Laparoscopic ventral hernia repair: does IPOM plus allow to increase the indications in larger defects?

PURPOSE: The laparoscopic ventral hernia repair (LVHR) may have a limit of effectiveness, especially in defects greater than 80 cm2, with a higher recurrence rate which contraindicates this technique. The purpose of this study is to analyze the indication of LVHR determining and comparing the recurrence rate according to defect size in two series. METHODS: We analyzed all patients who underwent LVHR between 2007 and 2017. Patients were divided according to the ring size: < o ≥ 80 cm2 into group one (G1) and group two (G2) respectively. In both groups, all three techniques were used: intraperitoneal onlay mesh (IPOM), IPOM with closure of the defect (IPOM plus), and IPOM plus + anterior videoscopic component separation (AVCS). RESULTS: A total of 258 patients underwent LVHR. Mean recurrence rate was 13% in G1 and 24% in G2. A statistically significant difference was found when comparing the IPOM technique among both groups, with a higher recurrence rate when ring size was ≥ 80 cm2 (p < 0.5). However, when comparing recurrence rate in IPOM plus and IPOM plus + AVCS between both groups, no significant differences were observed, yielding a p of 0.51 and 0.63, respectively. CONCLUSION: The IPOM technique has shown a limit of effectiveness in large ventral hernia defects. The combination of techniques (ring closure and AVCS) may be useful to expand the indication for this surgery to larger defects and to reduce the recurrence rate. Prospective randomized studies are required to confirm this trend.

Worldwide Network for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (WBMT) recommendations for establishing a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation program in countries with limited resources (Part II): Clinical, technical and socio-economic considerations.

The development of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) programs can face significant challenges in most developing countries because such endeavors must compete with other government health care priorities, including the delivery of basic services. While this is may be a limiting factor, these countries should prioritize development of the needed expertise to offer state of the art treatments including transplantation, by providing financial, technological, legal, ethical and other needed support. This would prove beneficial in providing successful programs customized to the needs of their population, and potentially provide long-term cost-savings by circumventing the need for their citizens to seek care abroad. Costs of establishing HSCT program and the costs of the HSCT procedure itself can be substantial barriers in developing countries. Additionally, socioeconomic factors intrinsic to specific countries can influence access to HSCT, patient eligibility for HSCT and timely utilization of HSCT center capabilities. This report describes recommendations from the Worldwide Network for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (WBMT) for establishing HSCT programs with a specific focus on developing countries, and identifies challenges and opportunities for providing this specialized procedure in the resource constrained setting.

Latin America: the next region for haematopoietic transplant progress.

Haematopoietic cell transplant activity in the 28 countries comprising Latin America is poorly defined. We conducted a voluntary survey of members of the Latin American Bone Marrow Transplantation Group regarding transplant activity 2009-2012. Collated responses were compared with data of transplant rates from the Worldwide Network for Blood and Marrow Transplantation for other geographic regions. Several socio-economic variables were analysed to determine correlations with transplant rates. In total, 94 teams from 12 countries reported 11 519 transplants including 7033 autotransplants and 4486 allotransplants. Annual activity increased from 2517 transplants in 2009 to 3263 in 2012, a 30% increase. Median transplants rate (transplant per million inhabitants) in 2012 was 64 (autotransplants, median 40; allotransplants, median 24). This rate is substantially lower than that in North America and European regions (482 and 378) but higher than that in the Eastern Mediterranean and Asia Pacific regions (30 and 45). However, the Latin America transplant rate is 5-8-fold lower than that in America and Europe, suggesting a need to increase transplant availability. Transplant team density in Latin America (teams per million population; 1.8) is 3-4-fold lower than that in North America (6.2) or Europe (7.6). Within Latin America, there is substantial diversity in transplant rates by country partially explained by diverse socio-economic variables including per capita gross national income, health expenditure and physician density. These data should help inform future health-care policy in Latin America.

Haematopoietic cell transplants in Latin America.

Haematopoietic cell transplants are done by more than 1500 transplant centres in 75 countries, mostly for life-threatening haematological disorders. However, transplant technology and access are not uniformly distributed worldwide. Most transplants are done predominately in Europe, North America and some Asian countries. We review transplant activity in Latin America, a geographic region with a population of >600 million persons living in countries with diverse economic and social development levels. These data indicate a 20-40-fold lower frequency of transplants in Latin America compared with Europe and North America. We show that although economics, infrastructure and expertise are important limitations, other variables also operate. Changes in several of these variables may substantially increase transplant activity in Latin America.

DAS181 Treatment of Severe Parainfluenza Virus 3 Pneumonia in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients Requiring Mechanical Ventilation.

