Preoperative frailty assessment in older patients with colorectal cancer: use of clinical and radiological tool.

PURPOSE: The Memorial Sloan Kattering Frailty Index (MSK-FI) and the Skeletal Muscle Index (SMI) have recently gained attention as markers of frailty and decreased physiologic reserve, and are promising as predictors of adverse postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing oncologic surgery. The objective of this study was to establish the prognostic accuracy of these indexes in a cohort of patients with colorectal cancer subjected to surgical intervention. METHODS: We performed an observational study including all patients older than 60 years, subjected to colorectal cancer surgery between January 2010 and May 2020, and stratified our cohort based on the presence of frailty, as defined by MSK-FI ≥ 3. Computed tomography was used to calculate SMI, using a standardized institutional protocol. A multivariable analysis was used to study the association between these novel indexes with adverse postoperative outcomes in our cohort. RESULTS: A total of 216 patients were included. Among these, 56 (26%) qualified as frail and 132 (62%) had a low SMI. On multivariable analysis (adjusted by patient and intraoperative characteristics), frailty was associated with increased risk of having a major postoperative complication (OR 29.78, 95%CI 10.36-85.71) and increased admission to the intensive care unit (OR 4.99, 95%CI 1.55-16.06), while both frailty and low SMI were associated with prolonged length of stay (OR 11.22, 95%CI 8.91-13.53 and OR 0.14, 95% CI 0.06-0.20, respectively). CONCLUSION: MSK-FI ≥ 3 and low SMI are associated with adverse postoperative outcomes in elderly patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery. Implementing this practical tool in routine clinical practice, may help identify patients that would benefit from surgical prehabilitation and preoperative optimization to improve outcomes.

The Frailty Based on the Memorial Sloan Kettering Frailty Index for Prediction of Surgical Outcome in Advance Epithelial Ovarian Cancer-Experience of a Single Center in Mexico.

Retrospective impact evaluation of frailty as measured by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Frailty Index (MSK-FI) on outcomes in older women surgically treated for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Women ≥ 60 years with stage IIIC/IV EOC who underwent primary debulking surgery (PDS) or interval debulking surgery (IDS) were included. Medical records were reviewed for patients' characteristics and outcomes. We retrospectively applied the MSK-FI which included 10 comorbidities and functional assessment that were extracted from medical records. The MSK-FI ranges from 0 to 11; a score of ≥ 3 was considered frail. Associations were assessed using logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression. We identified 79 patients treated with PDS (n = 36, 45.5%) or IDS (n = 43, 54.4%) with complete data. The prevalence of frailty based on MSK-FI was 25%. Almost half of the frail patients (47.3%) were admitted to the ICU compared to 16% of non-frail patients (p = 0.006). In univariable analysis, the MSK-FI was associated with postoperative complications [OR 1.57 (95% CI 1.04-2.37), p = 0.03] and ICU admission [OR 2.05 (95% CI 1.30-3.23), p = 0.002], but not with readmission rate [OR 1.29 (95% CI 0.65-2.59), p = 0.5], postoperative mortality [OR 1.02 (95% CI 0.51-2.00), p = 0.9], and hospital stay [ß 0.60 (95% CI - 1.19-2.41)]. In multivariable analysis, the frailty index was independently associated with postoperative complications [OR 1.54 (95% CI 1.02-2.34), p = 0.04] and ICU admissions [OR 1.97 (95% CI 1.23-3.16), p = 0.004]. Frailty, based on the Memorial Sloan Kettering Frailty Index, is associated with adverse postoperative outcomes in older women with advanced ovarian cancer, suggesting that MSK-FI can improve the predictive ability of current surgical assessment tools.

Spontaneous mediastinal emphysema in a non-intubated patient with COVID-19 related pneumonia: a case report.

Spontaneous mediastinal emphysema (ME) is a rare clinical entity often associated with sudden changes in intrathoracic pressures. The presumed pathophysiological mechanism is diffuse alveolar injury leading to alveolar rupture and air leak. Inflammatory alterations installed over the airway following SARS-CoV-2 infection may reduce its distensibility and compliance conferring an increased risk of developing the complication, even in the absence of mechanical ventilation. However, the exact mechanism by which ME occurs in SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia is unknown. We report a case of a 58-year-old man that presented to the emergency department with dyspnea, subcutaneous emphysema of the neck and high clinical suspicion of COVID-19 infection. There was no smoking history and no lung comorbidities. The patient was admitted into a monitored unit and received management accordingly (having never required mechanical intubation). During chest radiological evaluation ME was found and ultimately resolved with noninvasive maneuvers. We want to emphasize the importance of this adverse event despite their non-smoking history and the exclusion of positive pressure ventilation. Given the recent increase in the number of patients with COVID-19 related pneumonia, the presence of pneumomediastinum in patients with COVID-19 infection should alert the clinician to monitor the patients carefully for possible worsening of disease, especially when lung lesions are severe.

Exenteración pélvica para cáncer de recto localmente avanzado y recurrente: resultados a largo plazo y factores pronósticos.

OBJETIVO: El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar los resultados perioperatorios y a largo plazo de los pacientes sometidos a exenteración pélvica para cáncer de recto en un centro de referencia en la Ciudad de México. MÉTODO: Se incluyeron todos los pacientes que se sometieron a exenteración pélvica por cáncer de recto entre 1995 y 2019. Se analizaron variables demográficas, clínicas, quirúrgicas y patológicas. RESULTADOS: Se incluyeron 18 pacientes operados por cáncer de recto (16 localmente avanzados y 2 recurrentes). La relación hombre: mujer fue de 1:3.5. La morbilidad mayor fue del 27.7%. El sangrado intraoperatorio ≥ 1000 ml se asoció con morbilidad (80 vs. 20%; p = 0,029) y mortalidad posoperatoria (100 vs. 0; p = 0.043). La mediana de sobrevida global fue 102 meses. Las sobrevidas global y libre de enfermedad a los 5 años fueron del 44.4% y el 38.8%, respectivamente. La invasión linfovascular fue un factor de mal pronóstico para sobrevida libre de enfermedad (p = 0.017). CONCLUSIONES: La exenteración pélvica para el cáncer de recto es un procedimiento quirúrgico con altas morbilidad y mortalidad. La invasión linfovascular es un factor de mal pronóstico para la sobrevida libre de enfermedad. INTRODUCTION: Pelvic exenteration is a radical treatment for locally advanced and recurrent pelvic tumors. The aim of this study was to analyze the perioperative and long-term outcomes of patients undergoing pelvic exenteration for rectal cancer at a referral center in Mexico City. METHOD: We included all patients who underwent pelvic exenteration due to rectal cancer between 1995 and 2019. Demographic, clinical, surgical and pathological variables were analyzed. RESULTS: 18 patients were included (16 locally advanced and 2 recurrent). The male-female ratio was 1:3.5. The highest morbidity was 27.7%. Intraoperative bleeding ≥ 1000 ml was associated with postoperative morbidity (80 vs. 20%; p = 0.029) and mortality (100 vs. 0; p = 0.043). The median overall survival was 102 months. Overall survival and disease free survival at 5 years after exenteration were 44.4% and 38.8%, respectively. Lymphovascular invasion of the tumor was a poor prognostic factor for disease free survival (p = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Pelvic exenteration for rectal cancer is a surgical procedure with high morbidity and mortality. Lymphovascular invasion is a poor prognostic factor for disease-free survival.