Comparison of Clinical Outcomes Between Antegrade and Retrograde Techniques for Chronic Total Occlusion Revascularizations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Chronic total occlusions (CTOs) present significant challenges in interventional cardiology. This meta-analysis aims to compare the efficacy and safety of retrograde versus antegrade techniques in CTO percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following PRISMA guidelines.

Mentorship of Junior Surgical Faculty Across Academic Programs in Surgery.

Importance: Because mentorship is critical for professional development and career advancement, it is essential to examine the status of mentorship and identify challenges that junior surgical faculty (assistant and associate professors) face obtaining effective mentorship.

Objective: To evaluate the mentorship experience for junior surgical faculty and highlight areas for improvement.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This qualitative study was an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study including an anonymous survey on mentorship followed by semistructured interviews to expand on survey findings.

An Analysis of Tobacco and Marijuana Use by Middle School and High School Bisexual and Homosexual Students Surveyed by the National Youth Tobacco Survey From 2020 to 2022.

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze tobacco and marijuana use by middle and high school students identifying as bisexual, gay, lesbian, or heterosexual using data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) spanning from 2020 to 2022. By comparing substance use patterns among different sexual orientation groups, the study sought to identify disparities and potential socioeconomic factors influencing these behaviors.

Methods: Data from the 2020 to 2022 NYTS were analyzed, focusing on responses regarding ever use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and marijuana by students of varying sexual orientations.

Defining characteristics of categorical general surgery resident lateral transfers.

Background: Few studies describe rationales for intraspecialty ('lateral') general surgery (GS) resident program transfers.

Objective: We aimed to describe the key features of GS residency programs reporting lateral transfers, to characterize reasons behind transfer events, and to compare transferring resident skill sets against their new institutional peers.

Methods: A survey was administered in October 2020 to capture program features and demographic information of residents who transferred into or out of a GS residency program during a 5-year period.

Outcomes of Patients with Critical Limb Ischemia and Chronic Kidney Disease: A National Perspective.

Introduction: Studies exploring the relationship between peripheral arterial disease (PAD), critical limb ischemia (CLI), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its effect on in-hospital outcomes are limited. We aimed to analyze the outcomes of patients with CKD and PAD who are admitted for CLI.

Methods: We utilized the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) to capture hospitalizations for CLI from 2012 to 2020 and then identified cases with concomitant CKD.

Comparative Performance of Common Fecal Immunochemical Tests : A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Despite widespread use of fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, data to guide test selection are limited.

Objective: To compare the performance characteristics of 5 commonly used FITs, using colonoscopy as the reference standard.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

In patients with NSTE-ACS and previous CABG, routine invasive vs. conservative management does not improve outcomes.

Kelham M, Vyas R, Ramaseshan R, et al. . Eur Heart J.

Villous Adenoma: A Rare Cause of Neural Epidermal Growth Factor-Like 1-Positive Membranous Nephropathy.

We report the case of a 70-year-old woman diagnosed with neural epidermal growth factor-like 1 antigen-positive membranous nephropathy and nephrotic syndrome. Following thorough exclusion of autoimmune diseases, medications, or infections as potential causes, colonoscopy was performed as part of malignancy evaluation, revealing an 18 mm villous adenoma in the sigmoid colon and a 7 mm tubulovillous adenoma in the cecum. Despite the absence of gastrointestinal symptoms initially and the absence of high-grade dysplasia in the pathology report, the patient experienced a remarkable improvement in symptoms and a reduction in nephrotic-range proteinuria following polypectomy, observed within a few months.

Racial/ethnic differences in the clinical presentation and survival of breast cancer by subtype.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) affects racial and ethnic groups differently, leading to disparities in clinical presentation and outcomes. It is unclear how Hispanic ethnicity affects BC outcomes based on geographic location and proximity to the United States (U.S.

Comparable Pain Levels and Functional Outcomes With and Without the Use of Dermal Allograft Augmentation in Endoscopic Gluteus Medius Repair.

Purpose: To compare retrospectively the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing endoscopic gluteal tendon repair with and without the use of dermal allograft augmentation.

Methods: A retrospective review of prospectively collected data, single-surgeon cohort study was performed on all patients undergoing endoscopic gluteus medius repair (GMR) and GMR with augmentation (GMR-A) between April 2017 and April 2022. Dermal allograft augmentation was used in cases where intraoperative gluteus tissue quality was poor.

Characterization of commercially available murine fibrosarcoma NCTC-2472 cells both in vitro and as a model of bone cancer pain in vivo.