Parainfluenza virus (PIV) may cause life-threatening pneumonia in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients. Currently, there are no proven effective therapies. We report the use of inhaled DAS181, a novel sialidase fusion protein, for treatment of PIV type 3 pneumonia in two allogeneic hematopoietic SCT recipients with respiratory failure.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation activity worldwide in 2012 and a SWOT analysis of the Worldwide Network for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group including the global survey.

Data on 68 146 hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCTs) (53% autologous and 47% allogeneic) gathered by 1566 teams from 77 countries and reported through their regional transplant organizations were analyzed by main indication, donor type and stem cell source for the year 2012. With transplant rates ranging from 0.1 to 1001 per 10 million inhabitants, more HSCTs were registered from unrelated 16 433 donors than related 15 493 donors. Grafts were collected from peripheral blood (66%), bone marrow (24%; mainly non-malignant disorders) and cord blood (10%). Compared with 2006, an increase of 46% total (57% allogeneic and 38% autologous) was observed. Growth was due to an increase in reporting teams (18%) and median transplant activity/team (from 38 to 48 HSCTs/team). An increase of 167% was noted in mismatched/haploidentical family HSCT. A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis revealed the global perspective of WBMT to be its major strength and identified potential to be the key professional body for patients and authorities. The limited data collection remains its major weakness and threat. In conclusion, global HSCT grows over the years without plateauing (allogeneic>autologous) and at different rates in the four World Health Organization regions. Major increases were observed in allogeneic, haploidentical HSCT and, to a lesser extent, in cord blood transplantation.

Safety of outpatient autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation for multiple myeloma and lymphoma.

Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (Auto-HCT) is commonly an in-patient procedure. However, Auto-HCT is increasingly being offered on an outpatient basis. To better characterize the safety of outpatient Auto-HCT, we compared the outcome of 230 patients who underwent Auto-HCT on an in-patient vs outpatient basis for myeloma or lymphoma within a single transplant program. All outpatient transplants occurred in a cancer center day hospital. Hematopoietic recovery occurred earlier in the outpatient cohort, with median time to neutrophil recovery of 10 vs 11 days (P<0.001) and median time to platelet recovery of 19 vs 20 days (P=0.053). Fifty-one percent of the outpatient cohort never required admission, with this percentage increasing in later years. Grade 3-4 non-hematologic toxicities occurred in 29% of both cohorts. Non-relapse mortality at 1 year was 0% in the outpatient cohort and 1.5% in the in-patient cohort (P=0.327). Two-year PFS was 62% for outpatient vs 54% for in-patient (P=0.155). One- and two-year OS was 97% and 83% for outpatient vs 91% and 80% for in-patient, respectively (P=0.271). We conclude that, with daily outpatient evaluation and aggressive supportive care, outpatient Auto-HCT can result in excellent outcomes for myeloma and lymphoma patients.

Fibromuscular dysplasia of cervicocephalic arteries: Prevalence of multisite involvement and prognosis.

BACKGROUND: Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is a noninflammatory nonatherosclerotic disease of small- to medium-sized arteries. The frequency of multisite involvement and its influence on prognosis has not been systematically assessed in patients with cervicocephalic FMD, and little is known about their mid-term clinical and arterial prognosis. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of renal involvement and clinical and arterial prognosis in patients with cervicocephalic FMD. METHODS: We reviewed clinical and radiological data of consecutive patients with a diagnosis of cervicocephalic FMD, admitted to our hospital between January 2000 and March 2010. Patients were identified retrospectively until December 2008, and prospectively from January 2009. For each cervical and intracranial artery, we recorded the presence and type (unifocal or multifocal) of FMD. We classified each FMD-related stenosis into four categories:<50%, 50-80%,>80% and occlusion. During the first six months of 2012, patients were scheduled for follow-up visit, including cervicocephalic follow-up imaging, and renal artery imaging, if not already available. On follow-up imaging, FMD-related stenosis was classified according to the same method used at baseline. Renal artery FMD was defined as the presence of the typical string of beads appearance, or as the presence of a unique stenosis of renal artery. Primary endpoints were stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic), death, and progression of FMD lesions, defined by any increase in category of stenosis on follow-up imaging. RESULTS: Out of the 36 patients included (32 women), all with carotid artery involvement and 17 with associated vertebral artery involvement, 28 (78%) had ischemic symptoms and/or cervical artery dissection at the time of the diagnosis of FMD. Among the 30 patients who had renal artery imaging, 13 (43%) had renal FMD. Patients with renal artery disease did not differ from those without renal artery disease. After a median follow-up of 3.5 years, three patients had four strokes, one recurrent cervical dissection, one brain hemorrhage, and one fatal cardiac arrhythmia. Among the 31 patients who had follow-up imaging, two showed progression of cervicocephalic FMD (occlusion of carotid artery). Patients with renal involvement showed a non-significant trend toward a higher rate of stroke (P=0.17). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with cervicocephalic FMD, renal involvement is common. The risk of stroke, death or FMD progression was high in our cohort, suggesting that prognosis may not be as good as expected. This underlines the need for larger prospective studies to define the best treatment options.

