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Stent diameter and stent-related symptoms, does size matter? A systematic review and meta-analysis (2022)

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Type of publication:
Systematic Review

Author(s):
Ehsanullah S.A.; Bruce A.; Juman C.; *Krishan A.; Higginbottom J.; Khashaba S.; Alnaib Z.

Citation:
Urology Annals. 14(4) (pp 295-302), 2022. Date of Publication: October 2022.

Abstract:
The ureteral insertion of a silicone tube was first performed in 1967. A validated ureteral stent symptom questionnaire (USSQ) is used for an objective assessment of patient-reported stent-related symptoms. As the impact of stent diameter on the incidence of stent-related symptoms is unclear, we aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing USSQ reported outcomes when using a 6 Fr diameter ureteric stent, versus smaller diameter stents (4.7-5 Fr) when inserted for ureteric stones. All randomized control trials and comparative studies of 6 Fr versus 4.7-5 Fr ureteric stents were reviewed. The USSQ outcomes were considered as the primary outcome measures while stent migration was considered as a secondary outcome measure. A total of 61 articles were identified of which four studies met the eligibility criteria. There was a statistically significant association between the use of wider (6 Fr) diameter stents and the incidence of urinary symptoms as measured by the urinary index score. Larger stent diameters were associated with a statistically significant increase in the pain index score. There was no statistically significant difference in the scores between the compared stent diameters with regard to work performance score, general health index score, additional problems index score, and stent migration. There were insufficient reported outcomes to perform a meta-analysis of sexual matters index score. Our meta-analysis shows that using smaller diameter ureteric stents is associated with reduced urinary symptoms and patient-reported pain. Other USSQ parameter outcomes are statistically similar in the 6 Fr ureteric stent cohort versus the 4.7-5 Fr ureteric stent cohort. Our meta-analysis was limited due to the limited number of studies and gross heterogeneity of reporting parameters in various studies. We hope a large-scale homogeneous randomized control trial will further shed more insight into the stent symptoms response to stent diameter

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Patient experiences of weight loss and eating after bariatric surgery: A Systematic Review and Qualitative Synthesis (2022)

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Type of publication:Journal article

Author(s):*Ansari M; Serjeant S

Citation:Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association, 2022 Nov 30 [epub ahead of print]

Abstract:Background: An estimated 26% of men and 29% of women in the UK are living with obesity according to recent statistics. Bariatric Surgery (BS) can induce significant weight loss and improve co-morbidity status. However previous studies highlight challenges in maintaining dietary changes and weight loss. This systematic review aimed to investigate patient experiences of weight loss and eating in the first two years following surgery, to provide clinical recommendations to support this group.Methods: Ethical approval was granted by the University. A systematic search was conducted in four databases. Studies were selected according to the predefined eligibility criteria and methodological quality, assessed via the CASP tool. Data were extracted and analysed using a thematic synthesis method. Rigour was enhanced via use of a data extraction tool, a validated method for data synthesis, peer-review and transparent reporting.Results: In total, 507 records were screened; nine studies met the inclusion criteria. The thematic synthesis yielded four, interlinked analytical themes based on 154 patients' experiences: relationship with food, relationship with oneself, relationship with others and unfinished journey. Positive experiences were reported including development of healthy eating behaviours and significant weight loss, improving physical and psychosocial wellbeing. On the other hand, challenges in adjusting to life after surgery were also reported.Conclusions: This study highlighted the need for personalised dietary advice, addressing the psychological aspects of eating. Support should be extended to the family. Ongoing psychological support must be incorporated in the post-surgery care pathway to help patients deal with the negative outcomes of surgery such as excess skin.

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Clinical indications and triaging for adult transthoracic echocardiography: a consensus statement by the British Society of Echocardiography in collaboration with British Heart Valve Society (2022)

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Type of publication:Journal article

Author(s):Bennett S; Stout M; *Ingram TE; Pearce K; Griffiths T; Duckett S; Heatlie G; Thompson P; Tweedie J; Sopala J; Ritzmann S; Victor K; Skipper J; Shah BN; Robinson S; Potter A; Augustine DX; Colebourn CL

Citation:Echo Research and Practice, 2022 Jul 13; Vol. 9 (1), pp. 5

Abstract:Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is widely utilised within many aspects of clinical practice, as such the demand placed on echocardiography services is ever increasing. In an attempt to provide incremental value for patients and standardise patient care, the British Society of Echocardiography in collaboration with the British Heart Valve Society have devised updated guidance for the indications and triaging of adult TTE requests for TTE services to implement into clinical practice.

