Citations

Abstract Background Optimal treatment for resectable gastric and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma remains unclear due to limited head-to-head comparisons among chemotherapy and chemoradiation regimens. This network meta-analysis aimed to determine the relative efficacy of available multimodality treatment regimens in these patients. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, and CENTRAL were searched till September 20, 2024. Phase 3 randomized trials evaluating perioperative/neoadjuvant systemic therapy ± radiation in resectable gastric/GEJ adenocarcinoma were included. Primary outcomes were disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Frequentist network meta-analysis was conducted to compare hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Fifteen trials (8072 patients) were analyzed. pFLOT (perioperative fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) ranked highest for DFS in the overall population (P-score 91%), achieving significant improvements compared to surgery alone (HR 0.48, 95% CI, 0.38-0.60) and nCROSS (neoadjuvant paclitaxel, carboplatin, and radiotherapy) (0.67, 0.56-0.81). For OS, nPLF + nCRT(EP) (neoadjuvant cisplatin, leucovorin, and fluorouracil for induction, followed by etoposide, cisplatin, and radiotherapy) (P-score 90%) and pFLOT (P-score 87%) were the top regimens. pFLOT significantly outperformed surgery alone (0.57, 0.45-0.72) and nCROSS (0.73, 0.60-0.89). Based on the limited data available, adding neoadjuvant chemoradiation to pFLOT provided no additional OS (1.14, 0.76-1.72) or DFS (1.22, 0.83-1.82) benefit. Similarly, adding pembrolizumab to perioperative chemotherapy (cisplatin and fluorouracil/capecitabine) was not superior to pFLOT (DFS: 1.10, 0.71-1.69; OS: 1.09, 0.69-1.72). Conclusions pFLOT demonstrated superior efficacy in resectable gastric/GEJ adenocarcinoma, outperforming surgery alone, nCROSS, and alternative perioperative regimens. The additive role of immunotherapy requires further investigation to optimize patient selection and outcomes.

Background Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs), are potential tools for enhancing healthcare delivery and clinical research. Presently, there is a scarcity of research regarding the viewpoints of medical students toward LLMs. This study aims to explore the perceptions of LLMs and their applications among this demographic. Methods A cross-sectional study was done using an online survey. It was designed using Google Forms and circulated from July 2023 to August 2023. The target population included medical students from Ecuador, Ethiopia, India, Mauritius, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United States (USA). Results A total of 1180 responses were collected from 10 medical colleges across 7 countries. The UAE had the largest number of responses (31.7%), followed by Ecuador (17.6%), and Mauritius (13.7%). And 77.4% respondents were already aware about LLMs before attempting the survey, most popularly, ChatGPT. Participants were most familiar with the specific use of LLMs in research (46%), and the lowest familiarity was seen in the use of LLMs in healthcare (37%). More than half of the participants (52%) support the use of LLMs healthcare, yet a significant number of them remained neutral (37%) or disagreed (31%) on LLMs being safe in this context. Conclusion While most of the medical students are aware of LLMs and their applications, the multinational survey demonstrated hesitancy among medical students in fully adopting LLMs into healthcare practice and clinical research. This study prompts further exploration of medical students’ attitudes and acceptance concerning the integration of LLMs for research methodologies, ethical considerations, and healthcare practice.

Abstract Objectives In an effort to maintain the technical aspects of traditional prosthetic surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) while reducing invasiveness and facilitate options for concomitant operations, transaxillary lateral mini-thoracotomy endoscopic robotic-assisted aortic valve replacement (RAVR) has been introduced. The present data highlight the contemporary international collaborative experience. METHODS All consecutive patients undergoing standardized RAVR across 10 international sites (1/2020–7/2024) were evaluated using a central database with 1 year follow-up. RESULTS A total of 300 patients were analysed with a median predicted risk of 1.6% with aortic stenosis in 85.7%, nearly half with bicuspid valves. Biological prostheses were implanted in 220 (73.3%) with a median valve size 23 mm, 10% receiving aortic root enlargement, with 17% of all patients undergoing concomitant procedures. Median cross-clamp 120 min with no conversions to sternotomy. Median length of stay was 5 days, 4.3% with prolonged ventilation, 1.7% renal failure, 1.0% stroke and 8.3% required re-thoracotomy for evacuation of haemothorax. There were two 30-day operative mortalities (0.7%). The new permanent pacemaker rate for the full cohort was 2.6%. Of 163 patients with complete 1-year clinical and echocardiographic follow-up, mean aortic valve gradient was 10 mmHg and all but 2 patients (1.2%) had trace to no prosthetic or paravalvular insufficiency. CONCLUSIONS RAVR is safe and effective, providing the reproducible benefits of surgical AVR while affording a less invasive approach that permits the opportunity for concomitant procedures. For low and intermediate risk patients with aortic valve disease, RAVR is a potential reproducible alternative for patients and heart teams.

