Prevention and treatment of type II endoleaks — a retrospective analysis

Assessment of Dosimetric Changes and Adaptive Replanning for Intraoperatively Placed Brachytherapy Applicators during Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation

The purpose of this work is to present a comparative characteristic of retrospective and strategic analysis and their key aspects, which, based on SWOT-analysis or SPACE-analysis, ensure the adoption of optimal management decisions for the development of the regional economy. The study allows us to draw a conclusion about the significance of different types of analysis and their key characteristics. Among the wide range of quantitative and qualitative assessment methods, retrospective and strategic analysis stand out, each of which solves certain tasks and has certain key aspects and functions. Retrospective analysis looks at the past to assess past results and identify the causes of successes or failures, while strategic analysis is directed to the future, focusing on developing long-term goals, assessing future opportunities and threats to achieving the enterprise's mission. Retrospective analysis helps to learn from experience, while strategic analysis helps to shape the future direction of development of an organization, business or region. Retrospective analysis serves to make optimal management decisions against the background of key aspects, which include the following. Retrospective analysis is aimed at determining the dynamics of the behavior of the economic system and its environment, provides for extrapolation of dynamics into the future, helps to identify problems that have already arisen and their causes. A key aspect of retrospective analysis is also highlighted un the article as a study of the economic system's response to the challenges that have arisen. Strategic analysis ensures the quality of decisions aimed at the future. The key aspects of strategic analysis, which serve as the basis for optimal decisions, are highlighted as analysis of the development potential of a region or business, scenario analysis of future actions of the economic system, elimination of possible problems in the future, obtaining information for building a development strategy. It is shown how key aspects of strategic analysis determine the choice of method SWOTanalysis та SPACE-analysis.

BackgroundFor BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers, the association between oral contraceptive preparation (OCP) use and breast cancer (BC) risk is still unclear.MethodsBreast camcer risk associations were estimated from OCP data on 6030 BRCA1 and 3809 BRCA2 mutation carriers using age-dependent Cox regression, stratified by study and birth cohort. Prospective, left-truncated retrospective and full-cohort retrospective analyses were performed.ResultsFor BRCA1 mutation carriers, OCP use was not associated with BC risk in prospective analyses (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.75 to 1.56), but in the left-truncated and full-cohort retrospective analyses, risks were increased by 26% (95% CI = 6% to 51%) and 39% (95% CI = 23% to 58%), respectively. For BRCA2 mutation carriers, OCP use was associated with BC risk in prospective analyses (HR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.03 to 2.97), but retrospective analyses were inconsistent (left-truncated: HR = 1.06, 95% CI = 0.85 to 1.33; full cohort: HR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.28 to 1.81). There was evidence of increasing risk with duration of use, especially before the first full-term pregnancy (BRCA1: both retrospective analyses, P < .001 and P = .001, respectively; BRCA2: full retrospective analysis, P = .002).ConclusionsProspective analyses did not show that past use of OCP is associated with an increased BC risk for BRCA1 mutation carriers in young middle-aged women (40–50 years). For BRCA2 mutation carriers, a causal association is also not likely at those ages. Findings between retrospective and prospective analyses were inconsistent and could be due to survival bias or a true association for younger women who were underrepresented in the prospective cohort. Given the uncertain safety of long-term OCP use for BRCA1/2 mutation carriers, indications other than contraception should be avoided and nonhormonal contraceptive methods should be discussed.

Retrospective analyses of large medical databases: what do they tell us?

Although randomized controlled studies reported an incidence of anesthesia awareness with recall ∼1 to 2 per 1000 (0.1–0.2%), recent data from the NAP5 study showed an incidence of only 1:19,600. Although in a prospective study many tools for anesthesia awareness detection can be used, a retrospective analysis requires a careful collection of information.The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence of anesthesia awareness with recall in a cohort of cancer patients through a multisource retrospective analysis, and the clinical description, including the psychological outcome, of the cases detected. We also tested whether our retrospective analysis would be improved by a routinely psycho-oncological assessment. As secondary endpoints we evaluated the use of depth of anesthesia monitoring over a large cohort of patients, and the correlation between the brain monitoring and the incidence of awareness.We have carried out a 7-year retrospective analysis in a large cohort of cancer patients on the incidence of awareness with recall during general anesthesia. Of 35,595 patients assessed for eligibility, 21,099 were studied. We analyzed all data from the operative rooms’ database, the anesthesia records, and from the database of the surgical divisions. In addition we examined reports from psychologists and spontaneous reports to the quality team of the hospital.Two certain cases of awareness were detected, with an incidence of 1:10,550 (0.0095%). They occurred during elective surgery, in female patients without other risk factors. One case came from the report of a psychologist. In both episodes, brain monitoring was not applied and no long-term psychological sequelae were reported.Despite the limitations, our investigation suggests that the incidence of anesthesia awareness is very low, also in a specific cohort of patients, such as the cancer patients, and even when the depth of anesthesia monitoring is rarely used. The limitations caused by both the retrospective analysis and the absence of specific tools for direct awareness detection, such as structured interviews, can be filled with an effective postoperative psychological assessment which is often of routine in a cancer center. This observation could suggest the usefulness of inserting specific questions within the psychological tools commonly used by psycho-oncologists.