For many cancer patients tumor burden negatively impacts quality of life due to associated pain onset. Neuropathic pain is commonly associated with late cancer stages, and is resultant of tumor metastasis to bone, herein referred to as cancer-induced bone pain. Given the severe impact on quality of life and clinical treatment strategies focusing on symptom management, novel therapeutics are needed to alleviate cancer-induced bone pain and/or reduce cancer burden.

Predictors of Outcomes and a Weighted Mortality Score for Moderate to Severe Subdural Hematoma.

As the incidence of subdural hematoma is increasing, it is important to understand symptomatology and clinical variables associated with treatment outcomes and mortality in this population; patients with subdural hematoma were selected from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) Database between 2016 and 2020 using International Classification of Disease 10th Edition (ICD10) codes. Moderate-to-severe subdural hematoma patients were identified using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). Multivariate regression was first used to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality and then beta coefficients were used to create a weighted mortality score.

Comparison of Day-Specific Serum LH, Estradiol, and Progesterone with Mira Monitor Urinary LH, Estrone-3-glucuronide, and Pregnanediol-3-glucuronide Levels in Ovulatory Cycles.

: Fertility tracking apps and devices are now currently available, but urinary hormone levels lack accuracy and sensitivity in timing the start of the 6-day fertile window and the precise 24 h interval of transition from ovulation to the luteal phase. We hypothesized the serum hormones estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) might be better biomarkers for these major ovulatory cycle events, using appropriate mathematical tools. : Four women provided daily blood samples for serum E2, P, and LH (luteinizing hormone) levels throughout their entire ovulatory cycles, which were indexed to the first day of dominant follicle (DF) collapse (defined as Day 0) determined by transvaginal sonography; therefore, ovulation occurred in the 24 h interval of Day -1 (last day of maximum diameter DF) to Day 0.

Acetylation of Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein Sensitizes 17β-Estradiol Regulation in Hormone-Sensitive Breast Cancer Cells.

An imbalance in estrogen signaling is a critical event in breast tumorigenesis. The majority of breast cancers (BCs) are hormone-sensitive; they majorly express the estrogen receptor (ER+) and are activated by 17β-estradiol (E2). The steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) mediates the rate-limiting step in steroid biosynthesis.

Prognostic Nomogram Predicting Survival and Propensity Score Matching with Demographics and Comparative Analysis of Prostate Small Cell and Large Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma.

: This retrospective study aims to examine the patient demographics, survival rates, and treatment methods for small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (SCNEC) and large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) of prostate origin while also identifying the main differences between common types of prostate cancer with comparative analysis for survival. : Our analysis utilized the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (SEER), and data was collected from 2000-2020. Cox proportional hazards and chi-squared analysis were used for statistical analysis.

Nosocomial Bacteria Inhibition with Polymyxin B: In Silico Gene Mining and In Vitro Analysis.

Multidrug-resistant bacteria present a significant public health challenge; such pathogens exhibit reduced susceptibility to conventional antibiotics, limiting current treatment options. Cationic non-ribosomal peptides (CNRPs) such as brevicidine and polymyxins have emerged as promising candidates to block Gram-negative bacteria. To investigate the capability of bacteria to biosynthesize CNRPs, and specifically polymyxins, over 11,000 bacterial genomes were mined in silico.

Complete Growth Inhibition of by Organo-Selenium-Incorporated Urinary Catheter Material.

To further investigate the inhibition of 's in vitro growth and biofilm formation by an organo-selenium-incorporated polyurethane (PU) catheter material. , , and were incubated in vitro with organo-selenium and control polyurethane catheter materials in the presence of glutathione. Growth was evaluated by a colony-forming-unit (CFU) count and visualized with confocal laser scanning microscopy.

PLCG2 variants in cherubism.

Background: Cherubism is most commonly caused by rare heterozygous gain-of-function (GOF) missense variants in SH3BP2, which appear to signal through phospholipase C gamma 2 (PLCG2) to cause excessive osteoclast activity leading to expansile lesions in facial bones in childhood. GOF variants in PLCG2 lead to autoinflammatory PLCG2-associated antibody deficiency and immune dysregulation (autoinflammatory PLAID, or PLAID-GOF), characterized by variably penetrant autoinflammatory, autoimmune, infectious, and atopic manifestations. Cherubism has not been reported in PLAID to date.

Association of Age and Patient Satisfaction Scores: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Patient satisfaction surveys, used as a quality indicator, play a role in determining reimbursement. Quality-based payments have been used by Medicare for physician reimbursement since 2015. Numerous papers report a scoring bias associated with nonmodifiable patient demographics, such as age or gender.