospitalizations per year were nearly 27.5-fold more likely to have PAD compared with the comparison cohort. This nationwide population-based cohort study demonstrated that PAD risks are higher in patients with IBD compared with those inpatients without IBD. Careful follow-up observation and aggressive effective treatment should be sought for patients with IBD to reduce the risk of PAD.
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Observational Study
Association Between Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Risk of Osteoporosis: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.
The effect of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on bone mineral density in patients without advanced liver disease remains unclear. Hence, we assessed the association between HBV infection and the risk of osteoporosis. From 2000 to 2011, patients older than 20 years with HBV infection were identified from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. ⋯ Furthermore, the osteoporosis risk contributed by HBV infection has decreased with the presence of comorbidity (aHR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.09-1.48 vs aHR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.91-1.15). HBV increases the risk of osteoporosis, but HBV infection may be less influential than other risk factors. Moreover, HBV has no detrimental effect on osteoporotic fracture in this study.