Associations between ureteral stent indwelling time, patient characteristics, and stent pain from an international prospective registry.

Objectives: Previous studies have shown conflicting results concerning the optimal duration of ureteral stenting after endourologic treatment of stone disease, its effect on patient comfort, and the necessity for emergent, unscheduled care. This study assessed the impact of stent duration, sex, and other patient-associated factors on reported pain scores using a large, international prospective registry.

Methods: A prospective observational patient registry on ureteral stents from 10 institutions in 4 countries (United States, Canada, France, and Japan) from 2020-2023 was assessed.

Myelodysplastic Syndrome in a Patient With Cronkhite-Canada Syndrome.

Cronkhite-Canada Syndrome (CCS) is a rare non-hereditary gastroenterological polyposis syndrome without a clear etiology. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are clonal hematological disorders. Immune dysregulation has been posited as a contributor to the development of both.

Tri-layer ureteral stents, with anti-encrustation surface, offer improved comfort: results from an international stent registry.

A tri-layer ureteral stent with novel coating lining the inner and outer surfaces (Tria) was designed to reduce encrustation. We assessed technical success, complications, and patient symptoms in an international prospective stent registry conducted from 2020 to 2023. Outcomes included technical success, infections, and encrustation rates.

Molecular and clinical determinants of response to checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy in glioblastoma.

Purpose: While checkpoint inhibitor therapy (CPI) has transformed treatment in multiple solid tumors, its efficacy in glioblastoma (GBM) remains limited. Understanding the molecular and clinical factors that influence glioblastoma's response to CPI is essential to improving outcomes.

Methods: We identified patients with recurrent GBM, who had been treated with CPI and determined the association between their molecular, clinical, and demographic characteristics and survival outcomes.

Overcoming Intrapulmonary Shunting: A Case Report of Hepatopulmonary Syndrome Post-Liver Transplantation Treated With Inhaled Treprostinil.

Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) poses a significant challenge in liver transplant recipients, mostly resulting in persistent hypoxaemia postoperatively. We present the case of a 59-year-old male with decompensated metabolic dysfunction associated with steatohepatitis (MASH) cirrhosis, who had liver transplantation due to end-stage liver disease complicated by HPS-related hypoxaemia. Despite successful transplantation, the patient continued to experience severe hypoxaemia, requiring high supplemental oxygen despite maximal conservative treatment per guidelines.

Spinal Cord Stimulators Adversely Affect Outcomes in Spinal Deformity Surgery. A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

Study DesignRetrospective comparative analysis of prospective cohort.ObjectiveTo examine clinical outcomes of patients with preexisting SCS after adult spinal deformity surgery.MethodsA total of 94 patients with and without a previous history of spinal cord stimulator placement undergoing surgery for ASD with minimum 2-year follow-up.

Rare Extra-Axial Chordoma of the Anteromedial Thigh: A Case Report.

Chordomas are rare notochordal malignancies typically occurring in the axial skeleton. Less than 100 extra-axial chordomas have been reported. We describe a unique chordoma of the anteromedial thigh.

Fluorescence based live cell imaging identifies exon 14 skipped hepatocyte growth factor receptor (MET) degraders.

Despite ongoing efforts to employ structure-based methods to discover targeted protein degraders (TPD), the prevailing strategy continues to be the synthesis of a focused set of heterobifunctional compounds and screening them for target protein degradation. Here we used a fluorescence based live cell imaging screen to identify degraders that target exon 14 skipped hepatocyte growth factor receptor (MET). MET is a known oncogenic driver.

Extremity War Injury Symposium 2024: Sports Medicine and Medical Readiness Section Summary.

Collaboration between military and civilian investigators is necessary to develop strategies for optimizing treatments to diminish the sequelae of non-battle-related musculoskeletal injuries, which are highly prevalent among servicemembers. The 2024 Extremity War Injuries Symposium provided a forum whereby a diverse group of clinicians and researchers could develop strategies for optimizing treatments and diminishing the sequelae of conditions that are highly prevalent among active individuals. Key points were as follows: 1.

