INTRODUCTIONThis study aimed to investigate differences in the complication rate and postoperative pain score between single and multilevel surgery performed on patients with obstructive sleep apnoea.

MATERIALS AND METHODSA retrospective analysis was performed on patients with obstructive sleep apnoea who underwent surgery in a tertiary referral centre over 3 years. Patients who underwent single-level nasal, palatal or tongue surgery were compared with patients who underwent concurrent multilevel surgery of 2 or 3 levels. Complications and the postoperative Visual Analogue Scale pain score were recorded and the outcomes between single and multilevel groups were compared.

RESULTSThe overall complication rate for patients was 12.6%, 6.7% if only patients requiring intervention were considered. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for complication rate for patients undergoing multilevel surgery and single-level surgery was 2.76. It was statistically significant (=0.053) after adjusting for confounders. There was more pain in patients who underwent multilevel surgery than in the single-level surgery group.

CONCLUSIONConcurrent multilevel surgery is a feasible option in patients with multilevel obstruction, especially if they are undergoing palate and tongue surgery, nose and palate surgery or nose and tongue surgery. There may be more complications, though it is not statistically significant. Further studies are required to investigate the differences between single-level nasal surgery and 3-level multilevel surgery. More patients undergoing multilevel surgery than single-level surgery experienced pain. Multilevel surgery patients should have their analgesia reviewed regularly and titrated accordingly.

Humans ; Pain Measurement ; Pain, Postoperative ; Retrospective Studies ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; complications ; surgery ; Surgical Procedures, Operative

Purpose: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been reported to predict adverse survival outcomes among patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). This study evaluates the prognostic value of NLR among patients with obstructing CRC who successfully underwent stenting before curative surgery. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent stenting before surgery. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, perioperative outcomes, recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. NLR was calculated from the differential white blood cell counts at least 4 days after successful stenting, before elective surgery. Optimal cutoff to dichotomize NLR was obtained by maximizing log-rank test statistic with recursive partitioning of KaplanMeier RFS and OS curves. The optimal cutoff for high NLR was ≥ 5 at presentation before stenting, and ≥ 4 after stenting. Results: Fifty-seven patients with localized obstructing CRC underwent successful endoscopic stenting before curative surgery. High NLR was associated with lymphovascular invasion (P = 0.006) and apical lymph node involvement (P = 0.034). Major perioperative complication(s) (hazard ratio [HR], 11.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.49 to 51.56; P < 0.01) and high NLR (HR, 3.69; 95% CI, 1.46 to 9.35; P < 0.01) negatively impacted OS on univariate and multivariate analyses. High NLR negatively impacted RFS on univariate analysis (HR, 2.91; 95% CI, 1.29 to 6.60; P = 0.01). Conclusion NLR of ≥ 4 after stenting is an independent prognostic factor among patients with obstructing localized CRC who are successfully decompressed by endoscopic stenting before curative surgery.

Purpose: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been reported to predict adverse survival outcomes among patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). This study evaluates the prognostic value of NLR among patients with obstructing CRC who successfully underwent stenting before curative surgery. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent stenting before surgery. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, perioperative outcomes, recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. NLR was calculated from the differential white blood cell counts at least 4 days after successful stenting, before elective surgery. Optimal cutoff to dichotomize NLR was obtained by maximizing log-rank test statistic with recursive partitioning of KaplanMeier RFS and OS curves. The optimal cutoff for high NLR was ≥ 5 at presentation before stenting, and ≥ 4 after stenting. Results: Fifty-seven patients with localized obstructing CRC underwent successful endoscopic stenting before curative surgery. High NLR was associated with lymphovascular invasion (P = 0.006) and apical lymph node involvement (P = 0.034). Major perioperative complication(s) (hazard ratio [HR], 11.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.49 to 51.56; P < 0.01) and high NLR (HR, 3.69; 95% CI, 1.46 to 9.35; P < 0.01) negatively impacted OS on univariate and multivariate analyses. High NLR negatively impacted RFS on univariate analysis (HR, 2.91; 95% CI, 1.29 to 6.60; P = 0.01). Conclusion NLR of ≥ 4 after stenting is an independent prognostic factor among patients with obstructing localized CRC who are successfully decompressed by endoscopic stenting before curative surgery.

INTRODUCTION: There is limited literature on clinical outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in Asian dialysis patients. We evaluated the angiographic characteristics and clinical outcomes of dialysis patients treated with PCI in an Asian society. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed of 274 dialysis patients who underwent PCI in a tertiary care institution from January 2007 to December 2012. Data on clinical and angiographic characteristics was collected. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (MACE), defined as a composite of cardiac death, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke at two years. RESULTS: 274 patients (65.0% male, median age 62.0 years) with 336 lesions (81.8% Type B2) were treated. 431 stents (35.0% drug-eluting stents) with a mean diameter of 2.96 mm and mean length of 21.30 mm were implanted. The MACE rate was 55.8% (n = 153) at two years, from death (36.5%) and AMI (35.0%). In multivariable analysis, age and diabetes mellitus were significant predictors of both mortality (odds ratio [OR] 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-1.12, p < 0.001; OR 2.65, 95% CI 1.46-4.82, p = 0.001, respectively) and MACE (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.03-1.08, p < 0.001; OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.07-3.15, p = 0.027, respectively). Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.95-0.99, p = 0.006) was a significant predictor of mortality but not MACE. CONCLUSION Asian dialysis patients who underwent PCI had a two-year MACE rate of 55.8% due to death and AMI. Age, LVEF and diabetes mellitus were significant predictors of mortality at two years.