Recent Advances and Future Directions in Extracorporeal Carbon Dioxide Removal.

Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCOR) is an emerging technique designed to reduce carbon dioxide (CO) levels in venous blood while enabling lung-protective ventilation or alleviating the work of breathing. Unlike high-flow extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), ECCOR operates at lower blood flows (0.4-1.

Age and biologic survival in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis: A cohort study from the British Association of Dermatologists Biologics and Immunomodulators Register (BADBIR).

Background: The current management of psoriasis does not differentiate between young and old patients in selecting the safest and/or most effective biologic.

Objectives: To explore the effect of age at treatment initiation in response to biologics in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis in the UK and Eire.

Methods: Data from patients registering to the British Association of Dermatologists Biologics and Immunomodulators Register (BADBIR) from 2007-2024 on first course of Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF), interleukin (IL) 12/13, IL-17 and IL-23 inhibitors (i) with at least 6 months' follow-up were included.

Brief Report: Cystatin C Provides Substantially Higher Glomerular Filtration Rate Estimates Than Creatinine in a Subset of Black People With HIV on Current Antiretroviral Regimens.

Background: In African populations, estimated glomerular filtration rate by cystatin C (eGFRcys) is better aligned with gold-standard GFR measurements than eGFR by creatinine (eGFRcr). Moreover, eGFRcys is unaffected by the effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on tubular secretion and may thus provide better estimates of GFR in people with HIV on ART.

Setting: Observational cohort study of people of African ancestry living with suppressed HIV RNA on ART in London, United Kingdom.

Prospective validation of ORACLE, a clonal expression biomarker associated with survival of patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Human tumors are diverse in their natural history and response to treatment, which in part results from genetic and transcriptomic heterogeneity. In clinical practice, single-site needle biopsies are used to sample this diversity, but cancer biomarkers may be confounded by spatiogenomic heterogeneity within individual tumors. Here we investigate clonally expressed genes as a solution to the sampling bias problem by analyzing multiregion whole-exome and RNA sequencing data for 450 tumor regions from 184 patients with lung adenocarcinoma in the TRACERx study.

Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) as a Potential Target for Anti-Aging: Role of Therapeutic Apheresis.

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are large structures composed of chromatin, histones and granule-derived proteins released extracellularly by neutrophils. They are generally considered to be a part of the antimicrobial defense strategy, preventing the dissemination of pathogens. However, overproduction of NETs or their ineffective clearance can drive various pathologies, many of which are associated with advanced age and involve uncontrolled inflammation, oxidative, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative stress as underlying mechanisms.

Trends in Ethnic Disparities in Stroke Care and Long-Term Outcomes.

Importance: Reducing the burden of stroke is a public health priority. While higher stroke incidence among ethnic minority populations (defined in the context of this study as individuals who are not White) is well established, reports on ethnic inequalities in care or outcomes are conflicting and often limited to hospital-admitted patients and short-term outcomes.

Objective: To investigate ethnic differences in stroke care and outcomes up to 5 years after stroke and describe temporal trends and contributory factors.

Survival benefit of cancer-directed surgery and the role of adjuvant therapy in malignant major salivary gland cancers: a propensity score matched retrospective analysis.

Background: The primary objective of this study was to assess the benefit of cancer-directed surgery (CDS) on both overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients with malignant major salivary gland cancers (MMSGCs). The secondary objective was to explore the benefits of adjuvant therapy on the survival outcomes of these patients.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with MMSGC were extracted from the SEER database and subsequently categorized into two cohorts: CDS and non-CDS.

Elective peri-operative management of adults taking glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide agonists and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors: a multidisciplinary consensus statement: A consensus statement from the Association of Anaesthetists, Association of British Clinical Diabetologists, British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society, Centre for Perioperative Care, Joint British Diabetes Societies for Inpatient Care, Royal College of Anaesthetists, Society for Obesity and Bariatric Anaesthesia and UK Clinical Pharmacy Association.

Introduction: Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide receptor agonists and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors are used increasingly in patients receiving peri-operative care. These drugs may be associated with risks of peri-operative pulmonary aspiration or euglycaemic ketoacidosis. We produced a consensus statement for the peri-operative management of adults taking these drugs.

Airway pressures generated by high flow nasal cannula in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure: a computational study.

Introduction And Objectives: High flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy is an increasingly popular mode of non-invasive respiratory support for the treatment of patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF). Previous experimental studies in healthy subjects have established that HFNC generates flow-dependent positive airway pressures, but no data is available on the levels of mean airway pressure (mP) or positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) generated by HFNC therapy in AHRF patients. We aimed to estimate the airway pressures generated by HFNC at different flow rates in patients with AHRF, whose functional lung volume may be significantly reduced compared to healthy subjects due to alveolar consolidation and/or collapse.

Inequalities in cancer two-week-wait referrals: a cross-sectional study in English general practice.

Background: Practices with higher two-week-wait (2WW) referral-rates demonstrate higher survival for several cancers. Yet, there is little up-to-date evidence exploring factors influencing 2WW-referral-rates and whether health inequalities exist, particularly after COVID-19.

Aim: To establish which patient-factors (eg, age, sex, ethnicity, deprivation) and practice-factors (eg, remote consultations, frequency of seeing a preferred-GP) independently predict 2WW-referral-rates.

Acute maternal hyperoxygenation to predict hypoxia and need for emergency intervention in fetuses with transposition of the great arteries: a pilot study.

