First international external quality assessment for hepatitis delta virus RNA quantification in plasma.

Unlabelled: Infection by the hepatitis delta virus (HDV), a satellite of the hepatitis B virus (HBV), increases viral liver disease severity. Its diagnosis is thus vital for HBV-infected patients. HDV-RNA load (HDVL) should be assessed and monitored in plasma using real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays.

Transcatheter Mitral Annuloplasty in Chronic Functional Mitral Regurgitation: 6-Month Results With the Cardioband Percutaneous Mitral Repair System.

Objectives: This study sought to show safety and efficacy of the Cardioband system during 6 months after treatment.

Background: Current surgical and medical treatment options for functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) are limited. The Cardioband system (Valtech Cardio, OrYehuda, Israel) is a novel transvenous, transseptal direct annuloplasty device.

Mucocele formation after surgical treatment of inverted papilloma of the frontal sinus drainage pathway.

Background: Inverted papillomas (IP) inserted in the frontal sinus and/or recess may be treated by using an endoscopic endonasal or an external approach. There are still few data available on this uncommon localization of IPs.

Objective: To report our experience in the management of IP of the frontal drainage pathway, to describe a previously unreported specific complication of this surgery, and to discuss the optimal surgical strategy.

Association between RANK, RANKL and OPG polymorphisms with ACPA and erosions in rheumatoid arthritis: results from a meta-analysis involving three French cohorts.

Objectives: The RANK/RANKL/osteoprotegerin (OPG) system plays a central role in the pathogenesis of bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this study was to test the association between 11 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located on RANK, RANKL and OPG genes and anticitrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA) presence or erosions in RA.

Patients: This work was performed on three independent samples of French patients with RA: the Etude de Suivi des PolyArthrites Indifférenciées Récentes (ESPOIR) (n=632), Rangueil Midi-Pyrénées (RMP) (n=249) and French Rheumatoid Arthritis Genetic Consortium (FRAGC) (n=590) cohorts.

To Drain or Not to Drain Infraperitoneal Anastomosis After Rectal Excision for Cancer: The GRECCAR 5 Randomized Trial.

Objective: To assess the effect of pelvic drainage after rectal surgery for cancer.

Background: Pelvic sepsis is one of the major complications after rectal excision for rectal cancer. Although many studies have confirmed infectiveness of drainage after colectomy, there is still a controversy after rectal surgery.

Measuring non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant levels: When is it appropriate and which methods should be used?

Background: Although the need for an emergency intervention may merit laboratory measurement of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC) concentration or anticoagulant activity, NOACs are not supposed to require routine monitoring due to their stable pharmacological profiles compared with warfarin.

Aims: To examine situations where NOAC measurement may be useful and to provide information about methodologies available to measure NOAC-related anticoagulation activity.

Summary Of Review: The routine coagulation tests, including prothrombin time, thrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and international normalized ratio, have variable sensitivities to NOACs.

Endoscopic Detection of Small Bowel Dysplasia and Adenocarcinoma in Crohn's Disease: A Prospective Cohort-Study in High-Risk Patients.

Background And Aims: Crohn's disease [CD] is associated with an increased risk of small bowel adenocarcinoma [SBA]. There are no recommendations on endoscopic screening of SBA in CD patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and value of endoscopic screening for SBA in CD patients at high-risk of SBA.

Effect of Transcatheter Mitral Annuloplasty With the Cardioband Device on 3-Dimensional Geometry of the Mitral Annulus.

This study was performed to assess the acute intraprocedural effects of transcatheter direct mitral annuloplasty using the Cardioband device on 3-dimensional (3D) anatomy of the mitral annulus. Of 45 patients with functional mitral regurgitation (MR) enrolled in a single arm, multicenter, prospective trial, 22 had complete pre- and post-implant 3D transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) images stored in native data format that allowed off-line 3D reconstruction. Images with the highest volume rate and best image quality were selected for analysis.

Mutation Update for Kabuki Syndrome Genes KMT2D and KDM6A and Further Delineation of X-Linked Kabuki Syndrome Subtype 2.

Kabuki syndrome (KS) is a rare but recognizable condition that consists of a characteristic face, short stature, various organ malformations, and a variable degree of intellectual disability. Mutations in KMT2D have been identified as the main cause for KS, whereas mutations in KDM6A are a much less frequent cause. Here, we report a mutation screening in a case series of 347 unpublished patients, in which we identified 12 novel KDM6A mutations (KS type 2) and 208 mutations in KMT2D (KS type 1), 132 of them novel.

Thirty-day outcomes in patients at intermediate risk for surgery from the SAPIEN 3 European approval trial.

