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Background and Aims Despite established screening guidelines, many Asian immigrants remain unscreened. Furthermore, those with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) are not linked to care citing multiple barriers. The objective of this study was to determine the role of our community‐based hepatitis B virus (HBV) campaign on HBV screening and the success of linkage to care (LTC) efforts. Methods Asian immigrants from the New Jersey and New York metropolitan areas were screened for HBV from 2009 to 2019. We started to collect LTC data starting in 2015, and those found to be positive were followed up. In 2017, because of low LTC rates, nurse navigators were hired to aid in the LTC process. Those excluded from the LTC process included those who were already linked to care, declined, and/or had moved or passed away. Results Total of 13,566 participants were screened from 2009 to 2019, of which, the results for 13,466 were available. Of these, 372 (2.7%) were found to have positive HBV status. Approximately 49.3% were female and 50.1% were male, and the rest were of unknown gender. A total of 1191 (10.0%) participants were found to be HBV negative but required vaccination. When we started to track LTC, we found 195 participants that were eligible for LTC between 2015 and 2017 after the exclusion criteria were applied. It was found that only 33.8% were successfully linked to care in that time period. After hiring nurse navigators, we saw LTC rates increase to 85.7% in 2018 and to 89.7% in 2019. Conclusion HBV community screening initiatives are imperative to increase screening rates in the Asian immigrant population. We were also able to demonstrate that nurse navigators can successfully help increase LTC rates. Our HBV community screening model can address issues with barriers to care including lack of access in comparable populations.

High-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is associated with an increased risk of metastases. The role of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy in these patients remains unclear. To address this uncertainty, we collected clinical data on six patients with clinical N0 high-risk SCC that underwent SLN biopsy between 1999 and 2006 and performed a literature review of SLN procedures for SCC to study the utility of SLN biopsy. There were no positive SLN identified among six cases and there was one local and one distant recurrence on follow-up. Literature review identified 130 reported cases of SLN biopsy for SCC. The SLN positivity rate was 14.1%, 10.1%, and 18.6%; false negative rate was 15.4%, 0%, and 22.2%; and the negative predictive value was 97.8%, 100%, and 95.2% for all sites, head/neck, and truncal/extremity sites, respectively. SLN biopsy remains an investigational staging tool in clinically node-negative high-risk SCC patients. The higher false negative rate and lower negative predictive value among SCC of the trunk/extremity compared to SCC of the head/neck sites suggests a more cautious approach when treating patients with the former. Given the paucity of long-term follow up, an emphasis is placed upon the need for close surveillance regardless of SLN status.

This prospective cohort study sought to identify predictors of functional decline in patients aged 65 years or older who underwent major, nonemergent abdominal or thoracic surgery in our tertiary hospital from 2006 to 2008. We used the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire–Disability Index (HAQ-DI) to evaluate functional decline; a 0.1 or greater increase was used to indicate a clinically significant decline. The preoperative Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) and a physical function score (PFS), assessing gait speed, grip strength, balance, and standing speed, were evaluated as predictors of decline. We enrolled 215 patients (71.2 ± 5.2 years; 56.7% female); 204 completed follow-up HAQ assessments (71.1 ± 5.3 years; 57.8% female). A significant number of patients had functional decline out to 1 year. Postoperative HAQ-DI increases of 0.1 or greater occurred in 45.3 per cent at 1 month, 30.1 per cent at 3 months, and 28.3 per cent at 1 year. Pre-operative DASI and PFS scores were not predictors of functional decline. Male sex at 1 month (odds ratio [OR], 3.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.41 to 6.85); American Society of Anesthesiologists class (OR, 3.41; 95% CI, 1.31 to 8.86), smoking (OR, 3.15; 95% CI, 1.27 to 7.85), and length of stay (OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.16) at 3 months; and cancer diagnosis at 1 year (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.14 to 5.96) were associated with functional decline.

