Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Industry payments to physicians represent a potential conflict of interest (COI) and can influence the study conclusions. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the COIs reported in major surgical journals. ⋯ There was a significant discordance between the self-reported COI in gastrointestinal and abdominal wall surgeries. This study calls for continued efforts to improve the definitions of what constitutes a relevant COI and encourages a standardized reporting process. It is imperative for investigators to make accurate disclosure statements.
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For patients with melanoma, the decision to perform sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is based on the estimated risk of lymph node metastasis. We assessed 3 melanoma SLNB risk-prediction models' statistical performance and their ability to improve clinical decision making (clinical utility) on a cohort of melanoma SLNB cases. ⋯ The tested nomograms had comparable performance in our cohort. The only model that achieved clinical utility at risk thresholds of ≤10% was the Friedman model.
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Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating condition where inflammatory changes and necrosis in the gut results in activation of brain microglia and subsequent neurodevelopmental impairment. Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a glycosaminoglycan in human breast milk that is absent in conventional formulas. We hypothesized that oral formula supplementation with CS during a murine model of experimental NEC would not only attenuate intestinal injury, but also brain injury. ⋯ Oral CS supplementation improved both physiological, clinical, and developmental outcomes. These data suggest that CS is a safe compound for formula supplementation for the prevention of NEC.
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Intestinal homeostasis is a crucial factor for complication-free short- and long-term postoperative recovery. The brush border enzyme intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) is an important regulator of gut barrier function and intestinal homeostasis and prevents endotoxemia by detoxifying lipopolysaccharides (LPSs). As IAP is predominantly secreted by enterocytes in the duodenum, we hypothesized that pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) leads to a significantly stronger decrease in IAP than other major abdominal surgery. ⋯ Based upon the functional roles for IAP, supplementation with exogenous IAP might be a new treatment option to improve short- and long-term outcome after PD.