COVID-19 outcomes of patients with gynecologic cancer in New York City.

BACKGROUND: New York City (NYC) is the epicenter of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) in the United States. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of vulnerable populations, such as those with gynecologic cancer who develop COVID-19 infections, is limited. METHODS: Patients from 6 NYC-area hospital systems with known gynecologic cancer and a COVID-19 diagnosis were identified. Demographic and clinical outcome data were abstracted through a review of electronic medical records. RESULTS: Records for 121 patients with gynecologic cancer and COVID-19 were abstracted; the median age at the COVID-19 diagnosis was 64.0 years (interquartile range, 51.0-73.0 years). Sixty-six of the 121 patients (54.5%) required hospitalization; among the hospitalized patients, 45 (68.2%) required respiratory intervention, 20 (30.3%) were admitted to the intensive care unit, and 9 (13.6%) underwent invasive mechanical ventilation. Seventeen patients (14.0%) died of COVID-19 complications. No patient requiring mechanical ventilation survived. On multivariable analysis, hospitalization was associated with an age ≥64 years (risk ratio [RR], 1.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18-2.51), African American race (RR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.13-2.15), and 3 or more comorbidities (RR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.03-1.98). Only recent immunotherapy use (RR, 3.49; 95% CI, 1.08-11.27) was associated with death due to COVID-19 on multivariable analysis; chemotherapy treatment and recent major surgery were not predictive of COVID-19 severity or mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The case fatality rate among gynecologic oncology patients with a COVID-19 infection is 14.0%. Recent immunotherapy use is associated with an increased risk of mortality related to COVID-19 infection. LAY SUMMARY: The case fatality rate among gynecologic oncology patients with a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection is 14.0%; there is no association between cytotoxic chemotherapy and cancer-directed surgery and COVID-19 severity or death. As such, patients can be counseled regarding the safety of continued anticancer treatments during the pandemic. This is important because the ability to continue cancer therapies for cancer control and cure is critical.

Use of endoluminal vacuum therapy after anastomotic leak in a gynecologic oncology patient with rectosigmoid resection: A case report.

•Anastomotic leak is an infrequent complication after colon resection and is associated with high morbidity and mortality.•Endoluminal vacuum therapy (EVAT) promotes wound closure by covering anastomotic leaks intraluminally and applying vacuum.•EVAT has been shown to be safe with mild adverse events.•EVAT should be considered in hemodynamically stable gynecologic oncology patients with a confined anastomotic leak.

Changes in Surgical Volume and Outcomes Over Time for Women Undergoing Hysterectomy for Endometrial Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To examine changes over time in surgeon and hospital procedural volume for hysterectomy for endometrial cancer and explore the association between changes in volume and perioperative outcomes. METHODS: We used the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System database to analyze women who underwent abdominal or minimally invasive hysterectomy from 2000 to 2014. Annualized surgeon and hospital volume was estimated. The association between surgeon and hospital volume and perioperative morbidity, mortality, and resource utilization (transfusion, length of stay, hospital charges) was estimated by modeling procedural volume as a continuous and categorical variable. RESULTS: A total of 44,558 women treated at 218 hospitals were identified. The number of surgeons performing cases each year decreased from 845 surgeons with 2,595 patients (mean cases=3) in 2000 to 317 surgeons who operated on 3,119 patients (mean cases=10) (P<.001) in 2014, whereas the mean hospital volume rose from 14 to 32 cases over the same time period (P=.29). When stratified by surgeon volume quartiles, the morbidity rate was 14.6% among the lowest volume surgeons, 20.8% for medium-low, 15.7% for medium-high, and 14.1% for high-volume surgeons (P<.001). In multivariable models in which volume was modeled as a continuous variable, there was no association between surgeon volume and the rate of complications, whereas excessive total charges were lowest and perioperative mortality highest for the high-volume surgeons (P<.001 for both). CONCLUSION: Care of women with endometrial cancer has been concentrated to a smaller number of surgeons and hospitals. The association between surgeon and hospital volume for endometrial cancer is complex with an increased risk of adverse outcomes among medium-volume hospitals and surgeons but the lowest complication rates for the highest volume surgeons and centers.

Disease severity and functional factors associated with walking performance in polyostotic fibrous dysplasia.

The purpose of this study was to determine the association between measures of disease severity, impairment, and ambulation ability in persons with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia (PFD). A cross-sectional sample of 81 patients (ages 5-57) with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia was evaluated as part of an ongoing study. Subjects were scored on the Skeletal Disease Burden Score (SDBS), completed a 9-minute walk test (9MW), manual muscle testing (MMT), and measurements of range of motion (ROM). Correlations between continuous variables were calculated using the Pearson correlation coefficient and ordinal variables by Spearman correlation coefficient. It was found that subjects with more severe disease walked slower than those with less skeletal disease, with the exception of the youngest subjects. Walking velocity was faster in subjects with better hip strength and range of motion and slower in those with bilateral coxa vara. Those subjects with more severe disease had less range of motion, were weaker at the hips, and more likely to have leg length discrepancy. Skeletal disease severity was associated with hip weakness, leg length discrepancy, and loss of range of motion. In most cases, findings did not differ in the presence or absence of associated endocrinopathies. Skeletal disease severity, MMT and ROM each has an impact on walking efficiency in persons with PFD. These findings suggest that treatment focused on strategies to improve or, at least, maintain hip strength and range of motion, correct leg length discrepancies and hip malalignment may help preserve ambulation ability in persons with PFD and that treatment should begin at a young age.

Digital stereophotogrammetry as a new technique to quantify truncal deformity: a pilot study in persons with osteogenesis imperfecta.

The objective of this pilot study was to determine the usability of stereophotogrammetry (SP) as a noninvasive technique for obtaining linear measures and anatomical data of the torso in people with osteogenesis imperfecta in comparison with clinical observations. Ten participants were recruited from subjects enrolled in ongoing institutional review board-approved osteogenesis imperfecta protocols at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Using a Gulick tape measure, anthropometer, and the SP system proprietary software, linear measurements of the torso were taken. In addition, the presence or absence of specific torso deformities was documented from both clinical observation and evaluation of SP images. Measurements of torso diameter and circumference by SP demonstrated strong agreement with the manual measurements (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.995 and 0.964, respectively). Substantial and statistically significant agreement was present between SP image evaluation and clinical observation for pectus carinatum (κ = 0.52 ± 0.23) and thoracic scoliosis (κ = 0.72 ± 0.12). The kappa values between clinical observation and SP evaluations of other torso deformities were not significant. The strong correlations and P values determined by this study demonstrate the potential value of SP in studying persons with truncal deformities. However, the weak agreement between SP and some clinical observations suggests that further development of SP image analysis tools is required before SP can be used as a standard method of diagnosis or assessment of treatment success.