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Effectiveness of weight loss interventions in breast cancer survivors: a systematic review of reviews (2022)

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Type of publication:Systematic Review

Author(s):*Lake B; Damery S; Jolly K

Citation:BMJ Open, 2022 Oct 07; Vol. 12 (10), pp. e062288

Abstract:Background: Elevated body mass index (BMI) in breast cancer survivors (BCS) is associated with cancer recurrence and poorer treatment response. Guidelines recommend 5%-10% weight loss for overweight or obese BCS.Objectives: To assess effectiveness of lifestyle interventions for female BCS on weight loss, BMI, body composition, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), physical functioning, psychosocial measures, biomarkers.Design: Systematic review of reviews and meta-analyses.Setting: All clinical settings.Participants: Adult female BCS (active treatment or post-treatment).Methods: Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library (including Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects) were searched for systematic reviews published in English between 1990 and 2022, with weight, BMI or body fat as primary outcome. Narrative reviews, editorials, letters, conference abstracts were excluded. Review quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute quality assessment tool.Results: 17 reviews were included. Twelve reported significant reductions in one or more anthropometric outcomes: weight -1.36 kg (95% CI:-2.51 to -0.21) to -3.8 kg (95% CI: -5.6 to -1.9); BMI -0.89 kg/m 2 (95% CI: -0.15 to -0.28) to -3.59 kg/m 2 (95% CI: -6.29 to 0.89) or body fat -1.6% (95% CI: -2.31 to -0.88) to -2.6% (95% CI not reported). Significant reductions in two or more anthropometric outcomes were reported in 7/12 reviews, with effective interventions comprising aerobic exercise/aerobic exercise plus resistance training (n=5), or diet and exercise with or without counselling (n=2). Significant improvements were also reported for HRQoL (8/11 reviews), mental health (4/7) and physical functioning (2/3). Group interventions comprising aerobic exercise or aerobic exercise plus resistance training were most likely to improve outcomes.Conclusions: Lifestyle interventions can significantly improve outcomes for BCS. Multimodal interventions are likely to have the greatest impact in reducing weight, BMI and body fat. Further research must define the optimal combination, intensity and duration of effective interventions.

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Clinical outcomes after using patient specific instrumentation: is it worth the effort? A minimum 5-year retrospective review of 298 PSI knees (2022)

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Type of publication:Journal article

Author(s):Rammohan R; *Nugent L; Kasture S; Ganapathi M

Citation:Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, 2022 Oct 10 [epub ahead of print]

Abstract:Introduction: Use of patient specific instrumentation (PSI) for performing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been shown to improve component positioning but there is dearth of evidence regarding clinical outcomes. The aim of our study was to report patient satisfaction and functional outcome scores of patients who underwent PSI TKAs at minimum 5 year follow up.Methods: This is a retrospective study of a prospectively collected data of patients who underwent PSI TKAs between January 2012 and October 2015 under a single surgeon. Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs), patient satisfaction questionnaires, surgeon directed 3D planning changes and intra-operative changes were collected and analysed.Results: The cohort included 298 consecutive PSI TKAs performed on 249 patients at a mean age of 71 years (range: 49-93 years). On an average 4 changes were made for each knee during 3D planning compared to preliminary plan. Intra-operative implant size change was required only in 3% (10 knees). The PROM scores were collected at a mean follow-up period of 6.8 years (range: 5.0-8.6 years) for 224 knees. Oxford Knee Score improved from median pre-operative score of 18 (IQR: 13-24) to median post-operative score of 44 (IQR: 40-47) with a median gain of 23 (IQR: 16-30). The median modified Forgotten Joint Score was 87.5 (IQR: 54.4-98.1). For the Beverland questionnaire, 75% (n = 166) reported being "Very Happy" and only 4% (n = 9/222) were 'Never Happy'.Conclusion: Excellent patient satisfaction and functional scores at mid-term can be achieve d using PSI technique to perform TKA with careful surgeon directed pre-operative planning.

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Unilateral Testicular Tuberculosis: An Extra-Pulmonary Manifestation (2021)

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Type of publication:Journal article

Author(s):*Al-Hashimi KA; Said UN

Citation:Cureus, 2021 Oct 19; Vol. 13 (10), pp. e18896

Abstract:The pathogenicity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) causes it to most commonly manifest within the respiratory system (pulmonary tuberculosis); however, 15% of cases undergo extra-pulmonary spread to various organs. Genitourinary tuberculosis (GUTB) is a rare form of tuberculosis infection which has a propensity to affect the genitourinary tract, primarily affecting the kidneys, epididymis, seminal vesicles and prostate; however, 0.5% of cases result in infection of the testicles. This may present unilaterally or bilaterally with varying atypical presentations, thus misleading physicians in diagnosis. We present a case in a 48-year-old patient admitted to the surgical assessment unit in our hospital presenting with a unilateral painful testicular lesion and scrotal changes. He was admitted nine weeks prior for unexplainable constitutional symptoms however presented again whilst awaiting follow up in an outpatient clinic. Ultrasound guidance and fine-needle aspiration & culture (FNAC) of the lesion resulted in a positive diagnosis for M. tuberculosis. He underwent anti-tuberculous chemotherapy treatment for six months as per clinical guidance with adequate clinical response.

