Quality Assessment of Elective Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair Patient Information on the Internet Using the Modified Ensuring Quality Information for Patients Tool.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the quality of patient information material regarding elective abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair on the internet using the Modified Ensuring Quality Information for Patients (MEQIP) tool.

Methods: A qualitative assessment of internet based patient information was performed. The 12 most used search terms relating to AAA repair were identified using Google Trends, with the first 10 pages of websites retrieved for each term searched.

Height with Age Affects Body Mass Index (BMI) Assessment of Chronic Disease Risk.

Body mass index (BMI) is a function of weight and height, but changing height has not been emphasized. Using the Framingham Heart Study with 5 decades of data on anthropomorphic measurements and disease states, changing height with age was extracted, and BMI was calculated using current and "young" height (calculated as height at age < 40 years). Decreased height began at age 40, with a mean loss from ages 40 to 80 of 4.

Predicting Prosthetic Mobility at Discharge From Rehabilitation Following Major Amputation in Vascular Surgery.

Objective: This study aimed to construct a decision aid to estimate the likelihood of independence with a prosthesis following rehabilitation for limb loss secondary to advanced ischaemia (acute or chronic limb threatening ischaemia) or diabetic foot disease (DFD). A secondary aim was to determine whether prosthetic independence is a surrogate marker of long term survival.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of a prospectively maintained database of unilateral amputations due to ischaemia or DFD entering rehabilitation between 2007 and 2020 was performed.

Long Term Outcomes and Durability of Fenestrated Endovascular Aneurysm Repair: A Meta-analysis of Time to Event Data.

Objective: Despite widespread use, long term outcomes for fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR) are uncertain. This meta-analysis reports long term survival, freedom from re-intervention, target vessel patency, and one year sac regression after FEVAR.

Data Sources: Systematic review and meta-analysis to pool time to event data according to PRISMA guidelines.

Antithrombotic drugs for cardiovascular risk reduction in patients with lower limb peripheral arterial disease: protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Introduction: The optimal antithrombotic regimen to reduce the risk of vascular events in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is contentious. This systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) aims to define the relative efficacy and risks of previously investigated antithrombotic medication regimens in preventing major cardiovascular events, vascular limb events and mortality in patients with PAD.

Methods And Analysis: A peer-reviewed, systematic search will be executed in English on Medline, Embase, Cochrane (CENTRAL), Web of Science and Google Scholar databases in late 2022.

Association between statin-use and mobility and long-term survival after major lower limb amputation.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine if there is an association between statin-use and prosthetic mobility and long-term survival in patients receiving rehabilitation after major amputation for lower limb arterial disease.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained data (2008-2020) from a centre for rehabilitation was performed. Patients were grouped by statin-use status and sub-grouped by the combination of statin and antithrombotic drugs (antiplatelets or anticoagulants).

The Fate of Patients Opportunistically Screened for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms During Echocardiogram or Arterial Duplex Scans.

Objective: To evaluate the long term outcomes of individuals who attended for transthoracic echocardiograms (TTEs) or lower limb arterial duplex scans (LLADS) and were opportunistically screened for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA).

Methods: Follow up of a prospective single centre pilot cohort study conducted between December 2012 and September 2014 at a tertiary vascular centre in the United Kingdom. Men and Women aged 65 and over were invited to undergo AAA screening when attending hospital for TTE or LLADS.

Amputation of the Unsalvageable Leg in Vascular Patients with Cancer.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare outcomes of major lower limb amputation (MLA) in patients with and without cancer and with cancer patients receiving palliation over amputation for their unsalvageable limb.

Methods: Cancer patients who underwent a major amputation or palliation between 2013 and 2018 were included. Comparison groups were cancer-MLA (active/managed cancers), non-cancer MLA (historic cancer or no cancer history) and cancer-palliation at presentation with unsalvageable limbs.

Dissection-related tandem occlusion may be different from atherothrombotic tandem occlusion.

Objectives: The optimal endovascular treatment for tandem occlusion in anterior circulation ischaemic stroke remains unknown. The aim of this study was to examine how the aetiology of carotid pathology, dissection versus atherothrombosis, affects clinical outcomes.

Materials And Methods: Data was obtained from prospectively collected registries from two stroke centres between April 2016 and December 2020.

The Application of Spearman Partial Correlation for Screening Predictors of Weight Loss in a Multiomics Dataset.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, but little is known about the mechanisms of weight gain and weight loss. Integration of omics data is becoming a popular tool to increase understanding in such complex phenotypes. Biomarkers come in abundance, but small sample size remains a serious limitation in clinical trials.

