Preoperative Frailty Predicts Postoperative Neurocognitive Disorders After Total Hip Joint Replacement Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Frailty is a reduced capacity to recover from a physiologically stressful event. It is well established that preoperative frailty is associated with poor postoperative outcomes, but it is unclear if this includes cognitive decline following anesthesia and surgery. This retrospective observational study was a secondary analysis of data from a previous study (the Anaesthesia, Cognition, Evaluation [ACE] study). We aimed to identify if preoperative frailty or prefrailty is associated with preoperative and postoperative neurocognitive disorders or postoperative cognitive dysfunction. METHODS: The ACE study enrolled 300 participants aged ≥60 scheduled for elective total hip joint replacement and who underwent a full neuropsychological assessment at baseline and 3 and 12 months postoperatively. We applied patient data to 2 frailty models; both were based on an accumulation of deficits score: the reported Edmonton frail scale (REFS) and the comprehensive geriatric assessment-frailty index (CGA-FI) based on the comprehensive geriatric assessment. We calculated these 2 scores using baseline data collected from the medical history, demographic and clinical data as well as self-reported questionnaires. Some items on the REFS (3 of 18 or 17%) and the CGA-FI (37 of 51 or 27%) did not have an equivalent item in the ACE data. RESULTS: The mean age (standard deviation [SD]) was 70.1 years (6.6) with more women (197 [66%]). Using the REFS model, 40 of 300 (13.3%) patients were classified as vulnerable, mild, or moderately frail. Using the CGA-FI model, 69 of 300 (23%) were classified as intermediate or high frailty. The REFS and the CGA-FI were strongly correlated (r = 0.75; P < .01) with 34 of 300 (11%) meeting criteria for frailty by both the REFS and the CGA-FI.Frailty or prefrailty was associated with cognitive decline at 3 and 12 months using the REFS (odds ratio [OR], 1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-2.23 and OR, 2.00, 95% CI, 1.26-3.17, respectively) after adjusting for baseline mini-mental state examination (MMSE), smoking, hypertension, diabetes, history of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and estimated intelligence quotient (IQ). Age did not modify this association. After adjusting for multiple comparisons, 3-month cognitive decline was no longer significantly associated with baseline frailty. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective analysis demonstrates an association between baseline frailty and postoperative neurocognitive disorders, particularly using the more extensive REFS scoring method. This supports preoperative screening for frailty to risk-stratify patients, and identify and implement preventive strategies and to improve postoperative outcomes for older individuals.

Predictors and Survival Impact of False-Negative Sentinel Nodes in Melanoma.

BACKGROUND: The status of the sentinel lymph node in melanoma is an important prognostic factor. The clinical predictors and implications of false-negative (FN) biopsy remain debatable. METHODS: We compared patients with positive sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNB) [true positive (TP)] and negative SNB with and without regional recurrence [FN, true negative (TN)] from our prospective institutional database. RESULTS: Among 2986 patients (84 FN, 494 TP, and 2408 TN; median follow-up 93 months), the incidence of FN-SNB was 2.8%. While calculated FN rate was 14.5% [84 FN/(494 TP + 84 FN) × 100], when we accounted for local/in-transit recurrence (LITR) this rate was 8.5% [46 FN/(494 TP + 46 FN) × 100 %]. On multivariate analysis, male gender (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.6, p = 0.018), head/neck primaries (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.3-4.8, p < 0.006), and LITR (OR 3.5, 95% CI 2.1-5.8, p < 0.001) were associated with FN-SNB. Melanoma-specific survival (MSS) for the FN group was similar to the TP group at 5 years (68 vs. 73%, p = 0.539). However, MSS declined more for the FN group with a longer follow up and was significantly worse at 10 years (44 vs. 64%, p < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, FN-SNB was a significant predictor of worse MSS in melanomas <4 mm in Breslow thickness (HR 1.6; 95% CI 1.1-2.5, p = 0.021). CONCLUSIONS: Male gender, LITR, and head and neck tumors were associated with FN-SNB. FN-SNB was an independent predictor of worse MSS in melanomas <4 mm in thickness, but this survival difference did not become apparent until after 5 years of follow-up.

Sedation with ketamine and fentanyl combination improves patient outcomes in intensive care units.

Psychological manifestations such as depression and suicidal ideation are commonly caused by poorly controlled pain, anxiety, and sleep deprivation in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. We are concerned that previous analgesic and sedative techniques administered as single-medication approaches are outdated and inadequate. It is imperative that ICU practitioners are knowledgeable in multimodal approaches to pain and sedation in high acuity settings. We have shown that appropriate combinations of ketamine and fentanyl are effective, and if further supplementation is needed, we utilize additional pharmacological agents in low doses and regional techniques that ultimately lower the overall opioid consumption. We acknowledge that a variety of medication supplementations tailored to the patient's clinical needs and nature of surgery improves a patient's outcome in ICU and overall quality of life.

Association of Surgical Treatment, Systemic Therapy, and Survival in Patients With Abdominal Visceral Melanoma Metastases, 1965-2014: Relevance of Surgical Cure in the Era of Modern Systemic Therapy.

Importance: Systemic therapy for metastatic melanoma has evolved rapidly during the last decade, and patient treatment has become more complex. Objective: To evaluate the survival benefit achieved through surgical resection of melanoma metastatic to the abdominal viscera in patients treated in the modern treatment environment. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective review of the institutional melanoma database from the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence St Johns Health Center, a tertiary-level melanoma referral center, included 1623 patients with melanoma diagnosed as having potentially resectable abdominal metastases before (1969-2003) and after (2004-2014) advances in systemic therapy. Main Outcomes and Measures: Overall survival (OS). Results: Of the 1623 patients identified in the database with abdominal melanoma metastases, 1097 were men (67.6%), and the mean (SD) age was 54.6 (14.6) years. Of the patients with metastatic melanoma, 1623 (320 [19.7%] in the 2004-2014 period) had abdominal metastases, including 336 (20.7%) with metastases in the gastrointestinal tract, 697 (42.9%) in the liver, 138 (8.5%) in the adrenal glands, 38 (2.3%) in the pancreas, 109 (6.7%) in the spleen, and 305 (18.8%) with multiple sites. Median OS was superior in surgical (n = 392; 18.0 months) vs nonsurgical (n = 1231; 7.0 months) patients (P < .001). The most favorable 1-year and 2-year OS was seen after surgery for gastrointestinal tract (52% and 41%) and liver (51% and 38%) metastases, respectively. Multivariable analysis found increasing age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00-1.01; P = .02) and the presence of ulceration (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.01-1.45; P = .04) were associated with a worse OS. Alternatively, treatment with metastasectomy (HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.46-0.74; P < .001) and metastases involving the gastrointestinal tract (HR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.48-0.87; P = .004) were associated with a better OS. The systemic treatment era did not significantly affect outcomes (HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.67-1.02; P = .15). Overall, patients with gastrointestinal tract metastases undergoing complete, curative resection derived the greatest benefit, with a median OS of 64 months. Conclusions and Relevance: To our knowledge, this series is the largest single-institution experience with abdominal melanoma metastases, demonstrating that surgical resection remains an important treatment consideration even in the systemic treatment era.