Drug-eluting stents for the treatment of complex femoro-popliteal disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Endovascular methods have emerged as an appealing alternative to bypass for the treatment of patients not suitable for surgery. Drug eluting stents (DES) have been developed to address the limitations of angioplasty and stenting. There is a paucity of data in the literature on their performance for the treatment of patients with long femoro-popliteal segment lesions. We aimed to analyze the evidence supporting the use of DES in patients with complex femoro-popliteal disease. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: A total of 1255 potentially relevant articles were initially selected. After reviewing at title or abstract level, 22 articles were read in full and 10 were included. These studies reported on the use of DES for 1539 patients. In all studies the DES that was employed was a paclitaxel-eluting stent (Zilver PTX, Cook Medical; Bloomington, IN, USA). Average lesion length ranged from 114 mm to 400 mm. The pooled technical success rate was 0.964 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.936-0.980). The pooled estimate of limb loss at 12 months was 0.019 (95% CI: 0.012-0.030), stent fracture at 12 months was 0.035 (95% CI: 0.007-0.155), primary patency at 12 months was 0.705 (95% CI: 0.576-0.807) and secondary patency at 12 months was 0.898 (95% CI: 0.815-0.946). CONCLUSIONS: The short-term outcomes of DES for TASC C & D femoro-popliteal lesions are encouraging. Caution is advised in extrapolating the results of the included studies due to the large heterogeneity and lack of reporting of subgroup specific outcomes.

Patient and public priorities for breast cancer research: a qualitative study in the UK.

OBJECTIVE: Internationally recognised specialist breast cancer scientists, clinicians and healthcare professionals have published breast cancer research gaps that are informing research funding priorities in the UK and worldwide. We aimed to determine the breast cancer research priorities of the public to compare with those identified by clinicians and scientists. DESIGN: We conducted a qualitative study and thematic analysis using 'listening events' where patients with breast cancer and public representatives used a patient's breast cancer journey to identify research themes. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Female participants were recruited from attendees at participating hospitals and support groups in the northwest of England, including patients, their family and friends as well as staff at a local retail centre. INTERVENTION: A framework approach was used to analyse transcribed discussions until thematic saturation was reached. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Breast cancer research priorities were identified from participant discussions and compared with the published gaps identified by scientists and healthcare professionals. RESULTS: Thematic saturation was reached after 27 female participants participated in listening events. Our participants consistently focused on improved methods of dissemination of information and improving education on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. This was not highlighted by scientists or healthcare professionals. There was strong emphasis on quality of life-related issues such as side effects of treatment. There was some agreement between the priorities deduced by our study and those of the professionals in the areas of screening, prevention and breast reconstruction. CONCLUSION: Our study identified some research themes that were not identified by scientists and healthcare professionals in two earlier landmark studies. This highlights the importance of including patients and public representatives when setting research priorities. The results should be used to guide investigators when planning future studies and for funding bodies in allocating resources for future projects.

Selective Antegrade Biliary Stenting Aids Emergency Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.

Background: Symptomatic gall stone disease requires early emergency treatment to prevent complications. This early treatment is often delayed due to difficulty in the diagnosis and management of concomitant choledocholithiasis. Intervention with preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is associated with complications and known to be unnecessary in most cases. We follow a strategy of providing early cholecystectomy with selective utility of antegrade stent in cases of choledocholithiasis. Our main aim is to present our technique and results. Method: We conducted a 3-year (January 2014 to January 2017) review of a prospectively maintained database of our practice of performing routine intraoperative cholangiogram (IOC) during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and when choledocholithiasis is encountered on IOC; a transcystic antegrade biliary stent is inserted to decompress the common bile ducts (CBD) and facilitate postoperative ERCP at later date. Results: Of the 411 cholecystectomies performed, 77.3% were females with mean age of 48 years. Seventy-four patients were found to have CBD stones (CBDS) on IOC. Antegrade stents were successfully deployed in 69 cases. Even though Antegrade stents were done more frequently in emergency admissions (P = .001); this did not increase the length of hospital stay (LOHS) (P = .752) or the rate of complications (P = .171). However, doing a preoperative ERCP significantly increased LOHS (P = .001), and 67% of these needed two or more ERCP for complete clearance of CBD and had more complications. Nine (15.2%) out of 59 patients with pancreatitis had CBDS on IOC and were successfully managed with antegrade stent. Conclusion: This strategy can be followed by general surgeons, enabling them to perform LC in the presence of choledocholithiasis during acute admissions including pancreatitis. It does not require any specialist skills in CBD exploration and also eliminates unnecessary preoperative ERCP and avoids its potential complications.