The New England journal of medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Preoperative radiotherapy combined with total mesorectal excision for resectable rectal cancer.
Short-term preoperative radiotherapy and total mesorectal excision have each been shown to improve local control of disease in patients with resectable rectal cancer. We conducted a multicenter, randomized trial to determine whether the addition of preoperative radiotherapy increases the benefit of total mesorectal excision. ⋯ Short-term preoperative radiotherapy reduces the risk of local recurrence in patients with rectal cancer who undergo a standardized total mesorectal excision.
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Comparative Study
Mortality among patients admitted to hospitals on weekends as compared with weekdays.
The level of staffing in hospitals is often lower on weekends than on weekdays, despite a presumably consistent day-to-day burden of disease. It is uncertain whether in-hospital mortality rates among patients with serious conditions differ according to whether they are admitted on a weekend or on a weekday. ⋯ Patients with some serious medical conditions are more likely to die in the hospital if they are admitted on a weekend than if they are admitted on a weekday.