Toll-like Receptor 2 and 4 in Cancer Immunotherapy: Is Nitric Oxide a Mediator?

Lipid A-Induced Responses In Vivo

The lipid A analogs used in preclinical studies and clinical trials are not naturally-occurring forms of lipid A; they are synthetic molecules produced to be less toxic than lipid A itself and they do not reproduce the effects of natural lipid A molecules especially in vivo. The responses induced by lipid A analogs are summarized in this chapter: their fate in the blood stream and their toxicity as well as the lipid A tolerance and the tumor immune responses they induce. Lipid A is not found in the mammalian organism under normal circumstances so its use in cancer therapy raises important questions as to its different effects in vivo and its toxicity, particularly in cancer patients. Lipid …

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…

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…