Therapy of Acquired Aplastic Anemia (AA) with Rabbit Antithymocyte Globulin (rATG): A Retrospective Analysis by the Working Group on Non-Malignant Disorders of Hematopoiesis of the German Society of Hematology and Oncology (DGHO),

PurposeWearable ultrasound devices can be used to continuously monitor muscle activity. One possible application is to provide real-time feedback during physiotherapy, to show a patient whether an exercise is performed correctly. Algorithms which automatically analyze the data can be of importance to overcome the need for manual assessment and annotations and speed up evaluations especially when considering real-time video sequences. They even could be used to present feedback in an understandable manner to patients in a home-use scenario. The following work investigates three deep learning based segmentation approaches for abdominal muscles in ultrasound videos during a segmental stabilizing exercise. The segmentations are used to automatically classify the contraction state of the muscles.MethodsThe first approach employs a simple 2D network, while the remaining two integrate the time information from the videos either via additional tracking or directly into the network architecture. The contraction state is determined by comparing measures such as muscle thickness and center of mass between rest and exercise. A retrospective analysis is conducted but also a real-time scenario is simulated, where classification is performed during exercise.ResultsUsing the proposed segmentation algorithms, 71% of the muscle states are classified correctly in the retrospective analysis in comparison to 90% accuracy with manual reference segmentation. For the real-time approach the majority of given feedback during exercise is correct when the retrospective analysis had come to the correct result, too.ConclusionBoth retrospective and real-time analysis prove to be feasible. While no substantial differences between the algorithms were observed regarding classification, the networks incorporating the time information showed temporally more consistent segmentations. Limitations of the approaches as well as reasons for failing cases in segmentation, classification and real-time assessment are discussed and requirements regarding image quality and hardware design are derived.

Retrospective database analyses pose a series of methodological challenges, some of which are unique to their data sources, particularly in countries outside the US. This study aimed to qualitatively review the methodological challenges of using non-US databases to conduct retrospective economic and outcomes research studies. We conducted a MEDLINE search to obtain a sample of literature published after the year 2000 on retrospective analyses using non-US databases. We reviewed all relevant components of the selected articles in accordance with the checklist proposed for retrospective database studies by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Task Force and identified issues found in the data sources, methods, study designs, statistics and sources of possible threats to internal and external validity. We found a wide variation in the quality of studies in terms of outcome definitions, patient selection criteria, data collection methods, sample sizes, risk adjustment methods, potential measurement errors and external validity of the studies. Few economic studies included information on indirect cost components because of a lack of relevant data. The quality of non-US retrospective database analyses varied. Future such analyses may be improved if researchers implement the checklist developed by the ISPOR Task Force on Retrospective Database Studies.

A postprocessing system used for the detection of a subset of supraventricular arrhythmias (SVA), supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (SVTA) and atrial premature beats (APBs), is described. A particularly difficult set of records is selected from a newly created SVA database SVA detection strategies which incorporate criteria based on examining R-R interval statistics in a wider context ('retrospective analysis') in order to identify isolated APBs more accurately are studied. Other strategies which use explicit 'look-ahead' criteria to find runs of SVTA are also studied. The 'retrospective analysis' algorithm yields a modest increase in APC sensitivity (to 44%), offset by a decrease in positive predictivity (to 91%). Applying the 'look ahead' algorithm to the output of the 'retrospective analysis' algorithm makes the APC sensitivity 78%, with 91% positive predictivity. >

Extensive facial scarring after ablative laser resurfacing in a patient with frontal fibrosing alopecia

