ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Esophageal atresia/tracheoesophageal fistula (EA/TEF) is a congenital malformation that occurs in about 1 in 2500-4000 live births. After surgical repair, despite the lack of evidence supporting the routine use of postoperative esophagram, most surgeons report obtaining an esophagram prior to enteral feeding. We hypothesized that abnormal indicators in vital signs, drain characteristics, and chest radiograph (CXR) could be used to screen for anastomotic leak, thus reducing the need for a routine esophagram. METHODS: A single institution, retrospective chart review of all patients born with EA with or without TEF between 2009 and 2022 was performed. Vital signs, postoperative CXR, chest drain characteristics, and esophagram results were analyzed for patients who underwent repair. RESULTS: Forty-five patients who underwent EA/TEF repair were included in the study, and 40 patients had routine esophagram. Out of the twenty-two patients who had at least one abnormal indicator, 14 (64%) had an anastomotic leak. Seventeen patients (43%) had the absence of abnormalities of all three indicators, and none of these patients had an anastomotic leak (100% negative predictive value). Moreover, changes in drain characteristics and vital signs together presented high sensitivity (87.5%), specificity (90%), and negative predictive value (94%). CONCLUSIONS: In the absence of abnormalities in vital signs, CXR, and drain characteristics in patients undergoing EA/TEF repair, routine esophagram can be safely avoided prior to enteral feeding. Abnormalities in drain characteristics and vital signs together were highly sensitive and specific for anastomotic leak, thus potentially eliminating the need for routine CXR and thereby minimizing radiation exposure and cost.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Our objectives were to compare overall survival (OS) and pulmonary relapse between patients with metastatic Ewing sarcoma (EWS) at diagnosis who achieve rapid complete response (RCR) and those with residual pulmonary nodules after induction chemotherapy (non-RCR). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included children under 20 years with metastatic EWS treated from 2007 to 2020 at 19 institutions in the Pediatric Surgical Oncology Research Collaborative. Chi-square tests were conducted for differences among groups. Kaplan-Meier curves were generated for OS and pulmonary relapse. RESULTS: Among 148 patients with metastatic EWS at diagnosis, 61 (41.2%) achieved RCR. Five-year OS was 71.2% for patients who achieved RCR, and 50.2% for those without RCR (p = .04), and in multivariable regression among patients with isolated pulmonary metastases, RCR (hazards ratio [HR] 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.17-0.99) and whole lung irradiation (WLI) (HR 0.35; 95% CI: 0.16-0.77) were associated with improved survival. Pulmonary relapse occurred in 57 (37%) patients, including 18 (29%) in the RCR and 36 (41%) in the non-RCR groups (p = .14). Five-year pulmonary relapse rates did not significantly differ based on RCR (33.0%) versus non-RCR (47.0%, p = .13), or WLI (38.8%) versus no WLI (46.0%, p = .32). DISCUSSION: Patients with EWS who had isolated pulmonary metastases at diagnosis had improved OS if they achieved RCR and received WLI, despite having no significant differences in rates of pulmonary relapse.