Laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication (LNF) is the most frequently performed operation for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). However, 12% of the patients have persistent reflux symptoms and 19% ...develop gas-related symptoms after LNF. Weakly acidic reflux and inability to belch have been alleged to cause these symptoms, respectively. The effect of LNF on weakly acidic reflux and (supra) gastric belching was evaluated.
In 31 patients upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, stationary oesophageal manometry and 24-h impedance-pH monitoring off acid secretion inhibiting drugs was performed before and 6 months after primary LNF for GORD that was refractory to proton pump inhibitors. Patients filled out validated questionnaires on GERD-HRQoL before and 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery.
LNF reduced reflux symptoms (18.6→1.6; p = 0.015). The procedure drastically reduced the incidence (number per 24 h) of acid (76.0→1.6; p < 0.001) and weakly acidic (13.6→5.7; p = 0.001) as well as liquid (53.4→5.4; p<0.001) and mixed reflux episodes (36.3→1.9; p < 0.001). In contrast, gas reflux was reduced to lesser extent (35.6→25.7; p = 0.022). Proximal, mid-oesophageal and distal reflux were reduced to a similar extent. Persistent GORD symptoms were neither preceded by acid nor by weakly acidic reflux. The number of air swallows did not change, but the number of gastric belches (GBs) was greatly reduced (68.5→23.9; p < 0.001). Twenty-three patients had supragastric belches (SGBs), both before and after surgery, whereas eight patients had no SGBs at all. The majority of SGBs were not reflux associated and the frequency was greatly increased after LNF (20.8→46.0; p = 0.036). Reflux-associated SGBs were abolished after surgery (14.0→0.4; p < 0.001).
LNF similarly controls acid and weakly acidic reflux, but gas reflux is reduced to lesser extent. Persistent reflux symptoms are neither caused by acid nor by weakly acidic reflux. LNF alters the belching pattern by reducing GBs (air venting from stomach) and increasing SGBs (no air venting from stomach). This explains the increase in belching experienced by some patients after LNF, despite the reduction in gastric belching. It can be hypothesised that the reduction in GBs after LNF incites patients to increase SGBs in a futile attempt to vent air from the stomach.
It has now been unequivocally demonstrated that humans possess functional brown adipose tissue (BAT) and that human BAT can be recruited upon chronic cold stimulation. Recruitment of BAT has been ...postulated as a potential strategy to counteract the current global obesity epidemic. Recently, it was shown in rodents that endurance exercise training could stimulate the recruitment of brown-like adipocytes within white adipose tissue (WAT) via exercise-induced myokines such as irisin (the cleaved circulating product of the type 1 membrane protein FNDC5) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Our objective was to test whether endurance-trained athletes had increased cold-stimulated BAT activity and browning of subcutaneous WAT compared with lean sedentary males.
Twelve endurance-trained athletes and 12 lean sedentary males were measured during 2 h of mild cold exposure to determine cold-induced BAT activity via (18)Ffluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography-computed tomography ((18)FFDG-PET-CT) scanning. Skeletal muscle FNDC5 expression, as well as plasma irisin and IL-6 levels were determined. In addition, a subcutaneous abdominal WAT biopsy was taken to measure gene expression of several markers for browning of WAT.
Cold-induced BAT activity was significantly lower in athletes, and no differences in gene expression of classical brown and beige adipocyte markers were detected in subcutaneous WAT between the groups. As expected, mRNA expression of FNDC5 in skeletal muscle was significantly higher in endurance athletes but plasma irisin and Il-6 levels were similar in both groups.
These results indicate that chronic endurance exercise is not associated with brown and beige adipocyte recruitment; in fact endurance training appears to be linked to lower the metabolic activity of BAT in humans.
Purpose
The aim of this systematic review is to identify risk factors that can predict complicated diverticulitis. Uncomplicated diverticulitis is a self-limiting and mild disease, but 10% of ...patients with diverticulitis develop complications requiring further treatment. It is important to estimate the risk of developing complicated diverticulitis at an early stage to set the right treatment at initial presentation.
Methods
Embase, MEDLINE, and Cochrane databases were searched for studies reporting on risk factors for complicated diverticulitis. Complicated diverticulitis was defined as Hinchey ≥Ib or severe diverticulitis according to the Ambrosetti criteria. Meta-analyses were performed when at least four studies reported on the outcome of interest. This study was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines.
Results
A total of 12 studies were included with a total of 4619 patients. Most were of reasonable quality. Only the risk factors “age” and “sex” were eligible for meta-analysis, but none showed a significant effect on the risk for complicated diverticulitis. There was reasonable quality of evidence suggesting that high C-reactive protein; white blood cell count; clinical signs including generalized abdominal pain, constipation and vomiting; steroid usage; a primary episode; and comorbidity are risk factors for complicated diverticulitis.
Conclusion
Although high-level evidence is lacking, this study identified several risk factors associated with complicated diverticulitis. Individually, these risk factors have little value in predicting the course of diverticulitis. The authors propose a prognostic model combining these risk factors which might be the next step to aid the physician in predicting the course of diverticulitis and setting the right treatment at initial presentation.
The incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) has rapidly increased over time. The malignant potential of DCIS is dependent on its differentiation grade.
Our aim is to determine the distribution ...of different grades of DCIS among women screened in the mass screening programme, and women not screened in the mass screening programme, and to estimate the amount of overdiagnosis by grade of DCIS. We retrospectively included a population-based sample of 4232 women with a diagnosis of DCIS in the years 2007-2009 from the Nationwide network and registry of histopathology and cytopathology in the Netherlands. Excluded were women with concurrent invasive breast cancer, lobular carcinoma in situ and no DCIS, women recently treated for invasive breast cancer, no grade mentioned in the record, inconclusive record on invasion, and prevalent DCIS. The screening status was obtained via the screening organisations. The distribution of grades was incorporated in the well-established and validated microsimulation model MISCAN.
Overall, 17.7 % of DCIS were low grade, 31.4 % intermediate grade, and 50.9 % high grade. This distribution did not differ by screening status, but did vary by age. Older women were more likely to have low-grade DCIS than younger women. Overdiagnosis as a proportion of all cancers in women of the screening age was 61 % for low-grade, 57 % for intermediate-grade, 45 % for high-grade DCIS. For women age 50-60 years with a high-grade DCIS this overdiagnosis rate was 21-29 %, compared to 50-66 % in women age 60-75 years with high-grade DCIS.
Amongst the rapidly increasing numbers of DCIS diagnosed each year is a significant number of overdiagnosed cases. Tailoring treatment to the probability of progression is the next step to preventing overtreatment. The basis of this tailoring could be DCIS grade and age.
Oncological care was largely derailed due to the reprioritisation of health care services to handle the initial surge of COVID-19 patients adequately. Cancer screening programmes were no exception in ...this reprioritisation. They were temporarily halted in the Netherlands (1) to alleviate the pressure on health care services overwhelmed by the upsurge of COVID-19 patients, (2) to reallocate staff and personal protective equipment to support critical COVID-19 care, and (3) to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Utilising data from the Netherlands Cancer Registry on provisional cancer diagnoses between 6 January 2020 and 4 October 2020, we assessed the impact of the temporary halt of national population screening programmes on the diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer in the Netherlands. A dynamic harmonic regression model with ARIMA error components was applied to assess the observed versus expected number of cancer diagnoses per calendar week. Fewer diagnoses of breast and colorectal cancer were objectified amid the early stages of the initial COVID-19 outbreak in the Netherlands. This effect was most pronounced among the age groups eligible for cancer screening programmes, especially in breast cancer (age group 50-74 years). Encouragingly enough, the observed number of diagnoses ultimately reached and virtually remained at the level of the expected values. This finding, which emerged earlier in age groups not invited for cancer screening programmes, comes on account of the decreased demand for critical COVID-19 care since early April 2020, which, in turn, paved the way forward to resume screening programmes and a broad range of non-critical health care services, albeit with limited operating and workforce capacity. Collectively, transient changes in health-seeking behaviour, referral practices, and cancer screening programmes amid the early stages of the initial COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands conjointly acted as an accelerant for fewer breast and colorectal cancer diagnoses in age groups eligible for cancer screening programmes. Forthcoming research is warranted to assess whether the decreased diagnostic scrutiny of cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in stage migration and altered clinical management, as well as poorer outcomes.
Observational studies have reported conflicting results on the impact of mammography service screening programmes on the advanced breast cancer rate (ABCR), a correlation that was firmly established ...in randomized controlled trials. We reviewed and summarized studies of the effect of service screening programmes in the European Union on ABCR and discussed their limitations.
The PubMed database was searched for English language studies published between 01-01-2000 and 01-06-2018. After inspection of titles and abstracts, 220 of the 8644 potentially eligible papers were considered relevant. Their abstracts were reviewed by groups of two authors using predefined criteria. Fifty studies were selected for full paper review, and 22 of these were eligible. A theoretical framework for their review was developed. Review was performed using a ten-point checklist of the methodological caveats in the analysis of studies of ABCR and a standardised assessment form designed to extract quantitative and qualitative information.
Most of the evaluable studies support a reduction in ABCR following the introduction of screening. However, all studies were challenged by issues of design and analysis which could at least potentially cause bias, and showed considerable variation in the estimated effect. Problems were observed in duration of follow-up time, availability of reliable reference ABCR, definition of advanced stage, temporal variation in the proportion of unknown-stage cancers, and statistical approach.
We conclude that much of the current controversy on the impact of service screening programmes on ABCR is due to observational data that were gathered and/or analysed with methodological approaches which could not capture stage effects in full. Future research on this important early indicator of screening effectiveness should focus on establishing consensus in the correct methodology.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Favourable outcomes of breast cancer screening trials in the 1970s and 1980s resulted in the launch of population-based service screening programmes in many Western countries. We investigated whether ...improvements in mammography and treatment modalities have had an influence on the effectiveness of breast cancer screening from 1975 to 2008.
