The British journal of surgery
-
This study evaluated the role of axillary ultrasonography (AUS) and fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in preoperative staging of the axilla in patients with invasive breast cancer. ⋯ Preoperative AUS-FNAC avoided unnecessary SNB in 28.5 per cent of node-positive patients and in 7.8 per cent of patients overall.
-
Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols are often criticized for being difficult to implement outside clinical trials. This audit evaluated compliance with an ERAS protocol and compared it with that during a trial. ⋯ Observance to some aspects of the ERAS protocol was lower outside the clinical trial. However, this made little difference to patient outcome.
-
Comparative Study
Value of combined 6-[18F]fluorodihydroxyphenylalanine PET/CT for imaging of neuroendocrine tumours.
Accurate knowledge of tumour presence and location is essential to treat neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). Standard imaging has been hampered by low sensitivity and lack of spatial resolution. This study assessed prospectively the diagnostic value and impact of combined 6-[18F]fluorodihydroxyphenylalanine positron emission tomography-computed tomography (18F-DOPA-PET/CT) in the management of NET. ⋯ 18F-DOPA-PET/CT yields a high sensitivity and specificity in the detection of NET. The clinical impact was highly relevant as changes in therapy were observed in more than a quarter of the patients.
-
The outcome of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) with controlled graft donation after cardiac death (DCD) is usually inferior to that with graft donation after brain death (DBD). This study compared outcomes from OLT with DBD versus controlled DCD donors with predefined restrictive acceptance criteria. ⋯ OLT using controlled DCD grafts and restrictive criteria can result in patient and graft survival rates similar to those of DBD OLT, despite a higher risk of biliary stricture.