The New England journal of medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A comparison of albumin and saline for fluid resuscitation in the intensive care unit.
ICU resuscitation with either normal saline or 4% albumin results in similar outcomes, in the absence of traumatic brain injury.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A comparison of laparoscopically assisted and open colectomy for colon cancer.
Minimally invasive, laparoscopically assisted surgery was first considered in 1990 for patients undergoing colectomy for cancer. Concern that this approach would compromise survival by failing to achieve a proper oncologic resection or adequate staging or by altering patterns of recurrence (based on frequent reports of tumor recurrences within surgical wounds) prompted a controlled trial evaluation. ⋯ In this multi-institutional study, the rates of recurrent cancer were similar after laparoscopically assisted colectomy and open colectomy, suggesting that the laparoscopic approach is an acceptable alternative to open surgery for colon cancer.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Postoperative irradiation with or without concomitant chemotherapy for locally advanced head and neck cancer.
We compared concomitant cisplatin and irradiation with radiotherapy alone as adjuvant treatment for stage III or IV head and neck cancer. ⋯ Postoperative concurrent administration of high-dose cisplatin with radiotherapy is more efficacious than radiotherapy alone in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer and does not cause an undue number of late complications.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Postoperative concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy for high-risk squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
Despite the use of resection and postoperative radiotherapy, high-risk squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck frequently recurs in the original tumor bed. We tested the hypothesis that concurrent postoperative administration of cisplatin and radiotherapy would improve the rate of local and regional control. ⋯ Among high-risk patients with resected head and neck cancer, concurrent postoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy significantly improve the rates of local and regional control and disease-free survival. However, the combined treatment is associated with a substantial increase in adverse effects.