The Power of Observation in Advancing Celiac Disease.

The link between bread and wheat products and celiac disease was first recognized by Willem Dicke in the 1930s through clinical observations of his child patients. The role of gluten as the toxic factor was then proven by Drs. Dicke, Weijers and Van de Kamer in brilliant and prolonged studies in a small number of children.

Centennial Review: A revisiting of hen welfare and egg safety consequences of mandatory outdoor access for organic egg production.

Mandating free range husbandry as a requirement for organic egg designation remains a prevailing sentiment within a segment of the organic community. The proponents maintain that such management practice ensures high hen welfare and enhanced wholesomeness of the egg. However, evidence from the field, especially in the European Union (EU), contradicts these assumptions.

Excess dietary fructose does not alter gut microbiota or permeability in humans: A pilot randomized controlled study.

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasing cause of chronic liver disease that accompanies obesity and the metabolic syndrome. Excess fructose consumption can initiate or exacerbate NAFLD in part due to a consequence of impaired hepatic fructose metabolism. Preclinical data emphasized that fructose-induced altered gut microbiome, increased gut permeability, and endotoxemia play an important role in NAFLD, but human studies are sparse.

Obesity and ethnicity alter gene expression in skin.

Obesity is accompanied by dysfunction of many organs, but effects on the skin have received little attention. We studied differences in epithelial thickness by histology and gene expression by Affymetrix gene arrays and PCR in the skin of 10 obese (BMI 35-50) and 10 normal weight (BMI 18.5-26.

Editor's Choice - Assessment of Correlation Between Mean Size of Infrarenal Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm at Time of Intact Repair Against Repair and Rupture Rate in Nine Countries.

Objective: This study aimed to analyse the mean abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) diameter for repair in nine countries, and to determine variation in mean AAA diameter for elective AAA repair and its relationship to rupture AAA repair rates and aneurysm related mortality in corresponding populations.

Methods: Data on intact (iAAA) and ruptured infrarenal AAA (rAAA) repair for the years 2010-2012 were collected from Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the USA. The rate of iAAA repair and rAAA per 100 000 inhabitants above 59 years old, mean AAA diameter for iAAA repair and rAAA repair, and the national rates of rAAA were assessed.

Variations in arterial pedal circulation in idiopathic congenital talipes equinovarus: a systematic review.

Variations in pedal circulation in congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV) are well documented. There is a reported risk of vascular injury to the posterior tibial artery (PTA) during operative procedures for CTEV, potentially leading to necrosis and amputation. The aim of this systematic review was to identify the most common anomalies in arterial pedal circulation in CTEV and to determine the relevance of these to clinical practice.

Comparison of Surgical Intervention and Mortality for Seven Surgical Emergencies in England and the United States.

Objective: To examine differences between England and the USA in the rate of surgical intervention and in-hospital mortality for 7 index surgical emergencies.

Background: Considerable international variation exists in the configuration, provision, and outcomes of emergency healthcare.

Methods: Patients aged <80 years hospitalized with 1 of 7 surgical emergencies (ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, aortic dissection, appendicitis, perforated esophagus, peptic ulcer, small bowel or large bowel, and incarcerated or strangulated hernias) were identified from English Hospital Episode Statistics and the USA Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2006-2012) and classified by whether they received a corrective surgical intervention.

Migration and sac expansion as modes of midterm therapeutic failure after endovascular aneurysm sealing.

Background: Endovascular aneurysm sealing (EVAS) is a disruptive technology to treat abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The use of sac filling rather than endograft fixation was designed to treat aortic aneurysms in a wide range of morphologic appearances and to reduce endoleaks. There are few data reporting outcomes beyond postoperative follow-up.

An International Comparison of the Management of Gastrointestinal Surgical Emergencies in Octogenarians-England Versus United States: A National Population-based Cohort Study.

Objective: To compare the United States and England for the utilization of surgical intervention and in-hospital mortality from 5 gastrointestinal emergencies in octogenarians.

Background: The proportion of older adults is growing and will represent a substantial challenge to clinicians in the next decade.

Methods: Between 2006 and 2012, the rate of surgical intervention and in-hospital mortality for 5 index conditions for octogenarians were compared between the United States and England: appendicitis, incarcerated/strangulated abdominal hernia, perforation of esophagus, small or large bowel, and peptic ulcer.