Abstract Introduction While certainty of evidence assessment is key to a rigorous and transparent systematic review, it is unknown how – and how frequently – it is assessed in systematic reviews. The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and approaches used for certainty of evidence assessment in systematic reviews published in high‐impact medicine journals over the past 11 years. Methods A PubMed search and hand‐searching of relevant journal websites identified systematic reviews published between 24 January 2013 and 23 January 2024 in any of the ten highest‐impact journals in the General and Internal Medicine category of the Journal Citation Report. Two reviewers independently selected any systematic review related to health outcomes assessing certainty of evidence using any method. We extracted data related to review characteristics, certainty of evidence and risk of bias/methodological quality assessment frameworks, and reported consideration of certainty of evidence domains. Logistic regression examined year of publication to determine whether the prevalence of certainty of evidence assessment changed over time. Results Of 1,023 included reviews, 346 (33.8%) assessed certainty of evidence. Prevalence of certainty of evidence assessment increased over time (0.16 ± 0.2; p < .001). Most (89.3%) of reviews used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework to assess certainty of evidence. Conclusion Only one in three systematic reviews published in the highest‐impact medical journals over the past 11 years assessed certainty of evidence, though prevalence increased over time. The use of specific domains within each certainty of evidence framework was not clearly described in all reviews.

We describe the design and results from the BraTS 2023 Intracranial Meningioma Segmentation Challenge. The BraTS Meningioma Challenge differed from prior BraTS Glioma challenges in that it focused on meningiomas, which are typically benign extra-axial tumors with diverse radiologic and anatomical presentation and a propensity for multiplicity. Nine participating teams each developed deep-learning automated segmentation models using image data from the largest multi-institutional systematically expert annotated multilabel multi-sequence meningioma MRI dataset to date, which included 1000 training set cases, 141 validation set cases, and 283 hidden test set cases. Each case included T2, FLAIR, T1, and T1Gd brain MRI sequences with associated tumor compartment labels delineating enhancing tumor, non-enhancing tumor, and surrounding non-enhancing FLAIR hyperintensity. Participant automated segmentation models were evaluated and ranked based on a scoring system evaluating lesion-wise metrics including dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and 95% Hausdorff Distance. The top ranked team had a lesion-wise median dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of 0.976, 0.976, and 0.964 for enhancing tumor, tumor core, and whole tumor, respectively and a corresponding average DSC of 0.899, 0.904, and 0.871, respectively. These results serve as state-of-the-art benchmarks for future pre-operative meningioma automated segmentation algorithms. Additionally, we found that 1286 of 1424 cases (90.3%) had at least 1 compartment voxel abutting the edge of the skull-stripped image edge, which requires further investigation into optimal pre-processing face anonymization steps.

