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Older adults with cognitive impairment face many healthcare challenges, chief among them participating in medical decision‐making about their own health care. Advance care planning (ACP) is the process whereby individuals communicate their wishes for future care with their clinicians and surrogate decision‐makers while they are still able to do so. ACP has been shown to improve important outcomes for individuals with cognitive impairment, but rates of ACP for these individuals are low because of individual‐, clinician‐, and system‐related factors. Addressing ACP early in the illness trajectory can maximize the chances that people can participate meaningfully. This article recommends best practices for approaching ACP for older adults with cognitive impairment. The importance of providing anticipatory guidance and eliciting values to guide future care to create a shared framework between clinicians, individuals, and surrogate decision‐makers is emphasized. It is recommended that ACP be approached as an iterative process to continue to honor and support people's wishes as cognitive impairment progresses and increasingly threatens independence and function. The article describes effective strategies for assessing decision‐making capacity, identifying surrogate decision‐makers, and using structured communication tools for ACP. It also provides guidelines for documentation and billing. Finally, special considerations for individuals with advanced dementia are described, including the use of artificial hydration and nutrition, decisions about site of care, and the role of hospice care.

Volar radial wrist masses are common. Adventitial cysts of the radial artery are rarely reported and poorly understood. We describe a case series of adventitial cysts in association with the radial artery and detail their pathophysiology and treatment. We conducted an Institutional Review Board‐approved retrospective review of patients treated at our institution from 1997 to 2018. Twelve patients were identified. Presenting symptoms typically included pain and swelling over the volar radial wrist. High‐resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated tubular, cystic lesions within the adventitia of the radial artery with connections to the wrist joint confirmed on multiplanar imaging: (radiocarpal joint = 10; scaphotrapeziotrapezoidal joint = 1; and intercarpal joint = 1). Seven patients underwent operation, at which time the cyst was resected and the articular branch disconnected. These patients reported resolution of their symptoms without clinical recurrence. The consistent finding of a joint connection in these cases of adventitial cysts associated with the radial artery has important clinical implications. The joint connection needs to be disconnected. Level of evidence: Level IV, case series. Clin. Anat. 32:201–205, 2019. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Tissue autofluorescence provides fluorescence lifetime contrast between acellular tissue and that containing newly seeded cells. Fiber‐based fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIm) can be used for tracking recellularization of engineered vascular grafts and potential matrix remodeling at large scale, without compromising sample integrity. FLIm cellular contrast was verified in a subset of samples seeded with eGFP‐labelled cells. Results suggests fiberbased FLIm is a suitable tool for monitoring recellularization of engineered tissue nondestructively.Further details can be found in the article by Alba Alfonso‐Garcia, Jeny Shklover, Benjamin E. Sherlock, et al. (e201700391). image

Abstract The objective of this study is to compare the cyclic loading strength and ultimate failure load in suture anchor repair versus transosseous tunnel repair of patellar tendons using a cadaver model. Twelve cadaveric patella specimens were used (six matched pairs). Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements were performed to ensure equal bone quality among groups. All right knees were assigned to the suture anchor repair group (n = 6), whereas all left knees were assigned to the transosseous bone tunnel group (n = 6). Suture type and repair configuration were equivalent. After the respective procedures were performed, each patella was mounted into a gripping jig. Tensile load was applied at a rate of 1 Hz between magnitudes of 50 and 150 N, 50 and 200 N, 50 and 250 N, and tensile load at a rate of 0.1 mm/s until failure. Failure was defined as a sharp deviation in the linear load versus displacement curve, and failure mode was recorded. DXA measurements demonstrated equivalence of bone quality between the two groups (p > 0.05). During cyclic load testing, there was only a statistically significant difference between the groups with regard to cyclic loading at the 50 to 200 N loading cycle (p = 0.010). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups with regard to ultimate load to failure (p = 0.43). Failure mode within the suture anchor cohort occurred through anchor pullout except for one, which failed through the tendon. All specimens within the transosseous cohort failed through the midsubstance of the tendon except for one, which failed through suture breakage. Suture anchor repair demonstrated a similar biomechanical profile regarding cyclic loading and ultimate load to failure when compared with “gold standard” transosseous tunnel patellar tendon repair with a trend toward less gapping in the suture anchor group. Using suture anchors for repair of the patella tendon has similar biomechanical properties to transpatellar tunnels but may provide other clinical advantages.

11007 Background: Patients (pts) with metastatic sarcoma (SAR) have limited options. Nivolumab(N), a fully human anti-PD-1 mAb and ipilimumab (I), a humanized anti-CTLA-4 mAb, have favorable safety & efficacy in other tumors. Pembrolizumab demonstrated a response rate (RR) of 12% in SAR pts. We evaluated N, independently from N+I, in SAR pts. Methods: This open-label multi-center phase II study enrolled pts failing prior regimens. Randomized (non-comparative) pts received either N3 [N (3 mg/kg q2W)] or N3+I1 [N(3 mg/kg Q3W x4, then Q2W) & [I(1 mg/kg q3W x4)]. Treatment continued beyond progressive disease (PD) in 1st12 weeks. 5 confirmed responses in 38 evaluable pts yielded 90% power (0.05 1-sided alpha) to detect a 20% (vs 5%) confirmed RR. Other endpoints: adverse events (AEs), progression-free, overall survival (PFS, OS), and correlative studies including PD-L1 expression by IHC, mutational burden/neoantigen analysis, TCR clonality and TIL characterization. Results: 85 pts (43 - N3; 42 - N3+I1) were enrolled [mean age 54 yrs (21–81), 52% female). No significant differences in histological subtypes across cohorts: 36% LMS, 4% LPS, 10% UPS/MFH, 6% synovial, 5% bone, 5% Ewing’s, and 34% other. Pts were refractory to 1(20%), 2(22%), and ≥3 (58%) regimens. Grade 3-4 treatment related adverse events (TRAE) occurred in 7% (N3) and 14% (N3+I1) and 0 Gr 5 TRAEs. 8% of pts stopped due to AEs (2% N3, 14% N3+I1). 2/3 confirmed responses on N3, with 2 ongoing (range 1.1-3.2 months). 6/7 confirmed responses (2 complete) on N3+N1, with 5 ongoing (range 6-13 months). Responses occurred in 7 histologies. See Table for pt outcomes. Conclusions: N + I showed acceptable safety and encouraging antitumor activity with most responses ongoing across multiple SAR histologies, passing efficacy criteria. There was minimal activity observed with N alone. Increased TRAEs were observed in N3+I1. Correlative analyses ongoing. NCT02500797. Support: U10CA180821, U10CA180882, Conquer Cancer Foundation, BMS. Clinical trial information: NCT02500797. [Table: see text]