Bortezomib-based induction for transplant ineligible AL amyloidosis and feasibility of later transplantation.

Recent studies support the use of bortezomib-based therapies in light chain amyloidosis (AL). We performed a retrospective analysis of the safety, efficacy and long-term survival (median follow-up 3 years) after bortezomib-based treatment in 28 consecutive patients with de novo AL deemed ineligible at initial presentation. The first 14 patients received bortezomib and dexamethasone (VD), and the second 14 patients received cyclophosphamide, bortezomib and dexamethasone (CVD; CyBorD). Both regimens were well tolerated with no treatment-related mortality. The overall hematological response (HR) rate was 93% in both the groups. Median time to response was shorter in the CVD group (39 days vs 96 days in the VD group; P=0.002). Hematological and organ responses induced with bortezomib-based therapy enabled 8 (33%) of initially transplant ineligible patients to undergo autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHCT), including 4 patients with cardiac stage III or IV. Seven of the eight patients (88%) who underwent subsequent AHCT achieved sustained HR at a median of 33 months posttransplant. These data suggest that bortezomib-based induction followed by AHCT is a viable therapeutic strategy for transplant-ineligible AL. Larger, multicenter prospective trials are necessary to confirm our findings.

Primary graft failure after myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for hematologic malignancies.

Clinical outcomes after primary graft failure (PGF) remain poor. Here we present a large retrospective analysis (n=23,272) which investigates means to prevent PGF and early detection of patients at high risk. In patients with hematologic malignancies, who underwent their first myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, PGF was reported in 1278 (5.5%), and there was a marked difference in PGFs using peripheral blood stem cell compared with bone marrow grafts (2.5 vs 7.3%; P<0.001). A fourfold increase of PGF was observed in myeloproliferative disorders compared with acute leukemia (P<0.001). Other risk factors for PGF included recipient age <30, HLA mismatch, male recipients of female donor grafts, ABO incompatibility, busulfan/cyclophosphamide conditioning and cryopreservation. In bone marrow transplants, total nucleated cell doses ⩽2.4 × 10(8) per kg were associated with PGF (odds ratio 1.39; P<0.001). The use of tacrolimus-based immunosuppression and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor were associated with decreased PGF risk. These data, allow clinicians to do more informed choices with respect to graft source, donor selection, conditioning and immunosuppressive regimens to reduce the risk of PGF. Moreover, a novel risk score determined on day 21 post transplant may provide the rationale for an early request for additional hematopoietic stem cells.

Is 'informed consent' an 'understood consent' in hematopoietic cell transplantation?

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a complex and highly specialized medical treatment that is associated with significant risks, including death. Furthermore, transplantation is offered to patients who often have no other curative treatment alternatives. The routine-consent process for HCT typically occurs before HCT and is influenced by many factors related to patients, physicians and the transplant per se. These factors can impede the consent process and subsequently result in a failure of proper engagement in and an understanding of the procedure with resultant adverse consequences influencing patients and even the patient-physician relationship. We contend that informed consent is a dynamic and ongoing process and that better patient education can assist in the decision making, fulfill the ethical principle of respect for autonomy and engage the patient to maximize compliance and adherence to therapy. This manuscript reviews the key literature pertaining to the decision-making and consent process in HCT and proposes guidelines for improving the consent process. Strategies for improving patient comprehension, engagement and enhancing consent forms are discussed.

Comparison of non-myeloablative conditioning regimens for lymphoproliferative disorders.

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) with non-myeloablative (NMA) conditioning for lymphoproliferative diseases (LD) includes fludarabine with and without low-dose TBI. Transplant outcomes were compared among patients aged ⩾40 years with LD who received a HCT with TBI (N=382) or no-TBI (N=515) NMA from 2001 to 2011. The groups were comparable except for donor, graft, prophylaxis for GVHD, disease status and year of HCT. Cumulative incidences of grades II-IV GVHD at 100 days were 29% and 20% (P=0.001) and of chronic GVHD at 1 year were 54% and 44% (P=0.004) for TBI and no-TBI, respectively. Multivariate analysis of progression/relapse, treatment failure and mortality showed no outcome differences by conditioning. Full donor chimerism at day 100 was observed in 82% vs 64% in the TBI and no-TBI groups, respectively (P=0.006). Subsets of the four most common conditioning/GVHD prophylaxis combinations demonstrated higher rates of grades II-IV acute (P<0.001) and chronic GVHD (P<0.001) among recipients of TBI-mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) compared with other combinations. TBI-based NMA conditioning induces faster full donor chimerism, but overall survival outcomes are comparable to no-TBI regimens. Combinations of TBI and MMF are associated with higher rates of GVHD without impact on survival outcomes in patients with LD.

Distribución de conocimiento y usos por generación y género de plantas comestibles en tres comunidades afrodescendientes en bolívar, Colombia / Distribution of knowledge and of uses of edible plants by generation and gender in three african descendant communities in bolívar, Cloombia

Durante las últimas dos décadas se han desarrollado muchas iniciativas para el rescate y la valoración de la diversidad de plantas útiles subutilizadas en distintas regiones del mundo. En Colombia se han realizado varias investigaciones etnobotánicas, sin embargo, se requiere ampliar las investigaciones sobre el uso de plantas comestibles por comunidades afrodescendientes. El objetivo global de la investigación era contribuir a la identificación de los saberes de las comunidades afrodescendientes de la Costa Caribe colombiana con respecto a la utilización, sistemas de manejo y producción de las plantas comestibles tradicionales. Este artículo se enfoca en la pregunta de cómo se distribuyen los saberes y cambian las prácticas de uso por generación y género de las plantas en tres comunidades del departamento de Bolívar. A través de una actividad con familias sobre el reconocimiento de 91 plantas se evidenció una pérdida intergeneracional de saberes y tradiciones de uso. Los porcentajes altos de no consumo y/o de consumo no reciente en combinación con las explicaciones dadas en grupos focales sugieren un declive en el uso alimenticio de alrededor de 20 plantas, en su mayoría silvestres y semisilvestres. Las razones dadas variaban según las plantas e incluían percepciones de cambio en las costumbres de producción, preparación de alimentos y consumo, y desaparición de ciertas plantas a causa de cambios en las prácticas de gestión del territorio y de los recursos naturales. Los adultos mayores pueden reconocer más plantas de las que usan. Los hombres reportaron niveles de reconocimiento más altos en comparación a las mujeres para el caso de 28 especies, principalmente de estatus silvestre. Los resultados muestran que el diseño de estrategias exitosas de fomento de procesos de desarrollo rural sostenible que pongan en valor la gran diversidad de plantas comestibles de la región necesita un enfoque diferencial según usuarios y recursos.

In the last two decades a significant number of initiatives have been undertaken to promote and revalue the diversity of useful under-utilized plants in various regions around the world. In Colombia there have been various ethnobotanical studies, however, there is still a need for further research, particularly on the use of food plants in Afro-descendant communities. The overall objective of this research project was to contribute to the documentation of the use of traditional food plants and knowledge of the management and production systems by Afro-descendant communities in the Colombian Caribbean coastal region. This article focuses specifically on the question of how knowledge is distributed and how use practices of the plants change by generation and gender in three communities in the department of Bolívar. Through a recognition exercise, undertaken with families on 91 plants, evidence was found of intergenerational loss of knowledge and traditions of use. High percentages of reported non-consumption and/or not recent consumption combined with explanations given in focus groups, suggest a decline in the food use of about 20 species, the majority of them having wild and semi-wild status. The reasons given varied depending on the plant species and included perceptions of change in production and food preparation and consumption practices and the disappearance of certain plants because of changes in land use and natural resource management. Older respondents recognized more plants than they actually used. Recognition rates by men were higher in comparison to women in the case of 28 plants, mainly wild resources. These results highlight that the design of successful strategies to promote sustainable rural development processes which revalue the significant diversity of food plants in the region requires a differential focus depending on the user and the type of resource.

Challenges and opportunities for HSCT outcome registries: perspective from international HSCT registries experts.

Patient registries, frequently referred to as outcome registries, are 'organized systems' that use observational study methods to collect uniform data. Registries are used to evaluate specified outcomes for a population defined by a particular disease, condition or exposure that serves one or more predetermined scientific, clinical or policy purposes. Outcome registries were established very early in the development of hematopoietic SCT (HSCT). Currently, myriads of national and international HSCT registries collect information about HSCT activities and outcomes. These registries have contributed significantly to determining trends, patterns, treatment practices and outcomes. There are many different HSCT registries, each with different aims and goals; some are led by professional organizations, others by government authorities, health care providers or third parties. Some registries simply assess activity and others study outcomes. These registries are complementary and are gradually developing interoperability with each other to expand future collaborative research activities. A key development in the last few years was the incorporation of recommendations into the World Health Organization guiding principles on cell, tissue and organ transplantation. The data collection and analysis should be an integral part of therapy and an obligation rather than a choice for transplant programs. This article examines challenges in ensuring data quality and functions of outcome registries, using HSCT registries as an example. It applies to all HSCT-related data, but is predominantly focused on HSCT registries of professional organizations.