New technologies in medicine, even if they are promising medically, are often expensive and logistically difficult to implement at the hospital level. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a model technology that is revolutionary in treating aortic stenosis, but has been plagued with significant challenges with financial sustainability. In this article, a margin analysis at the hospital level was performed using literature data. A TAVR industry analysis was performed using Porter's Five Forces framework. The data indicate that TAVR is more expensive than surgical aortic valve replacement, although the cost of TAVR is declining with the use of an optimized minimalist protocol. The overall industry is growing as its clinical indications expand, and it will likely undergo significant reduction of costs when new valves enter the US market. As such, TAVR is a growing industry, with financial sustainability currently dependent on operational efficiency. A concluding list of specific program interventions is provided to help TAVR programs improve operational efficiency and clinical outcomes, as well as help decide whether to create, expand, or redirect funding for TAVR programs. Importantly, the frameworks used to analyze this rapidly evolving technology can be applied to other new technologies to determine financial sustainability.Evaluation of endocrine issues is a sometimes overlooked yet important component of the preoperative medical evaluation. Patients with diabetes, thyroid disease, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis suppression are commonly encountered in the surgical setting and require unique consideration to optimize perioperative risk. For patients with diabetes, perioperative glycemic control has the strongest association with postsurgical outcomes. The preoperative evaluation should include recommendations for adjustment of insulin and noninsulin diabetic medications before surgery. Recommendations differ based on the type of diabetes, the type of insulin, and the patient's predisposition to hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. Generally, patients with thyroid dysfunction can safely undergo operations unless they have untreated hyperthyroidism or severe hypothyroidism. Patients with known primary or secondary adrenal insufficiency require supplemental glucocorticoids to prevent adrenal crisis in the perioperative setting. Evidence supporting the use of high-dose supplemental corticosteroids for patients undergoing long-term glucocorticoid therapy is sparse. We discuss an approach to these patients based on the dose and duration of ongoing or recent corticosteroid therapy. As with other components of the preoperative medical evaluation, the primary objective is identification and assessment of the severity of endocrine issues before surgery so that the surgeons, anesthesiologists, and internal medicine professionals can optimize management accordingly.
Studies evaluating the role of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) in Adrenocortical Carcinoma (ACC) are limited due to its rarity. The objective of this study was to evaluate if ACT provides a survival benefit in patients who underwent curative-intent resection of localized ACC and to determine factors associated with receipt of ACT.
The National Cancer Data Base was queried to identify patients (2010-2016) with curative-intent resection of localized ACC (T1-T3, N0, M0).
Of 577 patients with adrenalectomy, 389 (67%) had adrenalectomy alone, and 188 (33%) received ACT. Private insurance, lymphovascular invasion, stage II, and radiotherapy were predictors of ACT (P<0.05). Advanced (T3) stage lymphovascular invasion, and being uninsured were associated with decreased OS (P<0.05). There was no association between ACT and OS.
For patient who underwent curative-intent resection of localized ACC, there was no association between ACT and OS. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ldc203974-imt1b.html Private insurance, lymphovascular invasion, stage II disease, and radiotherapy were associated with receipt of ACT.
For patient who underwent curative-intent resection of localized ACC, there was no association between ACT and OS. Private insurance, lymphovascular invasion, stage II disease, and radiotherapy were associated with receipt of ACT.Acromegaly is a chronic disease due to growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) excess. It is associated with various systemic complications including cardiovascular disease. Arterial hypertension occurs in about 20% to 30% of patients. Its pathogenesis is mainly related to the increase in plasma volume secondary to a sodium retaining actions of GH and IGF-1 in the kidney, but abnormalities in vessel architecture and reactivity participate. Left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunctions were frequently reported in echo-based studies and are mostly mild and without clinical consequences. Recent cardiac MRI studies described a much lower frequency of myocardial hypertrophy than echo-based assessments. Progression to systolic dysfunction with congestive heart failure is nowadays very rare. Risk of coronary heart disease and of clinically significant arrythmias does not seem to be increased. Acromegaly-related cardiac valve abnormalities may be related to fibrotic changes and seem to persist after effective treatment of acromegaly. Advances in acromegaly treatment over the last decades significantly diminished the cardiovascular burden of the disease, with the cardiovascular disease anymore being the leading cause of death.Many ecological and evolutionary processes are affected by urbanization, but cities vary by orders of magnitude in their human population size and areal extent. To quantify and manage urban biodiversity, one must understand both how biodiversity scales with city size, and how ecological, evolutionary, and socioeconomic drivers of biodiversity scale with city size. We show how environmental abiotic and biotic drivers, as well as human cultural and socioeconomic drivers, may act through ecological and evolutionary processes differently, at different scales, to influence patterns in urban biodiversity. Because relationships likely take linear and nonlinear forms, the need to describe the specific scaling relationships is highlighted, including deviations and potential inflection points, where different management strategies may successfully conserve urban biodiversity.