To investigate the 24 h effects of bimatoprost 0.01% monotherapy on intraocular pressure (IOP) and ocular perfusion pressure (OPP). Prospective, open-label experimental study. Single tertiary ophthalmic clinic. Sixteen patients with diagnosed primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) or ocular hypertension (ages, 49-77 years). Baseline data of 24 h IOP in untreated patients were collected in a sleep laboratory. Measurements of IOP were taken using a pneumatonometer every 2 h in the sitting and supine body positions during the 16 h diurnal/wake period and in the supine position during the 8 h nocturnal/sleep period. After baseline measurements were taken, patients were treated with bimatoprost 0.01% one time per day at bedtime for 4 weeks, and then 24 h IOP data were collected under the same laboratory conditions. Diurnal and nocturnal IOP and OPP means under bimatoprost 0.01% treatment were compared with baseline. The diurnal and nocturnal IOP means were significantly lower under the bimatoprost 0.01% treatment than baseline in both the sitting and supine positions. The diurnal and nocturnal OPP means were significantly higher under treatment than baseline in both the sitting and supine positions. Bimatoprost 0.01% monotherapy significantly lowered IOP and increased OPP during the 24 h period.

Background

To prospectively investigate the safety, tolerability and 24-h intraocular pressure (IOP) patterns in patients with thyroid eye disease (TED) using a contact lens sensor (CLS).

Design

Prospective study.

Participants

Ten patients with established TED.

Methods

Ten eyes of 10 patients were prospectively evaluated in an ambulatory 24-h IOP monitoring session using the CLS (Sensimed AG, Lausanne, Switzerland). Patients pursued daily activities, and sleep behaviour was uncontrolled.

Main outcome measures

Incidence of adverse events (AEs) and tolerability (scale of 0-10, increasing intolerance) were assessed. IOP patterns were evaluated using a cosinor rhythmometry model, and linear regression slopes were constructed for the transition from wake/sitting (W/S) to sleep/supine (S/S) and vice versa.

Results

Mean age was 61.8 ± 21.6 years, and 90% of patients were female. Main AEs were blurred vision (50%), conjunctival hyperaemia (100%) and superficial punctate keratitis (20%). Tolerability of the lens was found to be 1.5 ± 0.7. Positive linear slopes of the CLS signal from wake to sleep were detected (18.0 ± 43.8 arbitrary units [a.u.]; P = 0.254), whereas at the transition from S/S to W/S a significant decrease (-62.9 ± 56.8 a.u.; P = 0.010) was found. Five patients (50%) had a significant nocturnal/sleep acrophase with the peak occurring at 6:30 a.m. The mean amplitude of the 24-h curves was 102.2 ± 52.6 a.u.

Conclusions

In patients with TED, the CLS provides a safe and well-tolerated approach to 24-h IOP monitoring. After modelling the 24-h IOP curves, TED patients were found to have a morning acrophase.

Background

As evidence continues to accumulate regarding the multi-organ dysfunction associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), it is still unclear as to whether PD increases the risk of hematological pathology. In this study, the authors investigate the association between PD and hematological pathology risk factors.

Methods

This retrospective cohort analysis was conducted using 8 years of the National Readmission Database. All individuals diagnosed with PD were queried at the time of primary admission. Readmissions, complications, and risk factors were analyzed at 30-, 90-, 180-, and 300-day intervals. Statistical analysis included multivariate Gaussian-fitted modeling using age, sex, comorbidities, and discharge weights as covariates. Coefficients of model variables were exponentiated and interpreted as odds ratios.

Results

The database query yielded 1,765,800 PD patients (mean age: 76.3 ± 10.4; 44.1% female). Rates of percutaneous blood transfusion in readmitted patients at 30, 90, 180, and 300 days were found to be 8.7%, 8.6%, 8.3%, and 8.3% respectively. Those with anti-parkinsonism medication side effects at the primary admission had increased rates of gastrointestinal (GI) hemorrhage (OR: 1.02; 95%CI: 1.01-1.03, p < 0.0001) and blood transfusion (OR: 1.06; 95%CI: 1.05-1.08, p < 0.0001) at all timepoints after readmission. PD patients who experienced GI hemorrhage of any etiology, including as a side effect of anti-parkinsonism medication, were found to have significantly higher rates of blood transfusion at all timepoints (OR: 1.14; 95%CI: 1.13-1.16, p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Blood transfusions were found to be significantly associated with anti-parkinsonism drug side effects and GI hemorrhage of any etiology.

Background

Achieving functional repair after peripheral nerve injury (PNI) remains problematic despite considerable advances in surgical technique. Therein, questions lie regarding the variable capacity of peripheral nerves to regenerate based on environmental influence. In-depth analyses of multiple therapeutic strategies have ensued to overcome these natural obstacles. Of these candidate therapies, electrical stimulation has emerged a frontrunner. Extensive animal studies have reported the ability of brief intraoperative electrical stimulation (BES) to enhance functional regeneration after PNI. Despite these reports, the exact mechanisms by which BES enhances regeneration and its effects on long nerve lesions are largely unknown. Indeed, clinical translation of this seemingly simple therapeutic has not been so simple, but a few studies performed in humans have yielded highly encouraging results.

Objective

We aimed to help bridge this translational gap by presenting the latest clinical trials on electrical stimulation for PNIs in combination with relevant etiologies, treatments and nonclinical findings.

Methods

To do so, a systematic search was performed on PubMed, IEEE, and Web of Science databases up to February 2020 using keywords significant to our study. References of each manuscript were screened for additional manuscripts of relevance to our study.

Results

We found multiple BES clinical studies reporting enhanced functional recovery or increased nerve regeneration. Although improved outcomes were reported, high variability after BES is seen between and within species likely due to injury severity, location and timeline along with other factors.

