Mortality in patients with Dupuytren's disease in the first 5 years after diagnosis: a population-based survival analysis.

Previous studies suggest that Dupuytren's disease is associated with increased mortality, but most studies failed to account for important confounders. In this population-based cohort study, general practitioners' (GP) data were linked to Statistics Netherlands to register all-cause and disease-specific mortality. Patients with Dupuytren's disease were identified using the corresponding diagnosis code and assessing free-text fields from GP consultations.

A Computable Algorithm for Medication Optimization in Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction.

Background: Guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) optimization can improve outcomes in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine if a novel computable algorithm appropriately recommended GDMT.

Methods: Clinical trial data from the GUIDE-IT (Guiding Evidence-Based Therapy Using Biomarker Intensified Treatment in Heart Failure) and HF-ACTION (Heart Failure: A Controlled Trial Investigating Outcomes of Exercise Training) trials were evaluated with a computable medication optimization algorithm that outputs GDMT recommendations and a medication optimization score (MOS).

Dupuytren Disease: Prevalence, Incidence, and Lifetime Risk of Surgical Intervention. A Population-Based Cohort Analysis.

Background: Health care burden attributable to Dupuytren disease (DD) is largely unknown. The authors determined (1) the prevalence and incidence of DD, (2) the incidence of first surgical intervention, and (3) the lifetime risk of surgical intervention in the United Kingdom National Healthcare Service.

Methods: In this population-based dynamic cohort analysis, data of the Clinical Practice Research Datalink was linked to Hospital Episode Statistics, to characterize the diagnosis and surgical treatment of DD.

Artificial Intelligence in Fracture Detection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background Patients with fractures are a common emergency presentation and may be misdiagnosed at radiologic imaging. An increasing number of studies apply artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to fracture detection as an adjunct to clinician diagnosis. Purpose To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the diagnostic performance in fracture detection between AI and clinicians in peer-reviewed publications and the gray literature (ie, articles published on preprint repositories).

Perspectives: A surgeon's guide to machine learning.

The exponential increase in the volume and complexity of healthcare data presents new challenges to researchers and clinicians in analysis and interpretation. The requirement for new strategies to extract meaningful information from large, noisy datasets has led to the development of the field of big data analytics. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a general-purpose technology in which machines carry out tasks traditionally thought to be only achievable by humans.

Low rate of subsequent surgery and serious complications following intra-articular steroid injection for base of thumb osteoarthritis: national cohort analysis.

Objectives: Intra-articular steroid injection is commonly used to treat base of thumb osteoarthritis (BTOA), despite a lack of large-scale data on safety and effectiveness. We estimate the incidence of serious complications and further procedures following BTOA injection, including the risk of post-operative serious surgical site infection for subsequent operative intervention.

Methods: Hospital Episode Statistics data linked to mortality records from 1 April 1998 to 31 March 2017 were used to identify all BTOA injections undertaken in adults in the National Health Service secondary care in England.

Nongenetic Factors Associated with Dupuytren's Disease: A Systematic Review.

Background: Dupuytren's disease is a common complex disease caused by genetic and nongenetic factors. The role of many nongenetic risk factors is still unclear and debatable. This study aimed to systematically review the association between Dupuytren's disease and nongenetic risk factors.

Dupuytren's Disease Predicts Increased All-Cause and Cancer-Specific Mortality: Analysis of a Large Cohort from the U.K. Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

Background: Dupuytren's disease is a common, chronic, fibroproliferative disease of the palmar fascia. The cause is unclear but includes genetic predisposition alongside environmental factors. Several studies have suggested an association between Dupuytren's disease and excess mortality.

Sentinel node biopsy status is strongly predictive of survival in cutaneous melanoma: Extended follow-up of Oxford patients from 1998 to 2014.

Introduction: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is widely used as a key investigatory tool for cutaneous melanoma, with results incorporated into the latest AJCC staging guidelines. We present the results of our extended follow-up of sentinel lymph node biopsy for melanoma over a sixteen-year period.

Methods: Data were collected prospectively from June 1998 to December 2014 from a single tertiary skin cancer referral centre.

A true branchial fistula in the context of branchiootic syndrome: challenges of diagnosis and management.

Background: The presence of a branchial fistula with communication both internally and externally: a 'true' branchial fistula is rare, and may arise in the context of autosomal dominant conditions such as branchiootic syndrome and branchiootorenal syndrome.

Study: We discuss the case of a true branchial fistula, which recurred after initial surgical excision, in a patient with branchiootic syndrome. The residual tract was dissected in a second operation through stepladder neck incisions and removed in toto via an intraoral approach.