Rural-urban stroke mortality gaps in the United States.

INTRODUCTION: Disparities in stroke outcomes, influenced by the use of systemic thrombolysis, endovascular therapies, and rehabilitation services, have been identified. Our study assesses these disparities in mortality after stroke between rural and urban areas across the United States (US). METHODS: We analyzed the CDC data on deaths attributed to cerebrovascular disease from 1999 to 2020. Data was categorized into rural and urban regions for comparative purposes. Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMR) were computed using the direct method, allowing us to examine the ratios of rural to urban deaths for the cumulative population and among demographic subpopulations. Linear regression models were used to assess temporal changes in mortality ratios over the study period, yielding beta-coefficients (ß). RESULTS: There was a total of 628,309 stroke deaths in rural regions and 2,556,293 stroke deaths within urban regions. There were 1.13 rural deaths for each one urban death per 100,000 population in 1999 and 1.07 in 2020 (ß = -0.001, ptrend = 0.41). The rural-urban mortality ratio in Hispanic populations decreased from 1.32 rural deaths for each urban death per 100,000 population in 1999 to 0.85 in 2020 (ß = -0.011, ptrend < 0.001). For non-Hispanic populations, mortality remained stagnant with 1.12 rural deaths for each urban death per 100,000 population in 1999 and 1.07 in 2020 (ß = -0.001, ptrend = 0.543). Regionally, the Southern US exhibited the highest disparity with a urban-rural mortality ratio of 1.19, followed by the Northeast (1.13), Midwest (1.04), and West (1.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings depict marked disparities in stroke mortality between rural and urban regions, emphasizing the importance of targeted interventions to mitigate stroke-related disparities.

Outcomes of Mechanical Thrombectomy in Patients With Neurological Disorders: A National Inpatient Sample Database Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) has changed the standard of care for patients presenting with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). The window of treatment has significantly increased the number of patients who would benefit from intervention and operators may be confronted with patients harboring preexistent neurological disorders. Still, the epidemiology of patients with AIS and neurological disorders has not been established. METHODS: This is a retrospective study, which utilizes data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) between 2012 and 2016. Patients with the major neurological comorbidities in the study were included: Alzheimer's dementia (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS), and myasthenia gravis (MG). These patients were divided into groups and analyzed based on discharged home status, length of hospital stay (LOS), and inpatient mortality. These outcomes were also compared between patients who underwent MT versus those who did not. RESULTS: In this study, 460,070 patients with AIS were identified and included. MT was performed less often when the patient had a neurological diagnosis compared to those without a neurological disease (p<0.0001). However, patients with AIS who have underlying neurological disorders such as AD, PD, and MS have shown similar outcomes after MT to those who do not have these disorders. CONCLUSION: Patients with preexisting neurological disorders were less likely to undergo MT. Further studies are required to elucidate the implications of having a neurological disorder in the setting of an AIS.

Cellular based treatment modalities for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy of the liver and is unfortunately associated with an overall poor prognosis and high mortality. Early and intermediate stages of HCC allow for treatment with surgical resection, ablation and even liver transplantation, however disease progression warrants conventional systemic therapy. For years treatment options were limited to molecular-targeting medications, of which sorafenib remains the standard of care. The recent development and success of immune checkpoint inhibitors has proven to be a breakthrough in the treatment of HCC, but there is an urgent need for the development of further novel therapeutic treatments that prolong overall survival and minimize recurrence. Current investigation is focused on adoptive cell therapy including chimeric antigen receptor-T cells (CAR-T cells), T cell receptor (TCR) engineered T cells, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, and tumor infiltrating lymphocyte cells, which have shown remarkable success in the treatment of hematological and solid tumor malignancies. In this review we briefly introduce readers to the currently approved systemic treatment options and present clinical and experimental evidence of HCC immunotherapeutic treatments that will hopefully one day allow for revolutionary change in the treatment modalities used for unresectable HCC. We also provide an up-to-date compilation of ongoing clinical trials investigating CAR-T cells, TCR engineered T cells, cancer vaccines and oncolytic viruses, while discussing strategies that can help overcome commonly faced challenges when utilizing cellular based treatments.

Safety and Efficacy of Synthetic Mesh for Ventral Hernia Repair in a Contaminated Field.

BACKGROUND: Controversy remains about appropriate mesh selection during ventral hernia repair (VHR) in a contaminated field. Fear of mesh infection has led to increased use of biologic and absorbable synthetic meshes rather than permanent synthetic mesh in these cases. We report the safety and efficacy of permanent synthetic mesh during contaminated VHR. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of our database identified all cases of contaminated VHR from July 2007 to May 2019. Student's t-test and Wilcoxon rank sum were used to analyze continuous variables, and discrete variables with Fisher's or Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS: There were 541 contaminated cases: 245 clean-contaminated, 214 contaminated, and 82 dirty cases. Suture repair was performed in 46 patients, biologic mesh was used in 38, absorbable synthetic mesh in 55, and permanent synthetic mesh in 402. Mesh was extraperitoneal in 97% of cases. Incidence of surgical site infection in each group was 17.4%, 36.8%, 32.7%, and 14.2%, respectively (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed no effect of mesh selection on risk of surgical site infection. Mesh was removed in 7 patients; 5 were permanent synthetic (1.2%), 1 was absorbable synthetic (1.8%), and 1 was biologic (2.6%). In 4 patients there was mesh-specific complication and the remaining meshes were removed during exploration for indications unrelated to the mesh. At a median follow-up of 30.2 months, recurrence occurred in 15.2% of patients and was significantly lower with permanent synthetic mesh. CONCLUSIONS: Permanent synthetic mesh placed in an extraperitoneal position is not only safe for VHR in a contaminated field, but it confers a significantly lower rate of surgical site infection and recurrence compared with biologic or bioabsorbable meshes.

Antibiotic Irrigation of the Surgical Site Decreases Incidence of Surgical Site Infection after Open Ventral Hernia Repair.

Surgical site infections (SSI) are common complications after open ventral hernia repair (OVHR), potentially requiring further intervention. Antibiotic lavage before abdominal closure has been shown to lower the incidence in intra-abdominal and soft tissue SSI. A retrospective review of OVHR was performed with mesh at Greenville Health System Hernia Center between 2008 and 2017. Patients were divided into three groups, receiving no antibiotic irrigation (Grp 1, n = 260), gentamicin alone (Grp 2, n = 263), or gentamicin + clindamycin (G + C) irrigation (Grp 3, n = 299). Differences in categorical variables among the three groups were tested using chi-squared or Fischer's exact test (for n < 5). Analysis of continuous variables was performed using analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis test for differences in length of stay. Logistic regression was performed using all clinically relevant variables to determine the effects of irrigation on SSI. Incidence of surgical site occurrence was significantly lower after G + C irrigation (Grp 1, 28.1%; Grp 2, 35.4%; Grp 3, 19.7%; P < 0.001). Incidence of SSI was significantly lower after G + C irrigation, but not G alone (Grp 1, 16.5%; Grp 2, 15.2%; and Grp 3, 5.4%; P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated significantly increased SSI with contaminated wounds (OR 2.96; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.39-6.21), dirty wounds (OR 3.84; 95% CI 1.49-9.69), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR 3.70; 95% CI 2.16-6.38), as expected. Use of G + C was an independent predictor of decreased SSI (OR 0.33; 95% CI 0.16-0.67). Irrigation with a combined G + C antibiotic irrigation significantly reduces the incidence of surgical site infection after OVHR with mesh.