Citations

ABSTRACT Introduction Chronic pouchitis is a major therapeutic challenge in patients with ulcerative colitis following ileal pouch‐anal anastomosis. Methods We conducted a real‐world, propensity‐matched cohort study of 856 patients from a healthcare database to compare ustekinumab and vedolizumab. Results Ustekinumab was associated with significantly lower relapse rates (aHR = 0.69; p < 0.001), longer time to relapse, reduced hospitalisation and decreased need for steroids or antibiotics. No differences were observed in surgery rates or therapy switching. Conclusion Our findings suggest that ustekinumab may offer advantages over vedolizumab in the management of chronic pouchitis.

Abstract Introduction Linear accelerators require a large amount of data to be collected daily, monthly and annually to verify safe deliveries for patients. Different detectors have been utilized to improve the simplicity, efficiency and accuracy of the various experimental setups required to collect the necessary data resulting in reduced data collection and evaluation time. Plastic scintillators are stable and energy independent radiation detectors with high spatial resolution that emit light proportional to the amount of radiation incident on them. With an appropriate photodetector and technique to measure and analyze the light that is emitted, scintillators can be utilized to measure dosimetric parameters necessary for various monthly quality assurance requirements. Methods A uniform cylindrical plastic scintillator imaged by a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera is designed to act as a radiation detector to measure 2D projections of linear accelerator beams. Beams were delivered to the detector to evaluate machine quality assurance (QA) parameters, including beam energy, output, profile consistency and reproducibility as described by TG‐198. These measurements were compared to calculations from the Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS). Typical monthly quality assurance (QA) beams were delivered and 2D projections of the scintillation light were measured to validate the accuracy and reproducibility of this detector system for monthly QA. Results The plastic scintillator was able to accurately characterize the radiation beam. Energy and profile measurements were reproducible and within 2%/2mm of calculations in the TPS. Output measurements had maximum variations of up to 1.3% and average differences of 0.5%. Conclusion A simple cylindrical plastic scintillator and CMOS camera radiation detector setup was designed and tested for measuring monthly QA dosimetric parameters specified by TG‐198 with accurate and reproducible output, energy and profiles measurements. This method reduces the number of measurements required, allowing multiple parameters to be evaluated in a single beam delivery.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare expenses. Meanwhile, effective management of AF requires a comprehensive, patient-centered approach that includes risk factor modification, rate and rhythm control strategies, and prevention of thromboembolic events. Multidisciplinary AF clinics have emerged as a model for comprehensive management to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare burden. This review discusses the rationale, structure, benefits, challenges, and future directions of multidisciplinary AF clinics, emphasizing their role in optimizing AF management.

OBJECTIVE Neurosurgeon scientists play a unique role in advancing neuroscience research. While previous publications have explored trends in federal and foundation funding among neurosurgeons, funding is often dominated by neurosurgical oncologists and functional neurosurgeons. Less is known about the research efforts of pediatric neurosurgeons. The aim of this study was to survey the members of the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons (ASPN) to provide an overview of past research experience, current involvement, funding, and research priorities among pediatric neurosurgeons, and to gather insights that could shape future efforts to advance pediatric neurosurgical research. METHODS A survey was developed using the REDCap platform and distributed to all ASPN members via email. Survey questions used branching logic and were organized into 5 sections: 1) demographics, 2) research experience during training, 3) research experience as an attending physician, 4) research priorities, and 5) multicenter consortiums. RESULTS One hundred thirty-nine respondents completed more than half of the survey, for an overall response rate of 52.1%. Most respondents (96.4%) participated in research during their training, but only 38.1% had received a grant during training. In contrast, 83.9% of respondents were actively engaged in research as an attending physician, and 48.7% reported active funding (60.7% federal, 41.8% from foundations, and 42.9% internal). Furthermore, 74.8% of respondents reported being a member of a multicenter research consortium, and 82.4% agreed that multicenter research is important. Seventy percent of respondents agreed that the ASPN should facilitate multicenter consortium-based pediatric neurosurgical research, offering free-text responses with the following suggestions: 1) set aside time at the annual meeting to discuss multicenter research (22.9%); 2) encourage collaboration and facilitate networking (42.9%); 3) provide centralized core services such as a data coordinator and biostatistician (12.9%); and 4) provide training, education, and mentoring (7.1%). CONCLUSIONS The survey provided a cross-sectional analysis of the pediatric neurosurgical research landscape, highlighting the current state of research experience, funding, and the perspectives of pediatric neurosurgeons regarding research priorities. Despite the challenges, there is clear recognition of the importance of multicenter research collaboration. These findings reinforce the ongoing necessity of organized initiatives to support pediatric neurosurgical research and offer actionable insights into how organized pediatric neurosurgery can contribute to this critical endeavor.

Abstract The da Vinci Single-Port (SP) system is a robotic surgery platform that allows access into the abdominal cavity through a single short surgical incision. The omentum is an attractive donor site for vascularized omental lymph node transfer (VOLT) in the treatment of lymphedema. We hypothesize that SP robotic VOLT will allow for improvement in perioperative outcomes as compared to open laparotomy for omental flap harvest. A retrospective cohort study was performed, comprised of a study sample of patients with a diagnosis of lymphedema who presented to our institution for VOLT using either an open or SP robotic technique between May 2020 and February 2023. The primary outcome was length of hospital stay. The secondary outcomes included intraoperative complication rate, postoperative complication rate, and length of surgery. Fifteen patients underwent da Vinci SP omental flap harvest, and 14 patients underwent open harvest. There was no significant difference in average age, BMI, sex, or lymphedema etiology between the two groups. Average length of stay was 2.2 ± 1.7 days in the SP group and 2.3 ± 2.1 days in the open group (p = 0.91). There were no significant differences in terms of intraoperative or postoperative complications between the two groups. Ninety-three percent of SP robotic and 86% of open patients reported at least partial subjective improvement following VOLT (p = 0.50). Our findings suggest that SP robotic omental harvest for VOLT is feasible. Perioperative outcomes show comparable results in terms of length of hospital stay, complications, and subjective postoperative improvement when comparing the open to the SP approach.

Somatic mosaicism is increasingly recognized as a fundamental feature of human biology, yet the detection of somatic mutations remains challenging. The SMaHT Network conducted four large-scale benchmarking experiments involving cell-lines and donor tissues, to evaluate sequencing technologies, experimental approaches, and computational methods for detecting different types of somatic mutations, generating community resource with >1,000X short-read and 100-400X long-read data for each of the nine analyzed samples. We determined effective strategies for utilizing short- and long-reads sequencing for mutation detection and demonstrated that using donor-specific assemblies and human pangenome improved calling, extending mutation catalogs to challenging genomic regions. We benchmarked six duplex technologies and showed that single-cell sequencing resolves cell type-specific mutational patterns and heterogeneity. Our results indicate that bulk, single-cell, and duplex analyses are complementary - and leveraging all three provides comprehensive characterization of mosaicism within tissues. Together, these findings provide a roadmap for accurate, genome-wide somatic mutation discovery and analysis.