Background: Newborns with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) are at risk of severe hypoxia from inadequate atrial mixing, closure of the arterial duct and/or pulmonary hypertension (PPHN). Acute maternal hyperoxygenation (AMH) might assist in identifying at-risk fetuses. We report pulmonary vasoreactivity to AMH in TGA fetuses and its relationship to early postnatal hypoxia and requirement for emergency balloon atrial septostomy (e-BAS).

Characteristics of refractory disease and persistent symptoms in inflammatory arthritis: Qualitative framework analysis of interviews with patients and health care professionals.

Objectives: This study aims to explore patients' and clinicians' understanding and experiences of refractory disease (RD) and persistent physical and emotional symptoms (PPES) in patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA), namely rheumatoid arthritis or polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis from their perspectives through interviews and/or focus groups.

Design: A qualitative study was conducted, following a pragmatic epistemology approach with framework analysis employed.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews or focus groups with IA patients (n = 25) and multi-disciplinary rheumatology HCPs (n = 32) were conducted at one time point to obtain participants respective understanding and experiences of managing RD/PPES, and its impact on the patient-professional relationship.

Maximum Tumor Diameter is Associated with Relapse Risk in Limited-Stage Hodgkin Lymphoma: An International Study.

Tumour bulk is an established prognostic factor in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) but most patients with limited-stage (LS) HL do not have 'bulk' by standard binary definitions. In the RAPID trial, maximum tumor diameter (MTD) was associated with risk of relapse for LS-HL patients achieving PET-negativity after ABVD chemotherapy. We aimed to externally validate these findings in the H10 trial.

Automated craniofacial biometry with 3D T2w fetal MRI.

Objectives: Evaluating craniofacial phenotype-genotype correlations prenatally is increasingly important; however, it is subjective and challenging with 3D ultrasound. We developed an automated label propagation pipeline using 3D motion- corrected, slice-to-volume reconstructed (SVR) fetal MRI for craniofacial measurements.

Methods: A literature review and expert consensus identified 31 craniofacial biometrics for fetal MRI.

MRI of the Rectum: A Decade into DISTANCE, Moving to DISTANCED.

Over the past decade, advancements in rectal cancer research have reshaped treatment paradigms. Historically, treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer has focused on neoadjuvant long-course chemoradiotherapy, followed by total mesorectal excision. Interest in organ preservation strategies has been strengthened by the introduction of total neoadjuvant therapy with improved rates of complete clinical response.

Association of IDH1 Mutation and MGMT Promoter Methylation with Clinicopathological Parameters in an Ethnically Diverse Population of Adults with Gliomas in England.

Molecular profiles can predict which patients will respond to current standard treatment and new targeted therapy regimens. Using data from a highly diverse population of approximately three million in Southeast London and Kent, this study aims to evaluate the prevalence of IDH1 mutation and MGMT promoter methylation in the gliomas diagnosed in adult patients and to explore correlations with patients' demographic and clinicopathological characteristics. Anonymised data on 749 adult patients diagnosed with a glioma in 2015-2019 at King's College Hospital were extracted.

Characteristics of older patients undergoing surgery in the UK: SNAP-3, a snapshot observational study.

Background: Frailty and multimorbidity are common in older adults, but the prevalence and interaction of these conditions in surgical patients remain unclear. This study describes the clinical characteristics of a heterogeneous cohort of older UK surgical patients.

Methods: We conducted a prospective observational cohort study during 5 days in March 2022, aiming to recruit all UK patients aged 60 yr and older undergoing surgery, excluding minor procedures (e.

The multi-dimensional stigma of chronic pain: A narrative review.

Accumulating evidence suggests that stigma is a pervasive and pernicious psychosocial phenomenon that affects people living with chronic pain. In this narrative review, we describe the nature of stigma experienced by people with chronic pain and discuss its multifaceted determinants. These determinants include features of pain itself and intersectional factors, including comorbid conditions and social marginalization.

Uterotonics update.

Uterotonics are the mainstay of management for postpartum haemorrhage and an understanding of their use is essential for the obstetric anaesthetist. First-line uterotonics comprise oxytocin and carbetocin, which act on the oxytocin receptor, and recent research has shown that lower doses of first-line uterotonics can be used to adequate effect. The oxytocin receptor is known to undergo desensitisation with exposure to the agonist over time and with increasing concentrations.

Capture, mutual inhibition and release mechanism for aPKC-Par6 and its multisite polarity substrate Lgl.

The mutually antagonistic relationship of atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) and partitioning-defective protein 6 (Par6) with the substrate lethal (2) giant larvae (Lgl) is essential for regulating polarity across many cell types. Although aPKC-Par6 phosphorylates Lgl at three serine sites to exclude it from the apical domain, aPKC-Par6 and Lgl paradoxically form a stable kinase-substrate complex, with conflicting roles proposed for Par6. We report the structure of human aPKCι-Par6α bound to full-length Llgl1, captured through an aPKCι docking site and a Par6 contact.

Home high-flow therapy during recovery from severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation: a mixed-methods feasibility randomised control trial.

Introduction: Patients recovering from severe acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) have a 30-day readmission rate of 20%. This study evaluated the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial to evaluate clinical, patient-reported and physiological effects of home high-flow therapy (HFT) in addition to usual medical therapy, in eucapnic patients recovering from AECOPD to support the design of a phase 3 trial.

Methods: A mixed-methods feasibility randomised controlled trial (quantitative primacy, concurrently embedded qualitative evaluation) (ISRCTN15949009) recruiting consecutive non-obese patients hospitalised with AECOPD not requiring acute non-invasive ventilation.