Radiofrequency Ablation versus Transarterial Chemoembolization in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Awaiting Liver Transplant: An Analysis of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.

Purpose: To evaluate differences in waitlist mortality and dropout in liver transplant candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who undergo radiofrequency (RF) ablation versus transarterial chemoembolization (TACE).

Material And Methods: From 2004 to 2013, 11,824 patients with HCC in the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients who underwent RF ablation or TACE were included and followed until December 31, 2019, or 5 years, whichever came first, and were stratified by the Milan criteria. Competing risk and Cox regression analyses to compare waitlist mortality and dropout were performed using adjusted hazard ratios (asHRs, with RF ablation group as reference).

Imaging Manifestations and Interventional Treatments for Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia.

Hemorrhagic hereditary telangiectasia (HHT) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder that causes multisystem vascular malformations including mucocutaneous telangiectasias and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Clinical and genetic screening of patients with signs, symptoms, or a family history suggestive of HHT is recommended to confirm the diagnosis on the basis of the Curaçao criteria and prevent associated complications. Patients with HHT frequently have epistaxis and gastrointestinal bleeding from telangiectasias.

Interventional and surgical management of internal jugular venous stenosis: a narrative review.

Background: A small subset of patients with presumed idiopathic intracranial hypertension are found to have isolated internal jugular vein stenosis (IJVS).

Objective: To review the current interventions used in patients who present with intracranial hypertension secondary to IJVS.

Methods: In December 2020, we performed a literature search on Pubmed/Medline and Scopus databases for original articles studying surgical and endovascular interventions used for intracranial hypertension in the setting of internal jugular vein stenosis.

Increasing Consulting Fee Payments to Interventional Radiologists in the United States From Industry, 2014 to 2018: Analysis of the Open Payments Database.

Purpose: To evaluate trends in consulting fees from industry to US-based interventional radiologists from 2014 to 2018.

Methods: Payments to interventional radiologists from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2018, were analyzed from the CMS Open Payments Database. Payment type, total consulting fee payments per year and total payment per physician, and aggregate payments per company were analyzed before and after adjustment for outliers.

Transarterial Chemoembolization in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Intra-atrial Tumor Extension: Imaging Response and Oncologic Outcomes.

To evaluate outcomes in patients with right atrial (RA) hepatocellular carcinoma extension treated with transarterial chemoembolization. Eight patients were retrospectively reviewed. Follow-up visits occurred at 4-6 weeks; transarterial chemoembolization was repeated if residual tumor persisted.

Percutaneous Cryoablation for Stage 1 Renal Cell Carcinoma: Outcomes from a 10-year Prospective Study and Comparison with Matched Cohorts from the National Cancer Database.

Background Percutaneous cryoablation (PCA) is an increasingly utilized treatment for stage I renal cell carcinoma (RCC), albeit without supportive level I evidence. Purpose Primary objective was to determine the 10-year oncologic outcomes of PCA for stage I RCC in a prospective manner. Secondary objectives were to compare outcomes after partial nephrectomy (PN) and radical nephrectomy (RN) from the National Cancer Database (NCDB), to determine long-term renal function, and to determine the risk of metachronous disease.

Risk Factors for Complications Requiring Interventional Radiological Treatment After Hepatectomy.

Purpose: To identify perioperative factors that are significantly associated with complications requiring interventional radiology (IR) treatment after hepatectomy.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data from 11,243 patients in the USA who underwent hepatectomy from 2014 to 2016 using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Data on the following IR procedures were extracted: abscess drain placement, endovascular treatment for bleeding, and postoperative percutaneous biliary drain (PBD) placement up to 30 days postoperatively.

Surgical Residents as Certified Bilingual Speakers: A Quality Improvement Initiative.

Background: The objective of this quality improvement initiative was to identify general surgery residents proficient in a non-English language and have each attempt the Clinician Cultural and Linguistic Assessment (CCLA) to become qualified bilingual staff speakers.

Methods: General surgery house staff were asked to self-identify as proficient in a language other than English. Fees for the certification examination were waived, and each resident was excused from clinical duties to complete the exam.

A case of sinus pause induced by swallowing in the setting of olanzapine and guanfacine overdose.

Olanzapine, a second-generation antipsychotic, is used in both adult and pediatric populations for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression and has been associated with autonomic dysregulation in the setting of overdose. Guanfacine is a sympatholytic drug used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and has also been associated with autonomic dysfunction. We present a unique case of a 17-year-old male who overdosed on 340 mg of olanzapine and 189 mg of extended-release guanfacine with a previously unreported adverse event.

Thermal ablation versus wedge or segmental resection in patients with early stage hepatocellular carcinoma: a population survival analysis.

Background: The aim of this retrospective review was to evaluate the long-term survival benefits of thermal ablation versus wedge or segmental resection in solitary HCC lesions using tumor size and clinical factors.

Methods: Survival analysis was performed on 43,601 patients from 2004 to 2015 in the National Cancer Database with solitary HCC lesions ≤5 cm with further stratification by tumor size, fibrosis score, and type of resection.

Results: In patients with moderate fibrosis or less, survival benefit was seen with one-segment resection over ablation in tumors 1.

Non-surgical management of patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in the United States, 2004-2015: an NCDB analysis.

Background: Surgical resection is the standard of care for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), but only a minority of patients are managed surgically. Other modalities, including external beam radiation (XRT), radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and radioactive implants (RIs) have been employed with significant heterogeneity of prognosis reported in the literature. The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographics of patients with ICC managed non-surgically and compare prognosis in patients managed surgically to those that underwent XRT, RFA, or RI.

Rectal cancer patients younger than 50 years lack a survival benefit from NCCN guideline-directed treatment for stage II and III disease.

Background: The incidence of rectal cancer in patients younger than 50 years is increasing. To test the hypothesis that the biology in this younger cohort may differ, this study compared survival patterns, stratifying patients according to National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guideline-driven care and age.

Methods: The National Cancer Data Base was queried for patients treated with curative-intent transabdominal resections with negative surgical margins for stage I to III rectal cancer between 2004 and 2014.