ABSTRACTBoth the QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) tests are interferon gamma (IFN-γ) release assays (IGRAs) intended to detect in vitro cell-mediated immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed performance data for both the QFT-GIT and QFT-Plus test systems from over 2 million samples. QFT-Plus and QFT-GIT testing was performed as specified in the respective package inserts at 23 Quest Diagnostics sites. Blood specimens were collected from individuals in all 50 states from November 2018 through December 2019. Retrospective analyses compared the proportion of positive, indeterminate, and conversion/reversion results. The overall proportion of QFT-positive results was 7% for both the QFT-Plus and QFT-GIT. The proportion of positive results was highest for QFT-GIT (7.5%) followed by the heparin 1-tube QFT-Plus (7.2%); a lower proportion of positives was observed with the 4-tube (all four QFT tubes were used in blood collection) QFT-Plus (6.0%). The proportions of indeterminate results for the 1-tube (heparin-only tube collection) and 4-tube QFT-Plus methods were less than 1% and 4%, respectively. This study indicates a higher proportion of positive results for M. tuberculosis than data from other studies. Additionally, the proportion of indeterminate QFT results were markedly lower when the sample was transported in one lithium-heparin tube instead of direct inoculation into 4 QFT-Plus tubes at the site of blood collection.IMPORTANCE In this study, we retrospectively analyzed results from both the QFT-GIT and QFT-Plus test systems from over 2 million blood specimens. The variables analyzed were (i) QFT positivity rates among various U.S. populations, (ii) indeterminate rates among various types of blood draws and how often an indeterminate result was resolved within 30 days after the initial draw, and (iii) the association of TB1 and TB2 antigen tubes with IGRA reversion and conversion events from serial QFT testing. This is, to our knowledge, the largest QFT study representing patients from an extensive geographic coverage across the United States and U.S. territories.

Retrospective subset analyses in early breast cancer revisited

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the perinatal and maternal outcome of our own cohort of twin pregnancies after IVF/ICSI and spontaneous conception to the respective available standards and findings in the current literature. Material and Methods: Perinatal and maternal data of 305 twin pregnancies conceived spontaneously and 74 pregnancies conceived by IVF/ICSI were compared. The following parameters were examined: maternal age, first parity, gestational age, Caesarean section rate, birth weight, sex constellation, umbilical arterial blood pH of the first and second child, maternal complications, fetal malformations, perinatal and neonatal mortality. These data were tested by retrospective statistical analysis (Fisher exact test, Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test). In addition, these parameters were also evaluated separately in dichorionic/diamniotic twins and monochorionic/diamniotic twins. Results: We found significant differences with higher maternal age, higher rate of first parity, an increased incidence of pre-eclampsia and a lower rate of SGA (VLBW) in the ART group and ART subgroup (di/di) compared to the SC group. Caesarean section rate, birth weight, arterial pH of the first and second twin, prematurity, rate of malformations, perinatal and neonate mortality, respectively, were not significantly different between the two groups. For prematurity < 37 weeks of gestation, a significantly higher frequency of the male/male sex constellation was observed. Conclusion: Actually, we are now able to more specifically counsel women conceiving by IVF/ICSI concerning maternal and perinatal outcome.

Real-World Outcomes in Adolescents and Young Adults with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia without Access to Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant

IntroductionHeight, body mass index (BMI), and weight gain are associated with breast cancer risk in the general population. It is unclear whether these associations also exist for carriers of pathogenic variants in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes.Patients and methodsAn international pooled cohort of 8091 BRCA1/2 variant carriers was used for retrospective and prospective analyses separately for premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Cox regression was used to estimate breast cancer risk associations with height, BMI, and weight change.ResultsIn the retrospective analysis, taller height was associated with risk of premenopausal breast cancer for BRCA2 variant carriers (HR 1.20 per 10 cm increase, 95% CI 1.04–1.38). Higher young-adult BMI was associated with lower premenopausal breast cancer risk for both BRCA1 (HR 0.75 per 5 kg/m2, 95% CI 0.66–0.84) and BRCA2 (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.65–0.89) variant carriers in the retrospective analysis, with consistent, though not statistically significant, findings from the prospective analysis. In the prospective analysis, higher BMI and adult weight gain were associated with higher postmenopausal breast cancer risk for BRCA1 carriers (HR 1.20 per 5 kg/m2, 95% CI 1.02–1.42; and HR 1.10 per 5 kg weight gain, 95% CI 1.01–1.19, respectively).ConclusionAnthropometric measures are associated with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 and BRCA2 variant carriers, with relative risk estimates that are generally consistent with those for women from the general population.