Utilization Trends of Transnasal Endoscopic Sphenopalatine Artery Ligation (TESPAL) in the Medicare Population.

Objectives: Transnasal endoscopic sphenopalatine artery ligation (TESPAL) has been proposed as a first-line therapy for intractable epistaxis before utilizing posterior nasal packing and embolization. A specific procedure code for TESPAL was newly introduced in 2018, adding to two prior codes for procedural control of epistaxis. This study compares all-time utilization of the TESPAL CPT code in Medicare beneficiaries with alternative procedural codes for epistaxis management.

Gastrointestinal bleed mortality disparities in patients with atrial fibrillation: A cross-sectional analysis 1999-2020.

Introduction: Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) is often encountered among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) due to the use of anticoagulation. This study assesses disparities in GIB-related mortality among decedents with AF in the United States.

Methods: GIB mortality data in patients with AF from 1999 to 2020 was queried from the CDC database.

Blood-based tumor mutational burden impacts clinical outcomes of immune checkpoint inhibitor treated breast and prostate cancers.

Background: Breast and prostate tumors are known to be less responsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Tissue-based tumor mutation burden (tTMB) has emerged as a predictive biomarker of response to ICIs, including in these "cold tumors". In clinical practice, when tTMB is not available, blood-based TMB score (bTMB) can be used to consider treatment with ICIs.

WATER versus WATER II 5-year update: Comparing Aquablation therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia in 30-80-cm and 80-150-cm prostates.

Objective: This study aims to compare the long-term outcomes of Aquablation for small-to-moderate (30-80 cm) prostates with the outcomes for large (80-150 cm) prostates at 5-year follow up.

Methods: The Waterjet Ablation Therapy for Endoscopic Resection of Prostate Tissue (WATER; NCT02505919) is a prospective, double-blind, international clinical trial encompassing 116 patients, examining Aquablation versus transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for LUTS/BPH in prostates sized between 30 and 80 cm. In parallel, WATER II (W-II; NCT03123250), a prospective, multicentre, single-arm international clinical trial, explores Aquablation outcomes in prostates ranging from 80 to 150 cm.

Automated classification of online reviews of otolaryngologists.

Objectives: The study aimed to extract online comments of otolaryngologists in the 20 most populated cities in the United States from healthgrades.com, develop and validate a natural language processing (NLP) logistic regression algorithm for automated text classification of reviews into 10 categories, and compare 1- and 5-star reviews in directly-physician-related and non-physician-related categories.

Methods: 1977 1-star and 12,682 5-star reviews were collected.

Augmented Reality-Guided Frozen Section Analysis: Bringing the Pathologist From the Laboratory to the Operating Room.

Due to the anatomic complexity of the head and neck and variable proximity between laboratory and operating room (OR), effective communication during frozen section analysis (FSA) between surgeons and pathologists is challenging. This proof-of-concept study investigates an augmented reality (AR) protocol that allows pathologists to virtually join the OR from the laboratory. Head and neck cancer specimens were scanned ex vivo using a 3-dimensional scanner and uploaded into an AR platform.

In-hospital outcomes among amyloidosis patients with atrial fibrillation: A propensity score-matched analysis.

Background: The impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) among patients with amyloidosis on in-hospital outcomes is not well-established. We aimed to examine in-hospital outcomes among patients admitted with a primary diagnosis of AF with and without amyloidosis.

Methods And Results: We queried the Nationwide Readmissions Database to compare the in-hospital outcomes among AF patients with and without amyloidosis.

Sex Differences and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Myocardial Infarction With Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries: A Meta-Analysis.

Background: Although myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) is more common in women, it is unknown whether sex is a risk factor for adverse outcomes in patients with MINOCA. We aimed to investigate the relationship between sex differences and outcomes of patients with MINOCA.

Methods And Results: A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases from their inception until August 2023 for relevant studies.