J Cardiothorac Surg
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J Cardiothorac Surg · Nov 2017
Prognostic significance of preoperative plasma D-dimer level in patients with surgically resected clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective cohort study.
Plasma D-dimer level, a marker of hypercoagulation, has been reported to be associated with survival in several types of cancers. The present study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of preoperative D-dimer levels in patients with surgically resected clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ⋯ Preoperative D-dimer level is an independent prognostic factor in patients with surgically resected clinical stage I NSCLC.
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Deep sternal wound complications are uncommon after cardiac surgery. They comprise sternal dehiscence, deep sternal wound infections and mediastinitis, which will be treated as varying expressions of a singular pathology for reasons explained in the text. ⋯ Deep sternal wound complications no longer spell debilitating morbidity and high mortality. Better understanding of risk factors that predispose to deep sternal wound complications and general improvement in theatre protocols for asepsis have dramatically reduced the incidence of deep sternal wound complications. Negative pressure wound therapy and appropriately timed and staged muscle or omental flap reconstruction have transformed the outcomes once these complications occur.