Article
Oncology
Citadel J. Cabasag, Melina Arnold, Marion Pineros, Eileen Morgan, James Brierley, Jim Hofferkamp, Sean Kehoe, John Butler, Oliver Bucher, Freddie Bray, Isabelle Soerjomataram, D. Maxwell Parkin
Summary: Cancer stage at diagnosis is crucial for managing individual patients and evaluating health care system effectiveness. International comparison of cancer survival by stage is challenging due to lack of standardized recording and variation in stage completeness across countries. Development of stage conversion algorithms and improvement of staging data completeness are recommended for valid international comparison.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2021)
Article
Oncology
N. M. S. Baldewpersad Tewarie, W. J. van Driel, M. van Ham, M. W. Wouters, R. Kruitwagen
Summary: The Dutch Gynecological Oncology Audit (DGOA) was established in 2014 to audit gynecological malignancies in the Netherlands. The first results from clinical auditing for ovarian cancer show trends in treatment initiation and surgical procedures over time. Data from the audit highlights variations in quality of care between hospitals and aims to improve nationwide care quality by sharing best practices.
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Maria Antonietta Mazzei, Giulio Bagnacci, Francesco Gentili, Iacopo Capitoni, Gianni Mura, Daniele Marrelli, Roberto Petrioli, Luca Brunese, Salvatore Cappabianca, Marco Catarci, Maurizio Degiuli, Giovanni De Manzoni, Marco De Prizio, Annibale Donini, Uberto Fumagalli Romario, Luigi Funicelli, Andrea Laghi, Giuseppe Minetti, Paolo Morgagni, Enrico Petrella, Frida Pittiani, Stefano Rausei, Laura Romanini, Riccardo Rosati, Amato Antonio Stabile Ianora, Guido A. M. Tiberio, Luca Volterrani, Franco Roviello, Roberto Grassi
Summary: Through multi-round consensus-building Delphi survey, the Italian SIRM and GIRCG promoted a shared discussion between skilled radiologists and surgical oncologists to develop a structured reporting template for CT of GC patients.
EUROPEAN RADIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Sara Moazzen, Francisco O. Cortes-Ibanez, Bert van der Vegt, Behrooz Z. Alizadeh, Geertruida H. de Bock
Summary: The study found that high scores on the American Cancer Society (ACS) Index were significantly associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, but high dietary index scores did not show strong beneficial effects on upper gastrointestinal cancer risk.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NUTRITION
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Thomas R. Arkell, Luke A. Downey, Amie C. Hayley, Sebastian Roth
Summary: The objective of this study was to assess whether patients using medical cannabis report improvements in health-related quality of life over time. The study found that patients reported significant improvements in all 8 domains of the SF-36 questionnaire after initiating treatment with medical cannabis, and these improvements were mostly sustained over time. However, it is important to exercise caution in prescribing medical cannabis as adverse events were common.
Article
Oncology
Hanyue Ding, Ayan Mao, Jiaye Lin, Martin C. S. Wong, Pei Dong, Wuqi Qiu
Summary: This study assessed the quality of life among cancer patients in urban China and found that pain and anxiety were the most common concerns for patients. The reported health status of patients was associated with various demographic and clinical variables.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2021)
Review
Oncology
Yash S. Huilgol, Julia Adler-Milstein, Susan L. Ivey, Julian C. Hong
Summary: The rapid adoption of electronic health records has created a wealth of digitized data that can be used to improve care delivery and patient outcomes. In addition to clinical data, electronic health records also capture audit log data, which provide insights into user behavior and decision-making processes. This data can be utilized to enhance oncology care and outcomes.
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Satoshi Kamiya, Tsutomu Namikawa, Masazumi Takahashi, Yasuhiro Hasegawa, Masami Ikeda, Shinichi Kinami, Hiroshi Isozaki, Hiroya Takeuchi, Atsushi Oshio, Koji Nakada
Summary: This study found that after PGDT, a larger remnant stomach, shorter length of interposed jejunum, and longer J-G might contribute to better postoperative QOL.
