Prognostic Value of Tumor Staging: Predicting Nodal Metastases in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Objectives: Determine the ability of three staging systems to stratify the risk of nodal metastases in cases of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). Examine differential staging of tumors across the three systems and the resulting implications for clinical decision making.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Effect of CETP inhibition with evacetrapib in patients with diabetes mellitus enrolled in the ACCELERATE trial.

Background: High-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels are inversely associated with cardiovascular risk. Cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibition with evacetrapib results in a marked increase in HDL and reduction in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels. We evaluated the impact of treatment with evacetrapib versus placebo in the subset of 8236 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) enrolled in the Assessment of Clinical Effects of Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein Inhibition with Evacetrapib in Patients at a High Risk for Vascular Outcomes trial.

Two unique HLA-A*0201 restricted peptides derived from cyclin E as immunotherapeutic targets in leukemia.

Immunotherapy targeting leukemia-associated antigens has shown promising results. Because of the heterogeneity of leukemia, vaccines with a single peptide have elicited only a limited immune response. Targeting several peptides together elicited peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in leukemia patients, and this was associated with clinical responses.

Prognostic implications of normal or minimal urinary findings on long-term renal impairment in adults with Henoch-Schönlein purpura.

Background: Renal involvement in adult Henoch-Schönlein purpura is a major cause of morbidity and can lead to significant long-term renal impairment. The prognostic significance of normal or minimal urinary abnormalities at diagnosis is unknown.

Objective: To assess the risk of long-term renal impairment in patients with Henoch-Schönlein purpura who present with normal or minimal urinary abnormalities.

Safety and efficacy of switching from adalimumab to sarilumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the ongoing MONARCH open-label extension.

Objective: Evaluate open-label sarilumab monotherapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis switching from adalimumab monotherapy in MONARCH (NCT02332590); assess long-term safety and efficacy in patients continuing sarilumab during open-label extension (OLE).

Methods: During the 48-week OLE, patients received sarilumab 200 mg subcutaneously once every 2 weeks. Safety (March 2017 cut-off) and efficacy, including patient-reported outcomes, were evaluated.

A value proposition for natriuretic peptide measurement in the assessment of patients with suspected acute heart failure.

There is robust clinical trial evidence supporting the role of natriuretic peptides [NPs] in the assessment of patients presenting with suspected acute heart failure [AHF]. Despite the fact that clinical guidelines have for some time advocated NP measurement, the availability and uptake of NP testing in acute care services remains patchy and incomplete. The reasons for this are multifactorial but are underpinned by compartmentalised management and budget structures within complex healthcare delivery organisations.

Why are olfactory ensheathing cell tumors so rare?

The glial cells of the primary olfactory nervous system, olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), are unusual in that they rarely form tumors. Only 11 cases, all of which were benign, have been reported to date. In fact, the existence of OEC tumors has been debated as the tumors closely resemble schwannomas (Schwann cell tumors), and there is no definite method for distinguishing the two tumor types.

Communication in children born very preterm: a prospective cohort study.

Aim: To compare language, speech, and voice of children born preterm and at term, and determine relevant predictors of outcome.

Method: Three hundred infants (150 males, 150 females; 149 born at <30wks' gestation, 151 term-born) were prospectively recruited at birth from the Royal Women's Hospital. We administered the Preschool Language Scales, Fifth Edition, Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology, Grade Roughness Breathiness Asthenia Strain Scale, and Pediatric Voice Handicap Index at 3 years, and compared groups.

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program: time to achieve its potential to save lives.

Objectives: Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in Australia, affecting both men and women. The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) began in 2006 with the aim of reducing the morbidity and mortality from bowel cancer in Australia. It is based on level I evidence of mortality reduction with screening using the faecal occult blood test (FOBT).

The Second Conversation project: -Improving training in end of life care communication among junior doctors.

Junior doctors describe a need for greater support and training in end of life care (EoLC) communication skills. The Second Conversation project was designed by a multi-professional steering group as a workplace based training intervention for junior doctors to improve their skills and confidence in undertaking EoLC conversations. Qualitative interviews were carried out with 11 junior doctors and five senior doctors across two sites who took part in, or facilitated, a 'second conversation'.

Understanding nationwide readmissions after parotidectomy.

Objectives: To evaluate the incidence, causes, risk factors, and costs associated with 30-day readmissions in parotidectomy patients utilizing the Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD).

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: We examined the NRD for patients who underwent parotidectomy between 2010 and 2014.

Early language exposure supports later language skills in infants with and without autism.

The way that parents communicate with their typically developing infants is associated with later infant language development. Here we aim to show that these associations are observed in infants subsequently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study had three groups: high-familial-risk infants who did not have ASD (n = 46); high-familial-risk infants who had ASD (n = 14); and low-familial-risk infants who exhibited typical development (n = 36).

Achieved oxygen saturations and retinopathy of prematurity in extreme preterms.