BACKGROUND: Patients with arrhythmogenic mitral valve prolapse syndrome are at increased risk for life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, but studies have been limited by small sample sizes. We sought to assemble an international arrhythmogenic mitral valve prolapse syndrome registry to delineate the clinical, imaging, and treatment characteristics of patients with arrhythmogenic mitral valve prolapse syndrome who survived sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) or had sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation. METHODS: In this descriptive registry, we characterized patients with arrhythmogenic mitral valve prolapse syndrome who survived SCA, sustained VT, or ventricular fibrillation. Deidentified data were abstracted locally and combined centrally. RESULTS: We included 148 patients who had SCA or VT/ventricular fibrillation. Patients had a mean age of 43.7±15.4 years; 68% were women, 73% had bileaflet prolapse, 65% had mitral annular disjunction, 67% had nonsustained VT, and 59% had inferolateral T-wave inversions. Syncope (n=54, 48%) and anterolateral T-wave inversion (n=26, 22%) were relatively common. Catheter ablation was performed in 50 (35%) patients for premature ventricular complexes and in 18 (17.7%) patients for VT. Sites of origin for arrhythmias were commonly in the papillary muscles, fascicles, mitral annulus, and inferior/inferolateral left ventricle. CONCLUSIONS: In this international descriptive registry of patients with arrhythmogenic mitral valve prolapse syndrome and SCA, patients were young, women, and had bileaflet mitral valve prolapse, mitral annular disjunction, inferolateral T-wave inversions, and nonsustained VT. A history of syncope and anterolateral T-wave inversions was relatively common in patients who survived SCA or sustained VT/ventricular fibrillation.

184 Background: We update evidence on mHSPC when new evidence becomes available (PMID: 36862387). ARANOTE trial prompted us to assess the comparative efficacy of darolutamide (DARO) with other ARPi agents in mHSPC using the living network meta-analysis (LNMA). Methods: This LNMA is conducted using the living interactive evidence (LIvE) synthesis framework. Phase III trials assessing systemic treatments in mHSPC are included. Mixed treatment comparisons were made using a frequentist network meta-analysis. P-scores were computed to assess relative treatment rankings with higher values indicating potentially better efficacy. Results: This report of LNMA includes a total 11 trials (12628 patients; 12 unique treatment options) as of October 1 st , 2024. Overall results were consistent with prior updates. Analysis limited to the ARPi trials showed that inhigh volume, abiraterone acetate (AAP)+androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) (HR: 0.46; 95% CI: 0.40-0.53; rank 1), apalutamide (APA)+ADT (0.53; 0.41-0.68; rank 3), DARO+ADT (0.60; 0.44-0.81; rank 4) and enzalutamide (E)+ADT (0.48; 0.41-0.56; rank 2) significantly improved radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) compared to ADT alone. No statistically significant differences were observed with DARO+ADT compared to AAP+ADT (1.30; 0.94-1.82), APA+ADT (1.14; 0.77-1.67) and E+ADT (1.24; 0.89-1.79). Inlow volume, AAP+ADT (0.48; 0.37-0.63; rank 4), APA+ADT (0.36; 0.22-0.58; rank 3), DARO+ADT (0.30; 0.15-0.60; rank 1) and E+ADT (0.32; 0.25-0.41; rank 2) significantly improved rPFS compared to ADT. E+ADT significantly improved rPFS compared to AAP+ADT (0.67; 0.47-0.96) in low volume. No statistically significant differences were observed with DARO+ADT compared to AAP+ADT (0.62; 0.30-1.30), APA+ADT (0.83; 0.36-1.92) and E+ADT (0.93; 0.45-1.94). In synchronous disease, AAP+ADT (0.58; 0.51-0.67; rank 4), APA+ADT (0.49; 0.39-0.62; rank 2), DARO+ADT (0.59; 0.44-0.79; rank 3) and E+ADT (0.42; 0.36-0.50; rank 1) significantly improved rPFS compared to ADT. E+ADT significantly improved rPFS compared to AAP+ADT (0.73; 0.59-0.89) in synchronous disease. In metachronous disease, DARO+ADT (0.34; 0.17-0.67; rank 1), APA+ADT (0.41; 0.22-0.77; rank 2) and E+ADT (0.44; 0.35-0.57; rank 3) significantly improved rPFS compared to ADT. No statistically significant differences were observed with DARO+ADT compared to APA+ADT (0.83; 0.33-2.08) and E+ADT (0.76; 0.37-1.57) in metachronous disease. The results were consistent for overall survival. Conclusions: Current evidence suggests no significant differences for darolutamide as compared to other ARPi agents. Enzalutamide may be preferred over AAP in low-volume or synchronous disease. Given similar efficacy, choice of ARPi requires careful consideration of patient-specific factors including cost, accessibility and toxicity.