JOURNAL OF GASTROINTESTINAL SURGERY
(2022)
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
S. N. Gnanapragasam, A. Hodson, L. E. Smith, N. Greenberg, G. J. Rubin, S. Wessely
Summary: Concerns have been raised about the quantity and quality of research conducted among health care workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. A literature review and audit were conducted to understand the volume, source, methodological rigour, and overlap in COVID-19 studies among HCWs. The results indicate that many studies had poor methodological rigour and there was substantial overlap in the topics measured. The audit revealed that HCWs received numerous study invitations with methodological shortcomings and overlapping aims.
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Joel H. Rubenstein, Simon Fontaine, Peter W. MacDonald, Jennifer A. Burns, Richard R. Evans, Maria E. Arasim, Joy W. Chang, Elizabeth M. Firsht, Sarah T. Hawley, Sameer D. Saini, Lauren P. Wallner, Ji Zhu, Akbar K. Waljee
Summary: The K-ECAN tool was developed to predict the occurrence of esophageal adenocarcinoma and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma using electronic health records data, and it showed better discrimination than other validated models. However, further validation and implementation in electronic health records are needed.
Review
Oncology
Marilina Santero, Adriana Gabriela Meade, Roberto Acosta-Dighero, Lucas Gonzalez, Santiago Melendi, Ivan Sola, Gerard Urrutia, Maria Jesus Quintana, Xavier Bonfill Cosp
Summary: This study aimed to assess the methodological quality of recent clinical practice guidelines for advanced oesophageal and gastric cancers in Europe and synthesize their recommendations on chemotherapy. The results showed deficiencies in the applicability domain of most guidelines, and a lack of consideration for patient views and preferences in some guidelines.
CLINICAL & TRANSLATIONAL ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Sirus Rabbani, Fredrik Mattsson, Jesper Lagergren, Shaohua Xie
Summary: This nationwide Swedish study found no evidence to support the hypothesis that the use of 5-ARIs improves survival in patients with oesophago-gastric cancer.
Article
Ophthalmology
Gracedps Mwangi, Paul Courtright, Anthony W. Solomon
Summary: The survey conducted in May-July 2018 among 29 trachoma-endemic countries in Africa revealed that only a few countries had specific policies for trichiasis surgical follow-up, outcome assessment, and surgeon audits. Most countries did not have clear criteria for evaluating the performance of surgeons. It is recommended that national trachoma programs establish and implement policies and systems for patient follow-up, surgical outcome assessment, and monitoring of surgeon performance.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Devin Singh, Sujay Nagaraj, Pouria Mashouri, Erik Drysdale, Jason Fischer, Anna Goldenberg, Michael Brudno
Summary: Increased wait times and long lengths of stay in emergency departments (EDs) are associated with poor patient outcomes. This study explores the use of machine learning-based medical directives (MLMDs) to automate diagnostic testing in pediatric ED.
Article
Surgery
Madoka Takao, Elif Bilgic, Pepa Kaneva, Kevin Waschke, Satoshi Endo, Yoshiko Nakano, Fumiaki Kawara, Shinwa Tanaka, Tsukasa Ishida, Yoshinori Morita, Takashi Toyonaga, Eiji Umegaki, Yuzo Kodama, Gerald M. Fried
Summary: This study developed and validated an assessment tool for evaluating video-recorded ESD performances for gastric neoplasms, demonstrating high inter-rater reliability and correlation with endoscopist experience, providing preliminary validity evidence for its use.
SURGICAL ENDOSCOPY AND OTHER INTERVENTIONAL TECHNIQUES
(2021)
Article
Surgery
Geraldine J. Ooi, Andrew Clouston, Yazmin Johari, William W. Kemp, Stuart K. Roberts, Wendy A. Brown, Paul R. Burton
Summary: Liver biopsy remains the gold standard for characterizing and evaluating treatment response in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but there is variability in individual components such as fibrosis stage between different biopsy sites. Clinicians should consider biopsies from varied sites to better assess liver disease severity, as a combination of biopsy techniques improves the detection of pathology.
