Patients Unmet Needs in Chronic Rhinosinusitis With Nasal Polyps Care: A Patient Advisory Board Statement of EUFOREA.

Background: European patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) have had only limited occasions to unite to have their voices heard, hence missing the opportunity to contribute to the improvement of CRSwNP care. Aims: To identify unmet needs in CRSwNP from the perspective of CRSwNP patients from the Patient Advisory Board (PAB) of the European Forum for Research and Education in Allergy and Airways diseases (EUFOREA). Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted individually with 15 European patients with CRSwNP and with a disease history of more than 2 years. Patients shared their burden of the disease and frustrations related to CRSwNP care, experiences with key pillars of current treatment options, shortcomings of the current care pathways and recommendations for improvement of care. A panel of 30 members of the Patient Advisory Board reviewed the interview report and provided further input during 2 virtual meetings. Results: CRSwNP patients indicated the need for greater awareness from society and physicians of the disease burden with impact on social function and well-being. Along with a loss of ability to smell and the continuous presence of secretions in the nose, most patients reported poor sleep quality and psychological impact as the most bothersome symptoms. Patients' frustrations relate primarily to the underestimation of the disease burden, the lack of coordination of care and the limited treatment options available to them. Treatment options with oral corticosteroids and/or sinus surgery both have positive and negative aspects, including the lack of long-lasting efficacy. Better coordination of care, more patient-centered care, greater public awareness, increases in research on the disease mechanisms and better therapeutic options would be warmly welcomed by CRSwNP patients. Conclusions: This statement of the EUFOREA Patient Advisory Board on CRSwNP provides novel insights on the underestimation of the burden of CRSwNP and shortcomings of current care. Multiple recommendations made by the patients can underpin action plans for implementation of better care for CRSwNP among all physicians treating patients with this disabling disease.

Corrigendum: Patients Unmet Needs in Chronic Rhinosinusitis With Nasal Polyps Care: A Patient Advisory Board Statement of EUFOREA.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2021.761388.].

Hepatic sickling: an unusual cause of liver allograft dysfunction.

Orthotopic liver transplantation can be performed successfully in thalassemia. In this article, we describe a case of liver transplantation in a patient with sickle cell/beta-thalassemia complicated by liver sickling. Intrahepatic sickling must be considered in case of allograft dysfunction. This condition can easily be diagnosed by biochemical investigation and liver ultrasonography.

Early feeding after colorectal surgery. Preliminary results.

Thirty three patients were placed under early oral feeding after elective colorectal surgery. There were 15 male and 18 female patients, mean age: 52 years. Nasogastric tube was removed as soon as they were widely awake, or on the morning following the afternoon operations. Oral feeding was resumed 4 hours later, and the first meal consisted in a slight solid meal. There was no postoperative mortality or significant morbidity. Liquid and solid oral intakes were resumed 18 and 24 hours respectively after the operation. Tolerance was perfect in 22 patients (66%), good (slight complaints) in 16%, and was considered as fair or bad in the last six cases. Intestinal transit was observed after a median period of 2 days. Tube insertion rate was 12%. No adverse effect on the anastomoses was noted. Data from the literature confirm that early feeding is tolerable and safe after open colorectal surgery. More patients should be included in this protocol to take benefit of the physiological effects of early oral feeding.

Present status of laparoscopic splenectomy for hematologic diseases: certitudes and unresolved issues.

Laparoscopic splenectomy is considered to be the "gold-standard" treatment of benign hematologic diseases, with normal or slightly enlarged spleens. Laparoscopic treatment of malignant diseases and splenomegalies remains more controversial. The procedure requires a great surgeon's laparoscopic expertise, appropriate positioning of the patient and trocar insertion, and gentle and meticulous dissection of the spleen. The technique is feasible in 91% of the patients with a 0.9% operative mortality and a postoperative complications rate of 12%. When compared with open splenectomy in retrospective case-controlled studies, the laparoscopic approach includes a longer operative time and higher operative room costs. However, advantages include reduced postoperative hospital stay and faster return to normal activities. Despite scarce reported data, long-term hematologic cure rate seems to be equivalent in patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. The accuracy of laparoscopic exploration to detect all accessory spleens is however questioned, and residual postoperative accessory splenic tissues have been observed. Prospective randomized controlled trials comparing short- and long-term results of open and laparoscopic splenectomies are required to confirm definitely the role of laparoscopy in the management of hematologic disorders.

Recurrent postinfantile syncytial giant cell hepatitis after orthotopic liver transplantation.

Syncytial giant cell hepatitis is a severe form of hepatitis characterized by diffuse giant cell transformation of hepatocytes. The disease may evolve to chronic cholestatic cirrhosis necessitating liver transplantation. We report the case of an adult liver transplant recipient presenting with early recurrent disease without concomitant clinicobiochemical syndrome. Early recurrence of giant cell hepatitis after liver transplantation favors the hypothesis of a transmissible agent as the etiology of the disease. Routine follow-up liver biopsy is necessary in these cases in order to gain more information about the precise incidence and aggressivity of disease recurrence in the allograft.