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Systematic Review of Focal and Salvage Cryotherapy for Prostate Cancer (2022)

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Type of publication:Systematic Review

Author(s):Chin YF; *Lynn N

Citation:Cureus, 2022 Jun 28; Vol. 14 (6), pp. e26400

Abstract:Cryotherapy is one of the recognised ablative modalities for both primary and salvage therapy for prostate cancer. It presents an alternative, less invasive treatment for an organ-confined disease, improved preservation of surrounding tissue and a more suitable option for patients who are unfit for radical prostatectomy. Nevertheless, the currently available literature is relatively too scarce to provide definite conclusions regarding the treatment outcomes in cryotherapy. The present study aimed to review current oncological and survival outcomes in cryotherapy for primary and recurrent prostate cancer. Furthermore, this study aimed to establish the complications and functional outcomes of cryotherapy for prostate cancer. A literature search was performed on the PubMed, Cochrane and Google Scholar databases. Current guidelines and recommendations from the European Association of Urology were also reviewed. The search keywords used included 'Cryotherapy, Prostate Cancer', 'Cryoablation, Prostate Cancer' and 'Cryosurgery, Focal Prostate Cancer'. Truncations and Boolean operators were used with the keywords. All relevant studies from after 2015, including abstracts and non-English research assessing oncological and functional outcomes and complications, were included. Twenty-six studies consisting of 11,228 patients were reviewed. Fifteen studies assessed the outcomes of primary cryotherapy, whereas 11 studies reported the outcomes in salvage therapy. The patient's age ranged 55-85 years, and the pre-procedural prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ranged 0.01-49.33 ng/mL. A total of 2031 patients were classified to be at low risk, 2,995 were at moderate risk and 253 were at high risk on the D'Amico prostate cancer risk classification system. Follow-ups ranged from 9.0 to 297.6 months. The disease-specific survival rate was 65.5%-100.0%, overall survival was 61.3%-99.1%, the PSA nadir was 0.01-2.63 ng/mL and the overall biochemical recurrence rate was 15.4%-62.0%. The complications included erectile dysfunction (3.7%-88.0%), urinary retention (2.13%-25.30%) and bladder neck stricture/stenosis (3.0%-16.7%). The functional assessment showed a mixture of improved, unchanged or worsened post-procedural outcomes in primary therapy. This systematic review did not find significant differences in the cancer-specific, overall and biochemical-free survival rate between the primary and salvage cryotherapy cohorts. The most common complications encountered in both cohorts were erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence, lower urinary tract/bladder neck stricture and infection. More prospective and double-arm studies are critically needed to provide guidance on the careful selection of patient cohorts for cryotherapy, whether for curative or salvage intent.

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Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of COVID-19: The PAN-COVID study (2022)

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Type of publication:Journal article

Author(s):Mullins E; Perry A; Banerjee J; Townson J; Grozeva D; Milton R; Kirby N; Playle R; Bourne T; Lees C; PAN-COVID Investigators (including *Millward, H.)

Citation:European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, 2022 Sep; Vol. 276, pp. 161-167.

Abstract:Objective: To assess perinatal outcomes for pregnancies affected by suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.Methods: Prospective, web-based registry. Pregnant women were invited to participate if they had suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between 1st January 2020 and 31st March 2021 to assess the impact of infection on maternal and perinatal outcomes including miscarriage, stillbirth, fetal growth restriction, pre-term birth and transmission to the infant.Results: Between April 2020 and March 2021, the study recruited 8239 participants who had suspected or confirmed SARs-CoV-2 infection episodes in pregnancy between January 2020 and March 2021. Maternal death affected 14/8197 (0.2%) participants, 176/8187 (2.2%) of participants required ventilatory support. Pre-eclampsia affected 389/8189 (4.8%) participants, eclampsia was reported in 40/ 8024 (0.5%) of all participants. Stillbirth affected 35/8187 (0.4 %) participants. In participants delivering within 2 weeks of delivery 21/2686 (0.8 %) were affected by stillbirth compared with 8/4596 (0.2 %) delivering ≥ 2 weeks after infection (95 % CI 0.3-1.0). SGA affected 744/7696 (9.3 %) of livebirths, FGR affected 360/8175 (4.4 %) of all pregnancies. Pre-term birth occurred in 922/8066 (11.5%), the majority of these were indicated pre-term births, 220/7987 (2.8%) participants experienced spontaneous pre-term births. Early neonatal deaths affected 11/8050 livebirths. Of all neonates, 80/7993 (1.0%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.Conclusions: Infection was associated with indicated pre-term birth, most commonly for fetal compromise. The overall proportions of women affected by SGA and FGR were not higher than expected, however there was the proportion affected by stillbirth in participants delivering within 2 weeks of infection was significantly higher than those delivering ≥ 2 weeks after infection. We suggest that clinicians' threshold for delivery should be low if there are concerns with fetal movements or fetal heart rate monitoring in the time around infection. The proportion affected by pre-eclampsia amongst participants was not higher than would be expected, although we report a higher than expected proportion affected by eclampsia. There appears to be no effect on birthweight or congenital malformations in women affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy and neonatal infection is uncommon. This study reflects a population with a range of infection severity for SARS-COV-2 in pregnancy, generalisable to whole obstetric populations.