BACKGROUND: Ventral rectopexy has become increasingly used in the surgical management of rectal prolapse. There is a need for a contemporary evaluation of the role of the procedure and a description of its use in clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: To create an international consensus on ventral rectopexy. DESIGN: An expert panel undertook a scoping review of the literature to identify subject domains of interest. Literature reviews were completed for each domain with subsequent development of evidence-based and practice-based statements. These statements were compiled and reviewed by the group over a total of 9 meetings. Once statements were confirmed, supportive text was finalized, and an anonymous vote was completed using Research Electronic Data Capture to record consensus. SETTING: An international expert panel comprising colorectal surgeons who perform ventral rectopexy in a high-volume center. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Statements and associated expert consensus. RESULTS: Eleven experts identified 10 domains for review: indications, contraindications, assessment and planning, consent, operative details, prostheses, complications, follow-up, recurrence and reoperative surgery, and specific considerations. After round table review, there were 17 resultant statements for consideration. Experts agreed unanimously with 13 of the statements and their accompanying text, with different experts disagreeing regarding the remaining 4 statements (91% consensus each). LIMITATIONS: Paucity of high-quality data. CONCLUSIONS: This international group developed 17 statements with high consensus. These statements provide an up-to-date summary of the literature, identify key areas for research development, and provide a reference point for colon and rectal surgeons who undertake ventral rectopexy as part of their practice. See Video Abstract . RECTOPEXIA VENTRAL: CONSENSO DE UN PANEL INTERNACIONAL DE EXPERTOS Y REVISIÓN DE LA LITERATURA CONTEMPORÁNEA ANTECEDENTES: La rectopexia ventral se ha utilizado cada vez más en el tratamiento quirúrgico del prolapso rectal. Es necesario realizar una evaluación contemporánea del rol del procedimiento y una descripción de su uso en la práctica clínica. OBJETIVO: Crear un consenso internacional sobre la rectopexia ventral. DISEÑO: Un panel de expertos realizó una revisión exhaustiva de la literatura para identificar los dominios temáticos de interés. Se completaron revisiones de la literatura para cada dominio con el desarrollo de declaraciones basadas en la evidencia y la práctica. Estas fueron compiladas y revisadas por el grupo a lo largo de un total de nueve reuniones. Una vez que se confirmaron las declaraciones, se finalizó el texto de apoyo y se completó una votación anónima utilizando REDCap para registrar el consenso. ESCENARIO: Un panel internacional de expertos compuesto por cirujanos colorrectales que realizan rectopexia ventral en un centro de alto volumen. PRINCIPALES MEDIDAS DE RESULTADOS: Declaraciones y consenso de expertos asociado. RESULTADOS: Once expertos identificaron diez dominios a revisar: indicaciones, contraindicaciones, evaluación y planificación, consentimiento, detalles operatorios, prótesis, complicaciones, seguimiento, recurrencia y cirugía reoperatoria y consideraciones específicas. Después de la revisión en mesa redonda, hubo 17 declaraciones resultantes para su consideración. Los expertos estuvieron de acuerdo unánimemente con trece de las declaraciones y su texto acompañante, y diferentes expertos estuvieron en desacuerdo con cuatro declaraciones (91% de consenso cada una). LIMITACIONES: Escasez de datos de alta calidad. CONCLUSIÓN: Este grupo internacional desarrolló 17 declaraciones con alto consenso. Estas declaraciones proporcionan un resumen actualizado de la literatura, identifican áreas claves para el desarrollo de la investigación y un punto de referencia para los cirujanos de colon y recto que realizan rectopexia ventral como parte de su práctica. (Traducción—Dr. Aurian Garcia Gonzalez )