Objective: To identify achieved oxygen saturations (SpO) associated with increased risk of severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Design: This is a secondary analysis of the Surfactant Positive Airway Pressure and Pulse Oximetry Trial (SUPPORT)randomised controlled trial. SpO was recorded up to 36 weeks' postmenstrual age.

20% Human Albumin Solution Fluid Bolus Administration Therapy in Patients After Cardiac Surgery (the HAS FLAIR Study).

Objective: To compare the effects of fluid bolus therapy using 20% albumin versus crystalloid on fluid balance, hemodynamic parameters, and intensive care unit (ICU) treatment effects in post-cardiac surgery patients.

Design: Sequential period open-label pilot study.

Setting: University teaching hospital.

Visit-to-Visit Blood Pressure Variability, Coronary Atheroma Progression, and Clinical Outcomes.

Importance: Visit-to-visit blood pressure variability (BPV) is associated with cardiovascular events, but mechanisms and therapeutic implications underlying this association are not well understood.

Objective: To examine the association of intraindividual BPV, coronary atheroma progression, and clinical outcomes using serial intravascular ultrasonography.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Post hoc patient-level analysis of 7 randomized clinical trials conducted from 2004 to 2016 involving 3912 patients in multicenter, international, clinic-based primary and tertiary care centers.

Navigating a 'Perfect Storm' on the Path to Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus After Gestational Diabetes: Lessons from Patient and Provider Narratives.

Objectives Complications of pregnancy such as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) forewarn future chronic illness and disability, and demonstrate the need for a life course approach to prevention. Our study had two aims: (1) to elucidate how experiences reported by patients and providers converge to facilitate or impede follow-up care after GDM, and (2) to elicit recommendations for system-level changes to enhance prevention across key care transitions. Methods We conducted in-depth interviews with 30 GDM patients and 29 providers of maternity, specialty and primary care in an urban safety hospital network, and used a three-tiered thematic analysis to interpret their narratives.

From the hospital to the clinic: The impact of mindfulness on symptom reduction in a DBT partial hospital program.

Objective: Preliminarily findings suggest dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)-informed partial hospital (PH) programs can reduce patient symptoms. The present study assessed changes in various mental health symptoms as well as mindfulness skill acquisition in relation to these outcomes in a DBT-informed PH program.

Method: Participants included 212 adults, ages 18-66 (Mean = 35.

Effects of a primary palliative care intervention on quality of life and mental health in cystic fibrosis.

Background: Despite the significant impact of chronic symptoms on quality of life with cystic fibrosis (CF), the role of palliative care in management of this disease is not well defined. The coping, goal assessment, and relief from evolving CF symptoms (CF-CARES) model is a primary palliative care intervention designed to provide chronic symptom management at all stages of the disease. The goal of this pilot study was to estimate the effectiveness of the CF-CARES intervention on improving chronic symptoms and quality of life for people living with CF.

Speech and language in children with Klinefelter syndrome.

Background: Speech and language deficits are frequent in males with Klinefelter syndrome (KS), yet the research base is slim and specific strengths and deficits in communication have not been well characterised. Nor have studies examined communication abilities across a wide age-range from infancy to adolescence.

Objective: To characterise communication in children and adolescents with KS.

Changes in Intensity and Duration of Walking among Older Adults from In-Patient Geriatric Rehabilitation to Home.

We compared walking in hospital and on discharge from in-patient geriatric rehabilitation. Participants included 28 adults (22 women) with a mean age of 85.4 (SD 6.

Total Glossectomy With Free Flap Reconstruction: Twenty-Year Experience at a Tertiary Medical Center.

Objectives/hypothesis: To characterize the demographics, clinicopathologic characteristics, and treatment and reconstructive outcomes of patients who underwent total glossectomy STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review at an academic tertiary-care medical center.

Methods: All patients who had undergone total glossectomy (as an individual procedure or as part of a more extensive resection) between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2014 were included in the analysis. Patient characteristics and clinical outcomes were reviewed.

The pharmacokinetics of intranasal droperidol in volunteers characterised via population modelling.

Background: Droperidol is used parenterally to treat nausea and vomiting, migraine and acute behavioural disturbance. Intranasal use is not reported for droperidol. Intranasal drug administration reduces need for intravenous line placement and risk of needle-stick.

Trends in Colon and Rectal Cancer Incidence in Australia from 1982 to 2014: Analysis of Data on Over 375,000 Cases.

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia. Emerging evidence from several countries suggests increasing incidence in people aged <50 years.

Methods: We assessed colon and rectal cancer incidence trends in people aged 20+ in Australia from 1982 to 2014.

Risk Factors, Causes, and Costs of Hospital Readmission After Head and Neck Cancer Surgery Reconstruction.

Importance: Thirty-day hospital readmissions have substantial direct costs and are increasingly used as a measure of quality care. However, data regarding the risk factors and reasons for readmissions in head and neck cancer surgery reconstruction are lacking.

Objective: To describe the rate, risk factors, and causes of 30-day readmission in patients with head and neck cancer following free or pedicled flap reconstruction.