Interim-PET predicts progression-free survival in stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma treated with upfront brentuximab vedotin-AVD.

Brentuximab vedotin (BV) plus doxorubicin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (AVD) demonstrated to improve survival compared to ABVD as frontline treatment of advanced stage Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL). We retrospectively collected data of 99 stage IV HL patients treated off-protocol with BV-AVD to evaluate the predictive role of interim-PET. Median age was 36 years (range: 18-82); 83.

End-procedural adherence to recommended hemodynamic targets does not improve the outcome of elective tips in cirrhotic patients.

Background Aims: In clinical practice, the reduction of porto-caval pressure gradient (PCPG) following trans-jugular intra-hepatic porto-systemic shunt (TIPS) does not always meet the recommendation of current guidance. We evaluated the impact of different degrees of PCPG reduction, measured at the end of an elective TIPS, on ascites control, recurrence of portal hypertension-related bleeding (PHRB) and survival.

Approach And Results: Cirrhotic patients receiving TIPS for refractory ascites (RA) or for the secondary prophylaxis of PHRB were consecutively enrolled.

Fatigue-Induced Failure of Polysilicon MEMS: Nonlinear Reduced-Order Modeling and Geometry Optimization of On-Chip Testing Device.

In the case of repeated loadings, the reliability of inertial microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) can be linked to failure processes occurring within the movable structure or at the anchors. In this work, possible debonding mechanisms taking place at the interface between the polycrystalline silicon film constituting the movable part of the device and the silicon dioxide at the anchor points are considered. In dealing with cyclic loadings possibly inducing fatigue failure, a strategy is proposed to optimize the geometry of an on-chip testing device designed to characterize the strength of the aforementioned interface.

Use of ICD-9-CM coding for identifying antibiotic prescriptions during hospitalization: a Delphi consensus model.

A Delphi consensus-seeking procedure was conducted to validate a list of ICD-9-CM codes that could help identify hospital admissions in which antimicrobials are more likely to be prescribed. The panel agreed to include 2967 codes out of 16229 (18.28%).