Background. Early allograft dysfunction (EAD) affects outcomes in liver transplantation (LT). Existing risk models developed for deceased-donor LT depend on posttransplant factors and fall short in living-donor LT (LDLT), where pretransplant evaluations are crucial for preventing EAD and justifying the donor’s risks. Methods. This retrospective study analyzed data from 2944 adult patients who underwent LDLT at 17 centers between 2016 and 2020. We developed a logistic regression model to predict EAD based on this development cohort. We used data from 1020 patients at the King Faisal Transplant Center for external validation. Results. In the development cohort, 321 patients (10.9%) experienced EAD. These patients had poorer health status, more liver decompensation, and higher requirements of hospitalization than those without EAD. Multivariable logistic regression identified independent pretransplant predictors of EAD: laboratory Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score (odds ratio [OR], 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-1.09), the necessity for hospitalization at the time of transplant (OR, 2.58; 95% CI, 2.00-3.30), and graft weight in kilogram (OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.17-0.45). Using these predictors, we developed the model for EAD after LDLT, which demonstrated strong discriminative ability in the development cohort with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.71 (95% CI, 0.68-0.74). The model maintained high discrimination during internal validation (AUC, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.67-0.73) and showed a modest reduction in discriminative power in external validation (AUC, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.61-0.68). Conclusions. EAD post-LDLT is influenced by the recipient’s pretransplant health condition and the graft weight. Integrating the model for EAD after LDLT into the pretransplant process of pairing donors and recipients can enhance the safety and efficacy of LDLT.

Abstract Background Progress in clinical trials and drug development for paediatric perianal fistulising CD (pfCD) depends upon accurate, reproducible imaging to assess disease activity and measure treatment response. We evaluated the inter- and intra-rater reliability of existing radiologic disease activity indices and anatomical classification systems previously identified as appropriate for assessment of paediatric pfCD.1 Methods A retrospective cohort (N=50) of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exams representing a full spectrum of paediatric (&lt;18 years) perianal CD severity was selected by a single expert paediatric radiologist. Methods described by Zou2 were used to estimate sample size. Three separate radiologists (2 paediatric) blinded to clinical information assessed pfCD in the exams using the Magnetic Resonance Novel Index for Fistula Imaging in CD (MAGNIFI-CD), Van Assche Index (VAI), modified VAI (mVAI), Paediatric MRI based Perianal Crohn’s disease (PEMPAC) index, a visual analogue scale (VAS) of overall pfCD disease severity (range, 0-100 mm), as well as with the Park’s and St. James University Hospital anatomic classification systems. Two radiologists read all exams twice, separated by 2 weeks, and 1 radiologist read the exams once (250 total reads). Intra- and inter-rater reliability was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC; equivalent to weighted kappa). Precision of the ICC estimates was quantified with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) obtained using clustered bootstrapping. Degree of reliability was interpreted with benchmarks proposed by Landis and Koch3. Results Median age of children was 13.5 years (IQR 11.4-16.1), and 64% were male. Median Paediatric Crohn’s Disease Activity Index score at time of imaging was 17.5 (IQR 10-32.5). Substantial (ICC&gt;0.61) inter-rater reliability was observed for MAGNIFI-CD, VAI, and mVAI (Table 1), with the highest ICCs observed for the mVAI (0.72 [0.6 to 0.79]). Moderate (ICC&gt;0.41) inter-rater reliability was observed for PEMPAC, St. James University Hospital classification, and the VAS, and fair (ICC&gt;0.21) inter-rater reliability was observed for Parks classification. Intra-rater reliability was nearly perfect (ICC&gt;0.81) for the VAS, and substantial for all indices except for Parks classification, which had moderate (0.60 [0.44 to 0.75]) intra-rater reliability (Table 1). Conclusion Most existing multi-item MRI-based disease activity indices and the St. James Hospital classification were reliable for the assessment of paediatric pfCD in our cohort. Our preliminary results suggest that the disease activity indices may have utility to measure treatment effect in paediatric pfCD clinical trials. References 1.Crowley E, Ma C, Guizzetti L, Zou G, Lewindon PJ, Gee MS, et al. Recommendations for Standardizing MRI-based Evaluation of Perianal Fistulizing Disease Activity in Pediatric Crohn's Disease Clinical Trials. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2024;30(3):357-69. 2.Zou GY. Sample size formulas for estimating intraclass correlation coefficients with precision and assurance. Statistics in Medicine. 2012;31(29):3972-398 3.Landis JR, Koch GG. The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics. 1977;33(1):159-74.