Image-Guided Intraoperative Assessment of Surgical Margins in Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Cancer: A Diagnostic Test Accuracy Review.

(1) Background: The assessment of resection margins during surgery of oral cavity squamous cell cancer (OCSCC) dramatically impacts the prognosis of the patient as well as the need for adjuvant treatment in the future. Currently there is an unmet need to improve OCSCC surgical margins which appear to be involved in around 45% cases. Intraoperative imaging techniques, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and intraoral ultrasound (ioUS), have emerged as promising tools in guiding surgical resection, although the number of studies available on this subject is still low. The aim of this diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) review is to investigate the accuracy of intraoperative imaging in the assessment of OCSCC margins. (2) Methods: By using the Cochrane-supported platform Review Manager version 5.4, a systematic search was performed on the online databases MEDLINE-EMBASE-CENTRAL using the keywords "oral cavity cancer, squamous cell carcinoma, tongue cancer, surgical margins, magnetic resonance imaging, intraoperative, intra-oral ultrasound". (3) Results: Ten papers were identified for full-text analysis. The negative predictive value (cutoff < 5 mm) for ioUS ranged from 0.55 to 0.91, that of MRI ranged from 0.5 to 0.91; accuracy analysis performed on four selected studies showed a sensitivity ranging from 0.07 to 0.75 and specificity ranging from 0.81 to 1. Image guidance allowed for a mean improvement in free margin resection of 35%. (4) Conclusions: IoUS shows comparable accuracy to that of ex vivo MRI for the assessment of close and involved surgical margins, and should be preferred as the more affordable and reproducible technique. Both techniques showed higher diagnostic yield if applied to early OCSCC (T1-T2 stages), and when histology is favorable.

Radiomics-based machine learning for the diagnosis of lymph node metastases in patients with head and neck cancer: Systematic review.

Machine learning (ML) is increasingly used to detect lymph node (LN) metastases in head and neck (H&N) carcinoma. We systematically reviewed the literature on radiomic-based ML for the detection of pathological LNs in H&N cancer. A systematic review was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library. Baseline study characteristics and methodological quality items (modeling, performance evaluation, clinical utility, and transparency items) were extracted and evaluated. The qualitative synthesis is presented using descriptive statistics. Seven studies were included in this study. Overall, the methodological quality items were generally favorable for modeling (57% of studies). The studies were mostly unsuccessful in terms of transparency (85.7%), evaluation of clinical utility (71.3%), and assessment of generalizability employing independent or external validation (72.5%). ML may be able to predict LN metastases in H&N cancer. Further studies are warranted to improve the generalizability assessment, clinical utility evaluation, and transparency items.

Mechanical Circulatory Support as a Bridge to Definitive Treatment in Post-Infarction Ventricular Septal Rupture.

Ventricular septal rupture (VSR) represents a rare complication of acute myocardial infarction, often presenting with cardiogenic shock and associated with high in-hospital mortality despite prompt intervention. Although immediate surgery is recommended for patients who cannot be effectively stabilized, the ideal timing of intervention remains controversial. Mechanical circulatory support (MCS) may allow hemodynamic stabilization and delay definitive treatment even in critical patients. However, the interactions between MCS and VSR pathophysiology as well as potentially related adverse effects remain unclear. A systematic review was performed, from 2000 onward, to identify reports describing MCS types, effects, complications, and outcomes in the pre-operative VSR-related setting. One hundred eleven studies (2,440 patients) were included. Most patients had well-known negative predictors (e.g., cardiogenic shock, inferior infarction). Almost all patients had intra-aortic balloon pumps, with additional MCS adopted in 129 patients (77.5% being venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). Mean MCS bridging time was 6 days (range: 0 to 23 days). In-hospital mortality was 50.4%, with the lowest mortality rate in the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation group (29.2%). MCS may enhance hemodynamic stabilization and delayed VSR treatment. However, the actual effects and interaction of the MCS-VSR association should be carefully assessed to avoid further complications or incorrect MCS-VSR coupling.

Lepra urbana: un llamado de atención / Urban leprosy: call for attention

Se presenta una paciente de sexo femenino de 16 años de edad, oriunda de Capital Federal y residente en esta ciudad desde su nacimiento, que consulta por la presencia de nódulos eritemato-violáceos localizados principalmente en cara anterior de piernas y muslos, sin otro compromiso cutáneo, de mucosas o faneras. El diagnóstico final fue de lepra lepromatosa en reacción: eritenma nudoso leproso (ENL). La paciente tenía 2 tíos, un primo y una abuela, todos residentes en Capital Federal, afectados de lepra. Con este motivo, se discute un nuevo fenómeno epidemiológico que es la Lepra Urbana y la importancia de su consideración en el diagnóstico y tratamiento precoz de la enfermedad, sin esperar la presencia de estigmas crónicos

Lepra urbana: un llamado de atención / Urban leprosy: call for attention

Se presenta una paciente de sexo femenino de 16 años de edad, oriunda de Capital Federal y residente en esta ciudad desde su nacimiento, que consulta por la presencia de nódulos eritemato-violáceos localizados principalmente en cara anterior de piernas y muslos, sin otro compromiso cutáneo, de mucosas o faneras. El diagnóstico final fue de lepra lepromatosa en reacción: eritenma nudoso leproso (ENL). La paciente tenía 2 tíos, un primo y una abuela, todos residentes en Capital Federal, afectados de lepra. Con este motivo, se discute un nuevo fenómeno epidemiológico que es la Lepra Urbana y la importancia de su consideración en el diagnóstico y tratamiento precoz de la enfermedad, sin esperar la presencia de estigmas crónicos (AU)

Os pressupostos teóricos em fonoudiologia e sua relaçäo com a prática clínica / Relation between the theoretical speech therapy graduation and the clinical practice

O presente trabalho abordou a questäo da relaçäo entre a formaçäo profissional do fonoaudiólogo enquanto conhecimento teórico e experiências vividas, e sua atuaçäo na prática clínica. É feito um estudo das representaçöes existentes no discurso desses profissionais acerca do tema referido, tencionando conhecer a representaçäo que eles têm de seu contexto terapêutico, desde sua formaçäo até a atuaçäo clínica em si. Buscou-se tomar contato com momentos dessa realidade construída num processo dinâmico dentro da relaçäo entre a teoria e prática. Foram entrevistados três fonoaudiólogos que indicavam um aprofundamento maior em determinada concepçäo teórica (Behaviorismo, Construtivismo e Sócio-Construtivismo), que sugeria ser o fio condutor de sua atuaçäo clínica. O material empírico coletado foi trabalhado de maneira interpretativa, numa análise qualitativa vinculada à teoria das representaçöes sociais. Tal análise permitiu que chegássemos à consideraçöes sobre o processo de construçäo de um identidade terapêutica, captando o árduo percurso na formaçäo dos conhecimentos teórico, prático e do outro, evidenciados nas representaçöes sociais que o terapeuta faz de seu mundo. Rompendo com o caráter imediatista da relaçäo teoria-prática, pudemos abordar a questäo sob outra perspectiva, propiciando ao leitor subsídios para uma reflexäo mais crítica