Aims: This study sought to investigate outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) with the SAPIEN 3 transcatheter heart valve (THV) in patients at intermediate risk for surgery. The 30-day results of the transfemoral cohort are reported.

Methods And Results: The SAPIEN 3 European approval trial intermediate-risk cohort included a total of 101 patients with severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis, at intermediate risk for surgery suitable for TAVI via the transfemoral route (TF).

Impaired biological response to aspirin in therapeutic hypothermia comatose patients resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Aim Of The Study: Acute coronary syndrome is one of the main causes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). OHCA patients are particularly exposed to high platelet reactivity (HPR) under aspirin (ASA) treatment. The aim was to evaluate HPR-ASA in therapeutic hypothermia comatose patients resuscitated from OHCA.

CNTN6 mutations are risk factors for abnormal auditory sensory perception in autism spectrum disorders.

Contactin genes CNTN5 and CNTN6 code for neuronal cell adhesion molecules that promote neurite outgrowth in sensory-motor neuronal pathways. Mutations of CNTN5 and CNTN6 have previously been reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but very little is known on their prevalence and clinical impact. In this study, we identified CNTN5 and CNTN6 deleterious variants in individuals with ASD.

Transcatheter Therapies for Treating Tricuspid Regurgitation.

Tricuspid valve (TV) disease has been relatively neglected, despite the known association between severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and mortality. Few patients undergo isolated tricuspid surgery, which remains associated with high in-hospital mortality rates, particularly in patients with prior left-sided valve surgery. Patients with severe TR are often managed medically for years before TV repair or replacement.

Local excision of low rectal cancer treated by chemoradiotherapy: is it safe for all patients with suspicion of complete tumor response?

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess if local excision (LE) could be proposed if suspicion of complete tumor response (CR) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for low rectal cancer (LRC) and this despite a potential risk of nodes (N+) or other tumor deposits (OTD) left in place. The aim was to assess in patients with LRC treated by CRT: (a) pathologic results of LE and total mesorectal excision (TME) in case of preoperative suspicion of CR and (b) the risk of N+ or OTD on TME if ypT0-Tis-T1 tumor.

Patients: Among 202 patients with LRC after CRT, 33 (16 %) with suspicion of CR underwent LE (n = 20) because of comorbidities and/or indication of definitive stoma or TME (n = 13).

Accuracy of point of care coagulometers compared to reference laboratory measurements in patients on oral anticoagulation therapy.

Background: Vitamin K antagonists (VKA) are widely prescribed throughout the world. Patients on VKA therapy require international normalized ratio (INR) monitoring of venous blood to ensure the response remains within the therapeutic window. Point-of-care devices (POC-INR) can safely and easily monitor VKA efficacy but need to be evaluated in practice.

Prognostic Value of Preoperative Brain Natriuretic Peptide Serum Levels in Liver Transplantation.

Background: Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) serum concentration has been shown to be a preoperative predictor of postoperative outcome in high risk surgery. Whether it is able to predict early post-liver transplantation (LT) mortality in cirrhotic patients is unanswered.

Methods: Prospective monocenter observational study including all consecutive patients who received LT for cirrhosis and for whom a preoperative BNP serum dosage was available between January 2011 and December 2014.

Double-level degenerative spondylolisthesis: what is different in the sagittal plane?

Purpose: Degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) is a common disease. The importance of sagittal malalignment in the DS population has been widely described. However, there is no study reporting sagittal alignment analysis in double-level DS.

When Should We Propose Liver Transplant After Resection of Hepatocellular Carcinoma? A Comparison of Salvage and De Principe Strategies.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to compare survival outcomes in patients enlisted for liver transplantation following liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma before or at recurrence.

Methods: All patients enlisted for liver transplantation following liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma from 1996 to 2013 were included and compared according to their status at the time of enlistment: before (de principe) or at (salvage) recurrence. Primary end-point was survival since resection.

Narcolepsy-Associated HLA Class I Alleles Implicate Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity.

Study Objectives: Narcolepsy with cataplexy is tightly associated with the HLA class II allele DQB1*06:02. Evidence indicates a complex contribution of HLA class II genes to narcolepsy susceptibility with a recent independent association with HLA-DPB1. The cause of narcolepsy is supposed be an autoimmune attack against hypocretin-producing neurons.

French current management and oncological results of locally recurrent rectal cancer.

Background: There is a significant worldwide variation in practice regarding the criteria for operative intervention and overall management in patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC). A survival benefit has been described for patients with clear resection margins in patients undergoing surgery for LRRC which is seen as an important surgical quality indicator.

Methods: A prospective French national database was established in 2008 which recorded procedures undertaken for locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC).