Outcomes of patients presenting with Guillain-Barre Syndrome at a tertiary care center in India.

BACKGROUND: The Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), also known as acute idiopathic polyneuritis, is a critical acquired condition associated with preceding nonspecific infection or triggering factors like trauma, surgery, or vaccination. GBS is currently the most frequent cause of acute flaccid paralysis in India. This study evaluates the short-term and in-hospital outcomes in different subtypes of GBS. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted at V.S. Hospital, Ahmedabad, from September 2015 to December 2017. Patients above the age of 12 were included. Patients having other underlying neurological conditions, as well as immunodeficiency disorders, were excluded. The patients were classified into different subtypes of GBS, and functional outcomes were recorded on admission and discharge according to Hughes Scoring System. All statistical analyses were performed by using SPSS software. RESULTS: Out of 50 patients, 35 (70%) were males. The mean age was of 37.18 +/- 18.35 years. 25 (50%) patients had a preceding infection. 88% of patients presented with cranial nerve (CN) involvement had a Hughes Score of >/= 3 (p = 0.0087). They had less improvement of Hughes Score on discharge (0.13 +/- 0.04) as compared to the patients without cranial nerve involvement (0.38 +/- 0.08) (p = 0.008). Respiratory involvement was associated with a higher Hughes Score (p = 0.005) on admission. 85% of patients diagnosed with an axonal subtype of GBS had a Hughes Score of >/= 3 (p = 0.06) compared to 74% patients with demyelinating subtype. Axonal subtype required double period (11 +/- 2.34) to show improvement as compared to demyelinating subtype (6 +/- 1.2) (p = 0.020). Irrespective of the subtypes, in two different treatment cohorts (PLEX vs IVIG), there was no difference in short term functional outcomes measured by improvement in the Hughes scores (p = 0.89). CONCLUSIONS: Early cranial nerve and respiratory involvement in patients presenting with GBS are associated with poor outcomes warranting immediate critical care involvement. In our study, amongst all the subtypes, axonal had poor clinical outcomes. Further clinical trials on the Indian subpopulation will help us evaluate the impact of different treatment modalities on this disease.

Trends in prostate cancer mortality in the United States of America, by state and race, from 1999 to 2019: estimates from the centers for disease control WONDER database.

BACKGROUND: In the United States of America (USA), prostate cancer (PC) is the most common cancer in men and the second cause of cancer mortality. Black men (BM) have a higher incidence and worse mortality when compared to white men (WM). We compared trends in PC mortality in the USA by race and state from 1999 to 2019. METHODS: We extracted PC mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) WONDER database using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10 code C61. Age-Standardized Mortality Rates (ASMR) were divided into racial groups and reported by year and state. Due to the lack of available data in many states, analyses were conducted only for WM and BM using Joinpoint regression for trend comparisons. RESULTS: Between 1999-2019, ASMR decreased at the national level in Black (-44.6%), Asian (-44.8%), White (-31.8%), and American Indian or Alaskan native men (-19.0%). ASMR decreased in all states for both races. The greatest drop in ASMR was in Kentucky (-47.0%) for WM and Delaware (-57.8%) for BM. In 2019, ASMRs in BM (13.4/100 000) were significantly higher than WM (7.3/100 000), American Indian or Alaskan Native (3.2/100 000), and Asian men (3.2/100 000) (p < 0.001). The highest ASMRs were in Nebraska (33.5/100 000) for BM and Alaska (11/100 000) for WM. CONCLUSIONS: During the last 20 years, the PC mortality rate dropped in all states for all races, suggesting an advancement in management strategies. Although a higher decrease in ASMR was observed in BM, ASMR remain higher among BM. ASMRs were also found to be increasing in many states post USPSTF guideline change (2012), indicating a need for more education around optimized prostate cancer screening.

Trends of kidney cancer burden from 1990 to 2019 in European Union 15 + countries and World Health Organization regions.

In recent decades, variability in the incidence and mortality of kidney cancer (KC) has been reported. This study aimed to compare trends in incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) of KC between the European Union (EU) 15 + countries and 6 World Health Organization (WHO) regions. The data of KC Age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs), age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs), and age-standardized DALYs were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease database. Joinpoint regression was employed to examine trends. From 1990 to 2019, the ASIR increased in most countries except for Luxembourg (males), the USA (females) and Austria and Sweden (both sexes). ASIR increased across all 6 WHO regions for both sexes except for females in Americas. The ASMR increased in 10/19 countries for males and 9/19 for females as well across most WHO regions. The mortality-to-incidence ratio (MIR) decreased in all countries and WHO regions. Trends in DALYs were variable across countries and WHO regions. While the incidence and mortality from KC rose in most EU15 + countries and WHO regions from 1990 to 2019, the universal drop in MIR suggests an overall improvement in KC outcomes. This is likely multifactorial, including earlier detection of KC and improved treatments.