SURGICAL ENDOSCOPY AND OTHER INTERVENTIONAL TECHNIQUES
(2021)
Review
Surgery
Jennifer R. Reilly, Belinda J. Gabbe, Wendy A. Brown, Carol L. Hodgson, Paul S. Myles
Summary: This study evaluated perioperative mortality risk prediction tools relevant to an Australian context and identified four potential tools for adaptation, including SMPM, POSPOM, SORT, and NZRISK. SORT and NZRISK may provide an opportunity to simultaneously investigate and develop a locally valid perioperative mortality risk prediction model with high predictive performance.
ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY
(2021)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
P. C. Mueller, J. R. Kapp, D. Vetter, L. Bonavina, W. Brown, S. Castro, E. Cheong, G. E. Darling, J. Egberts, L. Ferri, S. S. Gisbertz, I Gockel, P. P. Grimminger, W. L. Hofstetter, A. H. Hoelscher, D. E. Low, M. Luyer, S. R. Markar, S. P. Moenig, K. Moorthy, C. R. Morse, B. P. Mueller-Stich, P. Nafteux, A. Nieponice, G. A. P. Nieuwenhuijzen, M. Nilsson, C. Palanivelu, P. Pattyn, M. Pera, J. Rasanen, U. Ribeiro, C. Rosman, W. Schroeder, B. Sgromo, M. van Berge Henegouwen, R. van Hillegersberg, H. van Veer, F. van Workum, D. Watson, B. P. L. Wijnhoven, C. A. Gutschow
Summary: This study achieved international consensus on criteria for hospital discharge after esophagectomy through a 3-round Delphi process involving 40 esophageal surgeons from 16 countries and 4 continents. The consensus included criteria related to nutrition, gas passage, removal of central venous catheters, and use of adequate analgesia. These standardized endpoints can serve as objective measures for short-term recovery and assist in making decisions about patient discharge to reduce the risk of premature discharge or prolonged admission.
DISEASES OF THE ESOPHAGUS
(2021)
Article
Surgery
Yazmin Johari, Anagi Wickremasinghe, Pradipta Kiswandono, Helen Yue, Geraldine Ooi, Cheryl Laurie, Geoffrey Hebbard, Paul Beech, Kenneth Yap, Wendy Brown, Paul Burton
Summary: Following sleeve gastrectomy, esophago-gastric transit is primarily driven by isobaric pressurization of the stomach induced by repeated esophageal peristaltic contractions, with a strong association with reflux. Transit of food from the esophagus to the small bowel post-operatively is rapid and substantial.
Article
Surgery
Yazmin Johari, Gillian Lim, Anagi Wickremasinghe, Helen Yue, Jarrel Seah, Geraldine Ooi, Julie Playfair, Cheryl Laurie, Paul Beech, Kenneth Yap, Geoff Hebbard, Wendy Brown, Paul Burton
Summary: The study evaluated the mechanisms associated with reflux events after sleeve gastrectomy (SG). The results showed a strong association between reflux and SG, and identified three unique categories of reflux. The study also found that elevated gastro-esophageal pressure gradient was the main mechanism of reflux.
Article
Surgery
Yazmin Johari, William Catchlove, Madeleine Tse, Kalai Shaw, Eldho Paul, Richard Chen, Damien Loh, Andrew Packiyanathan, Paul Burton, Peter Nottle, Samantha Ellis, Wendy Brown
Summary: In this study, a classification system based on CT findings was developed to predict the outcomes of sleeve gastrectomy leaks. The system showed good agreement and could help guide patient management and interventions.
Article
Surgery
Yazmin Johari, Helen Yue, Cheryl Laurie, Geoffrey Hebbard, Paul Beech, Kenneth Sk Yap, Wendy Brown, Paul Burton
Summary: This study found that rapid gastric emptying and common esophageal reflux events are common in post-SG patients without complications. Expected values for esophageal transit and gastric emptying in asymptomatic post-SG patients were defined.
