Outcomes of Patients With Large Versus Small Bone Defects in Open Tibia Fractures Treated With an Intramedullary Nail: A Descriptive Analysis of a Multicenter Retrospective Study.

Objectives: To compare outcomes in patients with open tibia shaft fractures based on defect size.

Design: Retrospective review.

Setting: Eighteen trauma centers.

Inter-Rater Reliability of the Modified Radiographic Union Score for Diaphyseal Tibial Fractures With Bone Defects.

Objectives: To evaluate inter-rater reliability of the modified Radiographic Union Score for Tibial (mRUST) fractures among patients with open, diaphyseal tibia fractures with a bone defect treated with intramedullary nails (IMNs), plates, or definitive external fixation (ex-fix).

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Fifteen-level one civilian trauma centers; 2 military treatment facilities.

Outcomes After Severe Distal Tibia, Ankle, and/or Foot Trauma: Comparison of Limb Salvage Versus Transtibial Amputation (OUTLET).

Severe foot and ankle injuries are complex and challenging to treat, often requiring multiple operations to salvage the limb contributing to a prolonged healing period. There is some evidence to suggest that early amputation for some patients may result in better long-term outcomes than limb salvage. The challenge is to identify the regional injury burden for an individual that would suggest a better outcome with an amputation.

Antihypertensive medications and risk of death and hospitalizations in US hemodialysis patients: Evidence from a cohort study to inform hypertension treatment practices.

Antihypertensive medications are commonly prescribed to hemodialysis patients but the optimal regimens to prevent morbidity and mortality are unknown. The goal of our study was to compare the association of routinely prescribed antihypertensive regimens with outcomes in US hemodialysis patients.We used 2 datasets for our analysis.

Predialysis systolic BP variability and outcomes in hemodialysis patients.

BP variability (BPV) is an important predictor of outcomes in the general population, but its association with clinical outcomes in hemodialysis patients is not clear. We identified 11,291 patients starting dialysis in 2003-2008 and followed them through December 31, 2008 (median=22 months). Predialysis systolic BPV was assessed over monthly intervals.

Patterns in blood pressure medication use in US incident dialysis patients over the first 6 months.

Background: Several observational studies have evaluated the effect of a single exposure window with blood pressure (BP) medications on outcomes in incident dialysis patients, but whether BP medication prescription patterns remain stable or a single exposure window design is adequate to evaluate effect on outcomes is unclear.

Methods: We described patterns of BP medication prescription over 6 months after dialysis initiation in hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients, stratified by cardiovascular comorbidity, diabetes, and other patient characteristics. The cohort included 13,072 adult patients (12,159 hemodialysis, 913 peritoneal dialysis) who initiated dialysis in Dialysis Clinic, Inc.

Comparison of 2004 and 1973 World Health Organization grading systems and their relationship to pathologic staging for predicting long-term prognosis in patients with urothelial carcinoma.

Objectives: To compare the 1973 and 2004 World Health Organization (WHO) systems for the interval to tumor recurrence (TR), tumor progression (TP), and overall survival (OS) using either the superficial/muscle invasive or strict TMN pathologic staging in patients with urothelial carcinoma with ≥10 years of follow-up.

Methods: A total of 269 tumors from an institutional review board-approved bladder tumor registry were graded using the 1973 and 2004 WHO systems. Kaplan-Meier plots, the log-rank test, the chi-square test, and the Cox proportional hazard model were used to relate the clinical and histologic variables.

Association of CASP8 D302H polymorphism with reduced risk of aggressive prostate carcinoma.

Background: Because of the dramatically different clinical course of aggressive and indolent prostate carcinoma (PCa), markers that distinguish between these phenotypes are of critical importance. Apoptosis is an important protective mechanism for unrestrained cellular growth and metastasis. Therefore, dysfunction in this pathway is a key step in cancer progression.

Risk of urinary incontinence following prostatectomy: the role of physical activity and obesity.

Purpose: Urinary incontinence is one of the most commonly reported and distressing side effects of radical prostatectomy for prostate carcinoma. Several studies have suggested that symptoms may be worse in obese men but to our knowledge no research has addressed the joint effects of obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. We evaluated the association of obesity and lack of physical activity with urinary incontinence in a sample of men who had undergone radical prostatectomy.

Association between polymorphisms in cell cycle genes and advanced prostate carcinoma.

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been associated with a variety of malignancies including prostate carcinoma (PCa). Since a high percentage of PCa patients have low risk disease, of particular interest is not whether SNPs are associated with localized PCa, but whether they are associated with aggressive, potentially lethal disease. Herein, we explored the role of SNPs in cell cycle genes to determine if they were associated with advanced PCa.

Prostate-specific antigen density predicts adverse pathology and increased risk of biochemical failure.

Objectives: To determine whether the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density (PSAD), measured using either ultrasound (US) or prostatic weight (PW), is an independent predictor of adverse pathologic findings or biochemical-free survival and whether it outperformed PSA.

Methods: The data were obtained prospectively from 1327 patients undergoing radical prostatectomy from 1990 to 2003. The US PSAD was calculated by dividing the preoperative PSA level in nanograms per milliliter by the US measured prostate volume in cubic centimeters.