0000000000007319
AUTHOR
Sandro Pasquali
High-risk soft tissue sarcomas treated with perioperative chemotherapy: Improving prognostic classification in a randomised clinical trial
Background: Patients with extremity and trunk wall soft tissue sarcoma (STS) with high malignancy grade and size >5 cm are at high-risk of death. This risk varies depending also on other patient and tumour features, including histologic subtype. This study investigated whether a prognostic nomogram can improve risk assessment of these patients. Methods: Data from high-risk STS patients enrolled in a randomised controlled trial investigating different perioperative chemotherapy regimens were analysed. Ten-year probability of overall survival (OS) and incidence of distant metastasis (DM) were computed using the prognostic nomogram Sarculator (pr-OS and inc-DM, respectively). Tumour response a…
Pooled analysis of who surgical safety checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy
Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients incl…
Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study
Background Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the Globa…
Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis
Abstract Background There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capita…
The sarculator stratified prognosis of patients with high-risk soft tissue sarcomas (STS) of extremities and trunk wall treated with perioperative chemotherapy in a randomised controlled trial (RCT).
11016 Background: Patients with extremity and trunk wall STS with high malignancy grade and size larger than 5cm are considered at high risk of death, but in fact this risk varies broadly depending on histologic subtype and size. The Sarculator, a nomogram for STS, can improve prognostic assessment of these patients. This tool was evaluated for stratifying risk of distant metastasis (DM) and overall survival (OS) in a RCT investigating perioperative chemotherapy. Methods: High-risk STS patients were randomly assigned to receive either three cycles of preoperative chemotherapy with epirubicin (120 mg/m2) and ifosfamide (9 g/m2) or the same three preoperative cycles followed by two further p…
Treatment challenges in and outside a network setting: Soft tissue sarcomas
Patients with soft tissue sarcoma (STS) experienced better outcomes when treated according to existing clinical practice guidelines either at reference institution or dedicated treatment networks. Despite increasing evidence supporting referral to sarcoma specialised units, up to half of patients are not managed according to guidelines, particularly those in the early stage of their disease requiring surgery. Also, criteria to certify expertise of institutions, such as the treatment volume, are debated and health authorities have only recently started identification of these centres and creation of treatment networks in Europe as well as in several countries. This process have important imp…