[Belgian registry of thyroid cancer. Preliminary epidemiological characteristics revealed by a retrospective study (1988-1995). Belgian Thyroid Cancer Study Group]. / Le registre belge du cancer thyroïdien. Premières caractéristiques épidémiologiques révélées par une étude rétrospective (1988-1995). Belgian Thyroid Cancer Study Group.

The aim of a cancer registry is to study the incidence of cancer in a well-determined population and to allow epidemiological research to the setting up of diagnosis and therapeutic strategies. The Belgian Thyroid Cancer Study Group (BTCSG) was founded in 1990. In the present study we report data collected from 1988 to 1995 in 397 patients with a differentiated (papillary and follicular) thyroid carcinoma living in the french-speaking area of Belgium. The sex ratio female/male is 3.5 and the median ages at the diagnosis, is similar (45 yrs, 12-82) in both sexes. Seven cases of thyroid cancer were registered in young patients less than 18 yrs old. Thyroid carcinoma were associated with multinodular goiter in more than 50% cases. Cancer was bilateral in 17%. Papillary histological type accounts for 84% in our series while its diagnosis was established in 45% at early clinical stages (TO-T1). These observations could probably be related with 1) broader indications and more aggressive options for the surgical removal of diffuse multinodular goiter, 2) more sophisticated pathologic examinations that might have led to the detection of a greater incidence of occult carcinomas, incidentally discovered. Lymph nodes metastases were present at the time of diagnosis in 20%, especially in young patients. The risk for local and/or lateral recurrence or distant metastases is significantly related to the size of the tumor, histologically verified lymph node metastases and the values of the EORTC prognostic index (> or = 50) that additionally takes into account the differentiation of the tumor. Considering our short median follow-up time of 25 months, it is currently too early to define if the controversial attitude about the extent of surgery (total thyroidectomy plus I131 or individualized surgery) can also negatively influence the risk for recurrence. In our series, eight patients died of thyroid cancer.

[Arterialization of the portal vein associated with a portocaval shunt: long-term results of a controlled prospective study]. / Artérialisation du tronc porte associée à un shunt porto-cave: résultats à long terme d'une étude prospective contrôlée.

In order to evaluate the benefit of arterialization of the portal vein in conjunction with a therapeutic end-to-side porto-caval shunt, we started in December 1979 a prospective randomized study, comparing these two techniques in Child class A and B cirrhotic patients with a hepatopetal portal flow of at least 100 ml per min. Sixty-four patients have been included in the study: 33 underwent a porto-caval shunt (NART) and 31 were arterialized (ART). The two groups of patients were similar as regards clinical and hemodynamic parameters. The operative mortality was lower after arterialization, considering the whole group (ART: 6.5%, NART: 12%) and high risk patients (Child class B: ART: 0%, NART: 22%--emergency operation: ART: 0%, NART: 17%) but the differences were not statistically significant. Postoperative ascites was more frequent in arterialized patients (ART: 45%, NART: 18%; p = 0.02), with an increased need for reoperation (ART: 26%, NART: 6%; p less than 0.05). The mean follow-up period is 56.9 +/- 28.1 months (SD) for the 58 surviving patients. The five-year actuarial survival rate is 68% for ART patients and 60.6% for NART patients (NS). In child B patients the five-year actuarial survival rate is 75% in ART patients and 22% in NART patients (p less than 0.05). Actuarial estimation of arterialization patency--proved by angioscan--is 38% at five years. There were no significant differences in the incidences of postoperative and long-term encephalopathy and liver function between the two groups. In conclusion, arterialization of the portal vein in conjunction with a therapeutic end-to-side porto-caval shunt improved survival in high risk patients (Child class B), did not increase operative mortality in Child A and B patients, was followed by a higher incidence of postoperative ascites and did not decrease the incidence of long-term encephalopathy.

Effect of PGI2 and thromboxane antagonist on liver ischemic injury.

Thromboxane, prostacyclin and their ratio could play an important role in the ischemic liver injury. To study this hypothesis, thromboxane and prostacyclin were measured by RIA after incubation of liver tissues removed during and after an ischemia of 90 min in male Wistar rats. The thromboxane to prostacyclin ratio increases during this period. In order to examine if this change could influence the survival rate of animals submitted to the same period of ischemia, drugs able to reduce the relative predominance of thromboxane were infused. The survival rate was not modified by administration of Iloprost or Daltroban, the antagonist of the thromboxane receptors. By contrast, imidazole, an inhibitor of thromboxane synthetase, significantly increased the survival rate. The same result was obtained with the administration of Daltroban plus Iloprost, suggesting that the reduction of thromboxane action associated with the increase of PGI2 level reduces the ischemic injury.