Low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) face a large burden of gastrointestinal diseases that benefit from prompt endoscopic diagnosis and treatment. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of gross rectal bleeding among adults in Sierra Leone. A cluster randomised, cross-sectional household survey using the SOSAS tool was undertaken in Sierra Leone. 75 clusters of 25 households with two randomly selected respondents in each were sampled to estimate the prevalence of and disability from rectal bleeding. Barriers to care were also assessed. 3645 individuals responded to the survery, 15 with rectal bleeding. Nine responders (64%) had been bleeding for more than a year. The prevalence of rectal bleeding was 412 per 100 000 people. In view of these findings, an estimated 24 604 individuals with rectal bleeding are in need of evaluation in Sierra Leone. Eight (53%) of the 15 people with rectal bleeding sought care from a traditional healer. If medical care was not sought, the most common reason was absence of financial resources (ten people; 77%), followed by no capable facility availability (two; 15%), and inability to leave work or family for the time needed (one; 8%). Seven (54%) of those with rectal bleeding reported some form of disability, including five (39%) that had bleeding that prevented usual work. The high prevalence of rectal bleeding identified in Sierra Leone represents a major unmet health-care need. This study did not examine the cause of bleeding. However, the high prevalence, chronicity, and disability among respondents with bleeding suggest a substantial burden of disease. Additionally, because microscopic haematochezia was not assessed, these data represent a bare-minimum estimate of rectal bleeding in need of evaluation and treatment. In view of the substantial burden of conditions that can be diagnosed, treated, or palliated with timely endoscopic therapy, it is appropriate to consider endoscopy among efforts to develop health system capacity in LMICs. Surgeons OverSeas, the Thompson Family Foundation, and the Fogarty International Center.

Background Despite studies demonstrating that patients with peritoneal metastases from low-grade appendiceal adenocarcinoma (AA) do not respond well to systemic chemotherapy (SC), patients frequently undergo combination of SC with cytoreductive surgery/hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC) regardless of grade. Methods A nationwide retrospective analysis using the National Cancer Database evaluated patients with AA with peritoneal metastasis from 2016 to 2021. Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the impact of SC in addition to CRS/HIPEC on overall survival (OS) stratified by tumor grade. Results A total of 1,449 patients were included: 481 low-grade, 428 intermediate-grade, and 540 high-grade tumors. Clinical variables, such as age, sex, and comorbidity index, were similar across tumor grades. Cytoreductive surgery/hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy without SC was utilized in 65.73% of low-grade cases compared with 41.01% in intermediate-grade and 11.11% in high-grade cases. Systemic chemotherapy was utilized alone in 17.74% and with CRS/HIPEC in 16.53% of low-grade cases. In adjusted survival analysis, addition of SC to CRS/HIPEC was associated with worse OS for patients with low-grade AA (hazard ratio [HR] 2.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18–6.50) but not for intermediate (HR 1.65, 95% CI 0.82–3.35) and high-grade tumors (HR 1.18, 95% CI 0.67–2.45). The addition of time to definitive surgery variable nullified the negative impact of adding SC to CRS/HIPEC in low-grade AA (HR 1.76, 95% CI 0.68–4.53). Conclusions Negative OS impact of SC may be mediated by delays in effective surgical/intraoperative therapy. If CRS/HIPEC is planned for patients with metastatic low-grade AA, avoiding SC may facilitate earlier surgical intervention and improve survival.

