Differentiation of renal masses with multi-parametric MRI: the de Silva St George classification scheme.

PURPOSE: To develop a system for multi-parametric MRI to differentiate benign from malignant solid renal masses and assess its accuracy compared to the gold standard of histopathological diagnosis. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent 3 Tesla mpMRI for further assessment of small renal tumours with specific scanning and reporting protocol incorporating T2 HASTE signal intensity, contrast enhancement ratios, apparent diffusion coefficient and presence of microscopic/macroscopic fat. All MRIs were reported prior to comparison with histopathologic diagnosis and a reporting scheme was developed. 2 × 2 contingency table analysis (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV)), Fisher Exact test were used to assess the association between suspicion of malignancy on mpMRI and histopathology, and descriptive statistics were performed. RESULTS: 67 patients were included over a 5-year period with a total of 75 renal masses. 70 masses were confirmed on histopathology (five had pathognomonic findings for angiomyolipomas; biopsy was therefore considered unethical, so these were included without histopathology). Three patients were excluded due to a non-diagnostic result, non-standardised imaging and one found to be an organising haematoma rather than a mass. Therefore 72 cases were included in analysis (in 64 patients, with seven patients having multiple tumours). Unless otherwise specified, all further statistics refer to individual tumours rather than patients. 52 (72.2%) were deemed 'suspicious or malignant' and 20 (27.8%) were deemed 'benign' on mpMRI. 51 cases (70.8%) had renal cell carcinoma confirmed. The sensitivity, NPV, specificity and PPV for MRI for detecting malignancy were 96.1%, 90%, 85.7% and 94.2% respectively, Fisher's exact test demonstrated p < 0.0001 for the association between suspicion of malignancy on MRI and histopathology. CONCLUSION: The de Silva St George classification scheme performed well in differentiating benign from malignant solid renal masses, and may be useful in predicting the likelihood of malignancy to determine the need for biopsy/excision. Further validation is required before this reporting system can  be recommended for clinical use.

Does the introduction of pre-operative cardiopulmonary exercise testing in radical cystectomy delay or alter surgical care?

Objectives: To assess if the introduction of routine pre-operative cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in radical cystectomy has delayed surgical intervention. Materials and Methods: A prospective database of patients undergoing radical cystectomy in our local health network was maintained. A retrospective analysis of two years (2018-2020) included 38 patients. Of these, 15 patients had CPET pre-operatively, and a direct comparison was performed. Results: The mean time from diagnosis to cystectomy was 95 days in patients who did not have CPET compared to 110 days for those who did (p = 0.32), with comparable rates of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) (62.5% and 64.29%). Average length of stay was 18.6 days compared with 13.87 (p = 0.16), favouring the CPET group. The CPET group also had a lower readmission rate within 30 days (13.33% compared with 21.05%, p = 0.35). Cause-specific mortality within 90 days was 10.2% and within the study timeframe was 36.84% (estimated 5-year mortality rate 43-65%). Within the CPET group, eight had an anaerobic threshold (AT) of <11 ml/kg/min (range 6.3-10.5): Of these, 50% had Clavien-Dindo complications of grade 2 or higher and the 90-day mortality rate was 37.5% (cf. 0% in those with AT > 11 ml/kg/min in this series). Conclusion: CPET is a valuable risk evaluation tool. This study suggested that CPET contributed to a minor non-significant delay to surgery, however was associated with reduced length of stay and readmission rates, and was a valuable risk evaluation tool. We found that CPET AT <11 ml/kg/min is associated with higher rates of patient morbidity and perioperative mortality.

Full medical program fees and medical student career intention.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the future career preferences of Commonwealth-supported place (CSP) and full-fee paying (FFP) medical students in Australia. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Data from the Medical Schools Outcomes Database and Longitudinal Tracking (MSOD) Project exit questionnaire for CSP and FFP students who graduated between 2008 and 2011 were analysed using logistic regression. The influence of age, sex, marital status, rural background and fee-paying status on future career preference were explored. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Future career preference (location and specialty) at graduation. RESULTS: Compared with CSP students, domestic FFP students were more likely to nominate as their first preference both urban locations (odds ratio [OR], 5.58; 95% CI, 2.04-15.26; P < 0.001) and higher-income specialties (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.07-1.75; P < 0.05), and less likely to nominate as their first preference in-need specialties (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.52-1.00; P < 0.05), specifically general practice (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.52-0.99; P < 0.05). There was a significant domestic FFP student by marital status interaction effect, such that domestic FFP students who were married or partnered on exit from medical school were more likely to prefer a rural location (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.44-0.95; P < 0.05). Also, students who were married or partnered were less likely to select a one of the higher-income specialties as their first preference (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.64-0.92; P < 0.01). A rural background increased preferences for rural location (OR, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.15-0.22; P < 0.001) and in-need specialties (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.04-1.57; P < 0.05), and being older on entry to medical school also increased preferences for rural location (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.95-0.98; P < 0.001) and in-need specialties (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.04; P < 0.01). International FFP students were more likely to prefer urban practice (OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.19-2.72; P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Domestic FFP graduates are less likely to prefer careers in rural locations and in lower-paid and in-need specialties, particularly general practice. Current workforce implications might be minor, but if fees for CSP students increase or more FFP places become available, potential impacts on workforce distribution will need to be considered.