Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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The natural history of pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (PNENs) in patients with Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is poorly defined. Management of patients with PNENs is challenging because there are no reliable preoperative criteria to detect malignant lesions, and the majority of resected tumors are found to be benign. The aim of this study was to determine whether 18-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography ((18)FDG-PET) uptake predicts growth and detects malignant VHL-associated PNENs. ⋯ Scanning with FDG-PET identifies metastatic disease not detected by CT scan and avoids resection of non-PNEN lesions that have no malignant potential in patients with VHL-associated PNENs. It should be considered as a valuable functional imaging modality in the clinical management of patients with VHL-associated PNENs.
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Surgical intensive care unit (SICU) patients are known to be at high risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). The 2005 Caprini Risk Assessment Model (RAM) predicts VTE risk in surgical patients. However, a physician's ability to accurately complete this RAM and the effect that inaccurate RAM completion might have on VTE risk remain unknown. ⋯ Physicians under-risk stratify SICU patients when using the 2005 Caprini RAM. As hospitals incorporate electronic medical records into daily practice, computer-calculated Caprini scores may result in more accurate VTE risk stratification. Inadequate VTE risk assessment and delay to chemoprophylaxis carry independent and significant increased risk for VTE.
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Multicenter Study
Changes in colorectal cancer care in japan before and after guideline publication: a nationwide survey about D3 lymph node dissection and adjuvant chemotherapy.
The Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum (JSCCR) published clinical guidelines for the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) in 2005. To evaluate the impact of these guidelines on clinical practice nationwide, we examined the change in the proportion of patients receiving the recommended CRC treatments. ⋯ D3 dissection for stage II to III disease and adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III disease have become more prevalent and the variation in performance among institutions has decreased in the last decade. Importantly, publication of the guidelines has accelerated the spread of surgical standards.