Metastatic differentiated thyroid cancers (DTCs) may exhibit clinical dormancy before progression, and the impact of early intervention with thyroidectomy by age groups is unknown. National Cancer Database (NCDB) was queried for patients with metastatic papillary/follicular carcinomas (2010–2021). Multivariable Cox proportional hazard model was used for overall survival (OS) analyses. There were 5735 patients with metastatic DTCs, with 72.29 ​% diagnosed at age ≥55 years. Thyroidectomy is more often performed for younger age patients (87.54 ​% in age <55 vs. 69.94 ​% in age ≥55). Patients who had thyroidectomy had an improved OS for both age groups (HR 0.25, 95 ​% CI 0.10–0.63 for those <55; HR 0.29, 95 ​% CI 0.22–0.38 for those ≥55). In younger age cohort, those undergoing surgery within 2 weeks were associated with improved OS. Thyroidectomy is found to improve survival in metastatic DTCs across all age groups. Older individuals may face disparities in surgery utilization. •Benefits of thyroidectomy in metastatic DTCs by age groups is unclear.•Total thyroidectomy is more often performed for younger age cohort.•Thyroidectomy ​± ​systemic and/or RAI therapy had better outcomes in elderly as well.•Early surgery is associated with better survival outcomes in young patients.

Guidelines for 1–2 ​cm well-differentiated non-functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-PNET) are broad; observation (OB), enucleation (EN), and pancreatic resection (PR) all viable. The objective is analyzing factors impacting survival between approaches. Retrospective analysis of NCDB for 1–2 ​cm well-differentiated grade 1/2 NF-PNET stratified by approach. Factors predicting survival analyzed using Cox regression. 4023 patients included; 1030 OB, 321 ​EN, and 2672 ​PR. EN was associated with improved survival (HR 0.20, 95 %CI 0.08–0.53) and was dependent on negative margins (margin negative: HR 0.12, 95 %CI 0.05–0.34). Positive margins for EN were high (29.7 ​% EN vs. 3.4 ​% PR, p ​< ​0.01). Factors influencing margins for EN were pancreatic tail location (OR 0.36, 95 %CI 0.13–0.98) and lymphovascular invasion (OR 5.28, 95 %CI 1.42–19.53). Among PRs, only distal pancreatectomy conferred improved survival (HR 0.53, 95 %CI 0.30–0.92). Optimal treatment for 1–2 ​cm well-differentiated NF-PNET should incorporate factors influencing positive margins for EN and resection type for PR. [Display omitted] •Survival benefit of enucleation and resection over observation are dependent on margins in 1-2 cm well-diff pancreatic NETs.•However, positive margin rate for enucleation is high (29.7 ​%) compared to pancreatic resection (3.4 ​%).•Pancreatic tail location and lack of lymphovascular invasion are associated with higher negative margin rate for enucleation.•Among pancreatic resection, only distal pancreatectomy conferred improved survival over observation.

Despite studies demonstrating that patients with peritoneal metastases from low-grade appendiceal adenocarcinoma (AA) do not respond well to systemic chemotherapy (SC), patients frequently undergo combination of SC with cytoreductive surgery/hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC) regardless of grade. A nationwide retrospective analysis using the National Cancer Database evaluated patients with AA with peritoneal metastasis from 2016 to 2021. Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the impact of SC in addition to CRS/HIPEC on overall survival (OS) stratified by tumor grade. A total of 1,449 patients were included: 481 low-grade, 428 intermediate-grade, and 540 high-grade tumors. Clinical variables, such as age, sex, and comorbidity index, were similar across tumor grades. Cytoreductive surgery/hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy without SC was utilized in 65.73% of low-grade cases compared with 41.01% in intermediate-grade and 11.11% in high-grade cases. Systemic chemotherapy was utilized alone in 17.74% and with CRS/HIPEC in 16.53% of low-grade cases. In adjusted survival analysis, addition of SC to CRS/HIPEC was associated with worse OS for patients with low-grade AA (hazard ratio [HR] 2.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18-6.50) but not for intermediate (HR 1.65, 95% CI 0.82-3.35) and high-grade tumors (HR 1.18, 95% CI 0.67-2.45). The addition of time to definitive surgery variable nullified the negative impact of adding SC to CRS/HIPEC in low-grade AA (HR 1.76, 95% CI 0.68-4.53). Negative OS impact of SC may be mediated by delays in effective surgical/intraoperative therapy. If CRS/HIPEC is planned for patients with metastatic low-grade AA, avoiding SC may facilitate earlier surgical intervention and improve survival.