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Colorectal cancer imposes significant economic burdens on society.

A systematic review of 37 studies highlights that colorectal cancer incurs substantial direct and indirect costs, primarily driven by direct medical expenses such as hospitalization, surgery, and chemotherapy. Face significant financial impacts are experienced by families, the health system, and broader society. The findings advocate for preventive measures and lifestyle modifications to alleviate this economic burden, along with expanded screening programs as a strategy for policymakers to impose cost limitations.

Journal Article by Jafari A, Hosseini FA and Jalali FS in Health Sci Rep

© 2024 The Author(s). Health Science Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

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Transrectal drainage tubes effectively reduce postendoscopic submucosal dissection complications

A multicenter randomized controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of transrectal drainage tubes (TDTS) in preventing postendoscopic submucosal dissection (PECS) in 224 patients. The results showed a significantly lower incidence of PECS in the TDT group (6.25%) compared to the non-TDT group (17.86%), with a relative risk of 0.350 (p = 0.008). Subgroup analyses indicated that TDTS were particularly effective in female patients, those with tumors smaller than 4 cm, left-sided lesions, and shorter procedure times.

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Journal Article by Liu J, Qi Z (…) Zhong Y et 8 al. in Am J Gastroenterol

Copyright © 2024 by The American College of Gastroenterology.

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Pancreas-guided technique enhances laparoscopic colon surgery efficiency

The pancreas-guided splenic flexure mobilization technique demonstrated significant benefits during laparoscopic left hemicolectomy compared to the classic approach. The mean surgical duration and intraoperative blood loss were notably lower in the pancreas-guided group (p < 0.01). Additionally, no retro-pancreatic space penetrations occurred in this group, contrasting with 4.3% in the classic group (p < 0.05). Although both techniques yielded similar postoperative outcomes in lymph nodes cleared and complication rates, the pancreas-guided approach proved safer and more effective.

Journal Article by He Z, Ren J (…) Diao D et 12 al. in Surg Endosc

© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

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Non-emergency EMS management strategies identified through stakeholder insights

A thematic analysis revealed three primary themes regarding non-emergency EMS management: the reality of EMS workloads, the need for clear direction in policy without a simple solution, and defining EMS’s future societal role. Participants proposed 16 policy suggestions, with 10 gaining broad support, including enhancing public health literacy, modifying the priority dispatch system, and fostering community care integration. This study underscores the necessity of achieving consensus on EMS’s evolving responsibilities.

Journal Article by Wilkinson-Stokes M, Yap C (…) Gerdtz M et 3 al. in BMJ Open

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

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Preoperative vcte effectively identifies high-risk patients post-surgery.

A meta-analysis of 13 studies indicates that preoperative vibration-controlled transient elastography (vcte) is valuable for predicting postoperative complications and recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. High vcte scores correlated with a significantly increased HCC recurrence rate (hazard ratio 2.14) and a notable risk of surgical complications (risk ratio 8.32). The study highlights specific cutoff values for vcte to enhance sensitivity (0.76) and specificity (0.85) in clinical settings.

Journal Article by Yu JH, Han JW (…) Kim MN et 9 al. in Clin Mol Hepatol

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Novel method offers effective repair for complex abdominal hernias

A novel technique using bilateral rectus muscle turning-over was developed for addressing large midline abdominal wall hernias. In a study of 22 patients, this method achieved significant improvements in quality of life (from 23 ± 13 to 47 ± 6, p = 0.0013) with only one case of hernia recurrence. No significant increase in intra-abdominal pressure was observed. Despite some complications, including infections in four cases, the procedure demonstrated safety and effectiveness in both acute and elective surgeries.

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Journal Article by Martis G, Laczik R (…) Damjanovich L et 2 al. in Acta Cir Bras

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Cutting of Inter sphincteric Space Outperforms Cutting Seton in Healing

In a study involving 72 patients with high anal fistula, cutting of the intersphincteric space (cois) significantly reduced wound healing time to 35.75 days compared to 55.69 days for cutting seton (cs) (p<0.001). Cois demonstrated superior surgical outcomes, including higher anal resting and maximum contractile pressures at three months post-operation, and a lower Wexner incontinence score (0.50 vs. 3.00, p<0.001). Both techniques showed similar low recurrence rates, highlighting cois as an effective treatment option.

Journal Article by Qin J, Wu Y (…) Sun Y et 5 al. in J Am Coll Surg

Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Surgeons.

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Comparable outcomes for ablation and lobectomy in thyroid cancer

A multi-center study involving 1,021 patients with solitary papillary thyroid microcarcinoma compared image-guided thermal ablation to lobectomy. Median follow-up of 96.5 months revealed no significant differences in disease progression or disease-free survival between groups (4.7% vs. 3.4% and 95.5% vs. 97.1%, respectively). However, the ablation group experienced significantly lower complication rates (0.7% vs. 5.2%), shorter hospitalization (0 vs. 4.0 days), quicker procedure times, reduced blood loss, and lower costs.

Comparative Study by Yan L, Li W (…) Luo Y et 7 al. in Int J Surg

Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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Chlorhexidine-alcohol outperforms iodine solutions in preventing surgical infections

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials demonstrated that chlorhexidine-alcohol significantly reduces the incidence of post-operative surgical site infections (SSIs) compared to aqueous/alcoholic iodine solutions (risk ratio 0.30). This effectiveness spans various surgical procedures, with specific RR values of 0.25 for general surgery, 0.47 for cesarean sections, and 0.47 for other operations like neurosurgery and orthopedics. Chlorhexidine-alcohol yielded consistent results across the examined studies.

Journal Article by Yang Q, Sun J (…) Rastogi S et 3 al. in Int J Surg

Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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Combined assessment of frailty and albumin enhances surgical risk prediction

The study revealed that the combined assessment of frailty, using the modified frailty index 5 (mfi-5), and hypoalbuminemia significantly improves surgical outcome predictions. Analyzing data from 9.8 million patients, researchers found that this combined metric outperformed each factor independently regarding morbidity and mortality risks. Specifically, hypoalbuminemia was prevalent in 18.6% of patients, emphasizing the importance of incorporating both frailty and serum albumin levels in preoperative assessments for optimal surgical planning and care.

Journal Article by Panayi AC, Knoedler S (…) Hundeshagen G et 5 al. in Int J Surg

Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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