Magnetic Resonance Imaging Features for Distinguishing High-Grade From Low-Grade Soft Tissue Sarcoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Soft tissue sarcomas are malignant tumors characterized by heterogeneity and are associated with a high mortality rate. Histopathological grading is considered a pivotal factor in prognostication and treatment planning. While core needle biopsy exhibits high accuracy in determining tumor histology, it fails in some cases, potentially misclassifying high-grade tumors as low-grade.

The Role of Alternative Medicine in Managing Type 2 Diabetes: A Comprehensive Review.

Diabetes, a chronic metabolic disorder marked by elevated blood glucose levels, is increasingly prevalent globally, significantly impacting health-related quality of life. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM), characterized by insulin resistance and inadequate insulin production, presents a substantial public health challenge, necessitating comprehensive management strategies. Conventional treatments, including lifestyle modifications and pharmacotherapy, are essential for glycemic control and preventing complications.

Neuropathic Pain Secondary to Multiple Sclerosis: A Narrative Review.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). Neuropathic pain in MS is a debilitating symptom that significantly impairs the quality of life for a substantial proportion of MS patients. Neuropathic pain in MS stems primarily from demyelination, axonal loss, CNS inflammation, and direct damage to the myelin sheath, leading to pain manifestations such as ongoing extremity pain, Lhermitte's phenomenon, and trigeminal neuralgia (TN).

Exploring the Thalamus as a Target for Neuropathic Pain Management: An Integrative Review.

Neuropathic pain (NP), resulting from damage to the somatosensory system, is characterized by either spontaneous or evoked pain. In the context of NP, wherein aberrant signaling pathways contribute to the perception of pain, the thalamus emerges as a key player. This structure is integral to the pain network that includes connections to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, highlighting its role in the affective-motivational aspects of pain perception.

Discordance between surgical care improvement project adherence and postoperative outcomes: implications for new Joint Commission standards.

Background: Infectious (INF) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) complication rates are targeted by surgical care improvement project (SCIP) INF and SCIP VTE measures. We analyzed how adherence to SCIP INF and SCIP VTE affects targeted postoperative outcomes (wound complication [WC], deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism [PE]) using all-payer data.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective review (2007-2011) was conducted using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database Florida and Medicare's Hospital Compare.

"Take the Volume Pledge" may result in disparity in access to care.

Background: "Take the Volume Pledge" proposes restricting pancreatectomies to hospitals that perform ≥20 per year. Our purpose was to identify those factors that characterize patients at risk for loss of access to pancreatic cancer care with enforcement of volume standards.

Methods: Using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database from Florida, we identified patients who underwent pancreatectomy for pancreatic malignancy from 2007-2011.

Variable surgical outcomes after hospital consolidation: Implications for local health care delivery.

Background: With more hospital consolidations as an inevitable part of our future health care ecosystem, we investigated the relationship between hospital consolidations and operative outcomes.

Methods: Using the Health Care Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database (Florida and California), the American Hospital Association Annual Survey Database, and Medicare's Case Mix Index data, we identified 19 hospitals that consolidated between 2007 and 2013 and propensity matched them with 19 independent hospitals, using patient and hospital characteristics. One year before consolidation and again 1 year after, we used difference-in-differences analysis to compare changes in the risk-adjusted complication rate of 7 elective operations performed in the consolidated hospitals and in the matched control group.

Inpatient Rehabilitation after Liver Transplantation Decreases Risk and Severity of 30-Day Readmissions.

Background: Discharge location is associated with short-term readmission rates after hospitalization for several medical and surgical diagnoses. We hypothesized that discharge location: home, home health, skilled nursing facility (SNF), long-term acute care (LTAC), or inpatient rehabilitation, independently predicted the risk of 30-day readmission and severity of first readmission after orthotopic liver transplantation.

Study Design: We performed a retrospective cohort review using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Databases for Florida and California.

Maffucci syndrome and intracranial chondrosarcomas: a case report featuring spontaneous resolution of sixth nerve palsy.

Maffucci syndrome is a rare disease process characterized by enchondromatosis with cutaneous hemangiomatosis. We report a 20-year-old woman with Maffucci syndrome with a 5-day history of diplopia. She was found to have a left sixth nerve palsy due to a parasellar chondrosarcoma.

Choroideremia carriers maintain a normal electro-oculogram (EOG).

Purpose: To assess the functional integrity of the retinal pigment epithelium and outer retina in choroideremia (CHM) carriers with confirmed mutations in the REP-1 gene, by recording the EOG.

Methods: The visual function of 17 choroideremia carriers ages 25-61 was assessed by determining their Snellen visual acuity and by recording the Arden ratio of the EOG. The 15 exons of the CHM gene were PCR-amplified from DNA from each of the carriers and their sequences were compared to the normal sequence to identify mutations.