In Nijmegen, the Netherlands, 55,529 women received an invitation for screening between 1975 and 2008. We designed a case-referent study to evaluate the impact of mammographic screening on breast cancer mortality over time from 1975 to 2008. A total number of 282 breast cancer deaths were identified, and 1410 referents aged 50-69 were sampled from the population invited for screening. We estimated the effectiveness by calculating the odds ratio (OR) indicating the breast cancer death rate for screened vs unscreened women.
The breast cancer death rate in the screened group over the complete period was 35% lower than in the unscreened group (OR=0.65; 95% CI=0.49-0.87). Analysis by calendar year showed an increasing effectiveness from a 28% reduction in breast cancer mortality in the period 1975-1991 (OR=0.72; 95% CI=0.47-1.09) to 65% in the period 1992-2008 (OR=0.35; 95% CI=0.19-0.64).
Our results show an increasingly strong reduction in breast cancer mortality over time because of mammographic screening.
OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to establish whether surgical or conservative treatment leads to a higher quality of life (QoL) in patients with recurring diverticulitis and/or ongoing ...complaints.
SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA:The 6 months’ results of the DIRECT trial, a randomized trial comparing elective sigmoidectomy with conservative management in patients with recurring diverticulitis (>2 episodes within 2 years) and/or ongoing complaints (>3 months) after an episode of diverticulitis, demonstrated a significantly higher QoL after elective sigmoidectomy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate QoL at 5-year follow-up.
METHODS:From January 2010 to June 2014, 109 patients were randomized to either elective sigmoidectomy (N = 53) or conservative management (N = 56). In the present study, the primary outcome was QoL measured by the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) at 5-year follow-up. Secondary outcome measures were SF-36 score, Visual Analogue Score (VAS) pain score, EuroQol-5D-3L (EQ-5D-3L) score, morbidity, mortality, perioperative complications, and long-term operative outcome.
RESULTS:At 5-year follow-up, mean GIQLI score was significantly higher in the operative group 118.2 (SD 21.0) than the conservative group 108.5 (SD 20.0) with a mean difference of 9.7 (95% confidence interval 1.7–17.7). All secondary QoL outcome measures showed significantly better results in the operative group, with a higher SF-36 physical (P = 0.030) and mental score (P = 0.010), higher EQ5D score (P = 0.016), and a lower VAS pain score (P = 0.011). Twenty-six (46%) patients in the conservative group ultimately required surgery due to severe ongoing complaints. Of the operatively treated patients, 8 (11%) patients had anastomotic leakage and reinterventions were required in 11 (15%) patients.
CONCLUSION:Consistent with the short-term results of the DIRECT trial, elective sigmoidectomy resulted in a significantly increased QoL at 5-year follow-up compared with conservative management in patients with recurring diverticulitis and/or ongoing complaints. Surgeons should counsel these patients for elective sigmoidectomy weighing superior QoL, less pain, and lower risk of new recurrences against the complication risk of surgery.
To compare screen-film mammography with digital mammography in a breast cancer screening program, with a focus on the clinical relevance of detected cancers.
The study was approved by the regional ...medical ethics review board. Informed consent was not required. Before the nationwide transition to digital mammography in the Dutch biennial screening program, the performance of digital mammography was studied in three screening regions. For initial screening examinations, mediolateral oblique and craniocaudal views were obtained of each breast. In subsequent examinations, the mediolateral oblique view was standard. A craniocaudal view was added if indicated. Screening outcomes obtained with screen-film mammography and digital mammography, including radiologic and pathologic characteristics, were compared for initial and subsequent examinations.
A total of 1,198,493 screening examinations were performed between 2003 and 2007. Recall was indicated in 18 896 cases (screen-film mammography: 2.6% at initial examinations, 1.3% at subsequent examinations; digital mammography: 4.4% at initial examinations, 2.1% at subsequent examinations; P < .001 for both). Breast cancer was diagnosed in 6410 women (detection rate per 1000 women with screen-film mammography: 5.6 at initial examinations, 5.2 at subsequent examinations; detection rate per 1000 women with digital mammography: 6.8 at initial examinations, 6.1 at subsequent examinations; P = .02 and P < .001, respectively). Digital mammography depicted significantly more ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) lesions, irrespective of screening round. Invasive carcinoma was detected significantly more often in subsequent examinations, particularly when associated with microcalcifications (P = .047). The distribution of the histopathologic differentiation grades for DCIS and invasive carcinoma were similar with both modalities. However, with digital mammography more high-grade DCIS lesions were detected at subsequent examinations (P = .013).
In a population-based breast screening program, the performance of digital mammography in the detection of DCIS and invasive carcinoma was substantially better than that of screen-film mammography. There is no sign of an increase in detection of low-grade DCIS lesions-indicative of possible overdiagnosis-with digital breast cancer screening. Rather, digital mammography appears to add to the detection of high-grade DCIS.
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