Conclusion

Further clinical studies and introduction of novel delivery platforms are vital to uncover the true regenerative potential of electrical stimulationtherapy.

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) has become the standard of care for patients with unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The comparative merits of two widely used regimens: carboplatin/paclitaxel (PC) and cisplatin/etoposide (PE), each with concurrent radiotherapy, remain largely undefined. Records for consecutive patients with stage III NSCLC treated with PC or PE and ≥60 Gy chest radiotherapy between 2000 and 2011 were reviewed for outcomes and toxicity. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox modeling with the Wald test. Comparison across groups was done using the student's t and chi-squared tests. Seventy-five (PC: 44, PE: 31) patients were analyzed. PC patients were older (median 71 vs. 63 years; P = 0.0006). Other characteristics were comparable between groups. With PE, there was significantly increased grade ≥3 neutropenia (39% vs. 14%, P = 0.024) and thrombocytopenia (10% vs. 0%, P = 0.039). Radiation pneumonitis was more common with PC (66% vs. 38%, P = 0.033). Five treatment-related deaths occurred (PC: 3 vs. PE: 2, P = 1.000). With a median follow-up of 51.6 months, there were no significant differences in relapse-free survival (median PC 12.0 vs. PE 11.5 months, P = 0.700) or overall survival (median PC 20.7 vs. PE 13.7 months; P = 0.989). In multivariate analyses, no factors predicted for improved survival for either regimen. PC was more likely to be used in elderly patients. Despite this, PC resulted in significantly less hematological toxicity but achieved similar survival outcomes as PE. PC is an acceptable CCRT regimen, especially in older patients with multiple comorbidities.

Objective

Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is a degenerative disorder leading to progressive decline in spinal cord function. Cervical laminoplasty (CLP) and cervical laminectomy with fusion (CLF) are standard treatments for multilevel CSM. However, it is still unclear whether one procedure over the other provides better outcomes. Here, we performed a comprehensive review of published articles that compare the clinical outcomes and costs between CLP and CLF for CSM.

Methods

A literature search was performed using PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases. Strict exclusion criteria were applied, and included articles were then assessed for publication year, study design, and significant differences in outcome variables.

Results

From 519 studies identified with search terms, 38 studies were included for the qualitative analysis. Statistically significant differences in the clinical outcomes and costs were found in 18 studies. Eleven studies were prospective or retrospective, and 8 studies were meta-analyses. For the outcome variables of interest, results were reported by classifying into prospective studies, retrospective studies, and meta-analyses.

Conclusion

CLP and CLF are 2 of the most commonly performed surgical procedures for the treatment of CSM. Although CLP and CLF each provide satisfactory clinical outcomes for patients with CMS, CLP may result in better cervical range of motion and less cost, length of stay, operation time, blood loss, paraspinal muscular atrophy, and rate of nerve palsies as compared to CLF. The major limitation of CLP versus CLF comparison studies includes the heterogeneity in techniques and preoperative criteria. Thus, further validation and investigations in larger cohorts will be required.

The history of academic research on ependymoma is expansive. This review summarizes its history with a bibliometric analysis of the 100 most cited articles on ependymoma. In March 2020, we queried the Web of Science database to identify the most cited articles on ependymoma using the terms "ependymoma" or "ependymal tumors," yielding 3145 publications. Results were arranged by the number of times each article was cited in descending order. The top 100 articles spanned across nearly a century; the oldest article was published in 1924, while the most recent was in 2017. These articles were published in 35 unique journals, including a mix of basic science and clinical journals. The three institutions with the most papers in the top 100 were St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (16%), the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (6%), and the German Cancer Research Center (5%). We analyzed the publications that may be considered the most influential in the understanding and treatment management of ependymoma. Studies focused on the molecular classification of ependymomas were well-represented among the most cited articles, reflecting the field's current area of focus and its future directions. Additionally, this article also offers a reference for further studies in the ependymoma field.

At the time of writing of this article, there have been over 110 million cases and 2.4 million deaths worldwide since the start of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, postponing millions of non-urgent surgeries. Existing literature explores the complexities of rationing medical care. However, implications of non-urgent surgery postponement during the COVID-19 pandemic have not yet been analyzed within the context of the four pillars of medical ethics. The objective of this review is to discuss the ethics of elective surgery cancellation during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and autonomy. This review hypothesizes that a more equitable decision-making algorithm can be formulated by analyzing the ethical dilemmas of elective surgical care during the pandemic through the lens of these four pillars. This paper's analysis shows that non-urgent surgeries treat conditions that can become urgent if left untreated. Postponement of these surgeries can cause cumulative harm downstream. An improved algorithm can address these issues of beneficence by weighing local pandemic stressors within predictive algorithms to appropriately increase surgeries. Additionally, the potential harms of performing non-urgent surgeries extend beyond the patient. Non-maleficence is maintained through using enhanced screening protocols and modifying surgical techniques to reduce risks to patients and clinicians. This model proposes a system to transfer patients from areas of high to low burden, addressing the challenge of justice by considering facility burden rather than value judgments concerning the nature of a particular surgery, such as cosmetic surgeries. Autonomy can be respected by giving patients the option to cancel or postpone non-urgent surgeries. However, in the context of limited resources in a global pandemic, autonomy is not absolute. Non-urgent surgeries can ethically be postponed in opposition to the patient's preference. The proposed algorithm attempts to uphold the four principles of medical ethics in rationing non-urgent surgical care by building upon existing decision models, using additional measures of resource burden and surgical safety to increase health care access and decrease long-term harm as much as possible. The next global health crisis will undoubtedly present its own unique challenges. This model may serve as a comprehensive starting point in determining future guidelines for non-urgent surgical care.