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Sex differences in patients' recovery following an acute Achilles tendon rupture - a large cohort study (2022)

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Type of publication:
Journal article

Author(s):
Larsson, Elin; Brorsson, Annelie; Carling, Malin; Johansson, Christer; *Carmont, Michael R; Nilsson Helander, Katarina

Citation:
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, October 2022, 23(1): 913-913.

Abstract:
Introduction: The incidence of Achilles tendon ruptures (ATR) has increased over the past few decades. Treatment may be individualised based upon multiple factors including age, pre-injury activity level and the separation of the ruptured tendon ends. Several studies indicate that women may have a poorer self-reported and clinical outcome compared with men, but the number of women in these studies is often small due to the different incidence of ATR between the genders. Aims: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is a difference in self-reported outcome after an acute ATR between women and men at one to five years following injury. The second aim was to compare the outcome between the surgically and non-surgically treated patients. Methods: Data were obtained from the medical charts of patients treated for an acute ATR between 1 and 2015 and 31 December 2020 at Sahlgrenska University Hospital/Mölndal. The Achilles tendon total rupture score (ATRS) and additional questions relating to treatment and recovery were determined. A multiple regression analysis was performed to isolate the impact of sex when comparing the patient-reported outcome between women and men. Results: A total of 856 patients were included of which 66% participated prospectively. Sex, BMI and age were found to be significant factors influencing the total ATRS score. Female gender resulted in a lower ATRS, 7.8 points (CI = 3.3 to 12.3), than male gender. It was found that treatment did not significantly predict the results of the ATRS. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report with a larger number of women included showing that female sex predicts inferior self-reported results after an acute ATR.

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Retrograde tibiotalocalcaneal nailing for the treatment of acute ankle fractures in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2022)

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Type of publication:Systematic Review

Author(s):Lu V.; Tennyson M.; Zhou A.; *Patel R.; Fortune M.D.; Thahir A.; Krkovic M.

Citation:EFORT Open Reviews. 7(9) (pp 628-643), 2022. Date of Publication: 2022.

Abstract:Introduction: Fragility ankle fractures are traditionally managed conservatively or with open reduction internal fixation. Tibiotalocalcaneal (TTC) nailing is an alternative option for the geriatric patient. This meta-analysis provides the most detailed analysis of TTC nailing for fragility ankle fractures. Methods: A systematic search was performed on MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, identifying 14 studies for inclusion. Studies including patients with a fragility ankle fracture, defined according to NICE guidelines as a low-energy fracture obtained following a fall from standing height or less, that were treated with TTC nail were included. Patients with a previous fracture of the ipsilateral limb, fibular nails, and pathological fractures were excluded. This review was registered in PROSPERO (ID: CRD42021258893). Results: A total of 312 ankle fractures were included. The mean age was 77.3 years old. In this study, 26.9% were male, and 41.9% were diabetics. The pooled proportion of superficial infection was 10% (95% CI: 0.06-0.16), deep infection 8% (95% CI: 0.06-0.11), implant failure 11% (95% CI: 0.07-0.15), malunion 11% (95% CI: 0.06-0.18), and all-cause mortality 27% (95% CI: 0.20-0.34). The pooled mean post-operative Olerud-Molander ankle score was 54.07 (95% CI: 48.98-59.16). Egger's test (P = 0.56) showed no significant publication bias. *Conclusion(s): TTC nailing is an adequate alternative option for fragility ankle fractures. However, current evidence includes mainly case series with inconsistent post-operative rehabilitation protocols. Prospective randomised control trials with long follow-up times and large cohort sizes are needed to guide the use of TTC nailing for ankle fractures.

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