Article
Anesthesiology
Jennifer R. Reilly, Carolyn Deng, Wendy A. Brown, Dianne Brown, Belinda J. Gabbe, Carol L. Hodgson, Paul S. Myles
Summary: In Australia, there is a need to improve the utilization of perioperative electronic medical record data. Establishing a national perioperative outcomes registry can help address the gap in data utilization and facilitate multicenter research and quality assurance.
ANAESTHESIA AND INTENSIVE CARE
(2022)
Article
Surgery
Lisa C. Murnane, Adrienne K. Forsyth, Jim Koukounaras, Charles H. C. Pilgrim, Kalai Shaw, Wendy A. Brown, Marina Mourtzakis, Audrey C. Tierney, Paul R. Burton
Summary: Low skeletal muscle index (SMI) is associated with an increased risk of post-operative pneumonia and longer length of stay (LOS) for patients with complications, but not with 5-year overall or disease-free survival after oesophago-gastric cancer surgery. Assessment of muscle mass may require additional measures to enhance preoperative risk assessment.
ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY
(2021)
Review
Surgery
Wendy A. Brown, Susannah Ahern, Andrew D. MacCormick, Jennifer R. Reilly, Julian A. Smith, David A. Watters
Summary: Clinical quality registries (CQRs) are tools that systematically collect data to assess the quality of care. Despite successful examples in Australia and New Zealand, there are still significant barriers to the implementation and function of CQRs, including challenges in data capture, ethical review, and funding.
ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY
(2022)
Article
Surgery
William Catchlove, Yazmin Johari, Edward Forrest, Amos Au, Kalai Shaw, Peter Nottle, Samantha Ellis, Wendy A. Brown, Paul Burton
Summary: This study compared the treatment methods for sleeve gastrectomy leaks and found no significant difference in outcomes between intraluminal occlusion and repeated debridement. The initial radiologic appearance was predictive of length of stay and complication severity.
SURGERY FOR OBESITY AND RELATED DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Surgery
Jennifer Richelle Reilly, Darren Wong, Wendy Ann Brown, Belinda Jane Gabbe, Paul Stewart Myles
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the external validity of Surgical Outcome Risk Tool (SORT) in predicting in-hospital mortality in the Australian context. The results showed that SORT may significantly under-predict 30-day mortality in a dataset with low perioperative mortality rate.
ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY
(2022)
Review
Surgery
Henry Richard Edward Drysdale, David Allan Watters, Yit Leang, Benjamin N. J. Thomson, Wendy Ann Brown, Andrew Wilson, Victorian Surgical Directors Grp
Summary: Victoria experienced three major waves of COVID-19, with Melbourne being locked down for 267 days. The state implemented strict social restrictions, contact tracing, furlough, escalating PPE guidance, and respiratory protection measures, which effectively reduced healthcare worker infections.
ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY
(2023)
Article
Surgery
Chiara Chadwick, Paul R. R. Burton, Dianne Brown, Jennifer F. F. Holland, Angus Campbell, Jenifer Cottrell, Jennifer Reilly, Andrew D. D. MacCormick, Ian Caterson, Wendy A. A. Brown
Summary: This study aimed to define the expected average length of stay (ALOS) of bariatric surgery in Australia and to identify factors that influence ALOS. The study found that increased patient age, diabetes, rural living, procedural complications, and surgeon and hospital case volume all contributed to a small increase in ALOS following bariatric surgery.
ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY
(2023)
Article
Surgery
Stephen W. Bell, Joseph C. H. Kong, David A. Clark, Peter Carne, Stewart Skinner, Stephen Pillinger, Paul Burton, Wendy Brown
Summary: This study evaluated the NASA Task Load Index (TLX) as an objective measure of technical difficulty of an operation. The results showed that the NASA TLX score correlated significantly with operative duration, blood loss, previous abdominal surgery, and the surgeon's assessment of difficulty. This tool could be used in research and teaching settings to assess surgical difficulty and monitor a trainee's proficiency over time.
ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY
(2022)