Reghan Conrey^1,*, Sebastian Tume², Carlos Bonilla-Ramirez³, Seema Lalani⁴, Dean McKenzie^3,#, Marc Anders^2,#

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.16, No.2, pp. 171-181, 2021, DOI:10.32604/CHD.2021.014409 - 26 January 2021

Abstract Background: Patients with genetic syndromes who undergo surgery to correct congenital heart defects can be at risk for increased morbidity or mortality. Surgical outcomes and postoperative courses following congenital heart surgery in patients with Kabuki-Syndrome (KS) have not been well studied. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe the postoperative courses and associated outcomes in the largest set of KS patients undergoing congenital heart surgery to date. Methods: Patients with a confirmed molecular diagnosis of KS and a diagnosis of a CHD admitted to Texas Children’s Hospital between January 1, 2000 and January 1, 2020… More >

Claudia Herbst^1,*, Haibo Zhang², Renjie Hu², Jürgen Hörer³, Masamichi Ono³, Vladimiro Vida⁴, Tjark Ebels^5,6, Andrzej Kansy⁷, Jeffrey P. Jacobs⁸, Zdzislaw Tobota⁷, Bohdan Maruszewski⁷

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.16, No.1, pp. 17-25, 2021, DOI:10.32604/CHD.2021.012982 - 23 December 2020

Abstract Background: The European Congenital Heart Surgeons Association (ECHSA) Congenital Heart Surgery Database (CHSD) was founded in 1999 and is open for worldwide participation. The current dataset includes a large amount of surgical data from both Europe and China. The purpose of this analysis is to compare patterns of practice and outcomes among pediatric congenital heart defect surgeries in Europe and China using the ECHSA-CHSD. Methods: We examined all European (125 centers, 58,261 operations) and Chinese (13 centers, 23,920 operations) data in the ECHSA-CHSD from 2006-2018. Operative mortality, postoperative length of stay, median patient age and weight… More >

Benjamin Schrijver^1,a, Jorn L. J. C. Assmann^1,a, Adriaan J. van Gammeren², Roel C. H. Vermeulen³, Lützen Portengen³, Peter Heukels⁴, Anton W. Langerak¹, Willem A. Dik¹, Vincent H. J. van der Velden^1,b, Ton A. A. M. Ermens^2,b

European Cytokine Network, Vol.31, No.4, pp. 154-167, 2020, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2020.0456

Abstract COVID-19 differs substantially between individuals, ranging from mild to severe or even fatal. Heterogeneity in the immune response against SARS-COV-2 likely contributes to this. Therefore, we explored the temporal dynamics of key cellular and soluble mediators of innate and adaptive immune activation in relation to COVID-19 severity and progression.
Forty-four patients with a PCR-proven diagnosis of COVID-19 were included. Extensive cellular (leukocytes and T-lymphocyte subsets) and serological immune profiling (cytokines, soluble cell surface molecules, and SARS-CoV-2 antibodies) was performed at hospital admission and every 3-4 days during hospitalization. Measurements and disease outcome were compared between… More >

Peter Gilling¹, Neil Barber², Mohamed Bidair³, Paul Anderson⁴, Mark Sutton⁵, Tev Aho⁶, Eugene Kramolowsky⁷, Andrew Thomas⁸, Barrett Cowan⁹, Ronald P. Kaufman, Jr.¹⁰, Andrew Trainer¹¹, Andrew Arther¹¹, Gopal Badlani¹², Mark Plante¹³, Mihir Desai¹⁴, Leo Doumanian¹⁴, Alexis E. Te¹⁵, Mark DeGuenther¹⁶, Claus Roehrborn¹⁷

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.27, No.1, pp. 10072-10079, 2020

Abstract Introduction: To compare 3-year efficacy and safety after prostate resection with Aquablation therapy or transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms related to benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH).
Materials and methods: One hundred and eighty-one patients assigned to either Aquablation therapy or TURP were followed for 3 years postoperatively. Patients and follow-up assessors were blinded to treatment. Assessments included International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), Male Sexual Health Questionnaire (MSHQ-EjD), International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) and uroflow.
Results: Over 3 years of treatment, improvements in IPSS scores were statistically similar across groups.… More >

Ronald F. Tutrone¹, William Schiff²

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.27, No.3, pp. 10213-10219, 2020

Abstract Introduction: To report the early postoperative patient experience, including symptom response, catheterization, recovery and satisfaction, following treatment with two minimally invasive surgical therapies (MIST) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH): mechanical disobstruction with UroLift prostatic urethral lift (PUL) and tissue ablation with steam injection (Rezum).
Materials and methods: Patient reported outcomes of 53 non-retention patients from two U.S. sites who underwent PUL (n = 30) or Rezum (n = 23) were collected within 2 months post-treatment. There were no exclusion criteria for baseline symptoms, prostate size, or BPH medical therapy. Patients completed questionnaires which assessed postoperative BPH symptoms… More >

Tetsuo Fujita, Morihiro Nishi, Daisuke Ishii, Kazumasa Matsumoto, Kazunari Yoshida, Masatsugu Iwamura

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.27, No.5, pp. 10402-10406, 2020

Abstract Introduction: To explore postoperative operation-side renal functional outcome after laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) using dynamic renal scintigraphy.
Materials and methods: Between July 2006 and December 2014, 62 patients with localized renal tumor received ischemic LPN at our institution. Preoperative, 6 months postoperative, and 12 months postoperative split renal functions were evaluated by dynamic renal scintigraphy using radionuclide technetium-99m-mercaptoacetyltriglycine. Postoperative operation-side renal function was calculated. To assess the significant factors affecting postoperative operation-side renal functional decrease, simple regression and multiple regression analyses were carried out.
Results: Postoperative operation-side renal functions were significantly decreased to 86.6% at 6 months and… More >

Chirag N. Dave, Taylor P. Kohn, Hiten D. Patel, Ali Arafa, Arthur L. Burnett

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.27, No.5, pp. 10382-10387, 2020

Abstract Introduction: Few studies have compared surgical outcomes after 3-piece inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) surgery in patients exposed to pelvic radiation therapy (RT) compared to a radiation naïve control group.
Materials and methods: A total of 715 consecutive patients underwent 3-piece IPP placement between 2007-2018. There were 101 men exposed to pelvic RT before or after IPP for a variety of malignancies and 153 men met inclusion criteria for the control group, which included men undergoing IPP surgery with a history of radical prostatectomy but no exposure to pelvic RT.
Results: Patients in the RT group had a higher… More >

Arisha Patel, Mounzer Agha, Anastasios Raptis, Jing-Zhou Hou, Rafic Farah, Robert L. Redner, Annie Im, Kathleen A. Dorritie, Alison Sehgal, James Rossetti, Melissa Saul, Daniel Normolle, Konstantinos Lontos, Michael Boyiadzis

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.7-8, pp. 811-814, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15965357399750

Abstract Leukemia relapse 5 years after achieving first complete remission (CR1) is uncommon in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In this study, we evaluated the outcomes of AML patients with late relapse at our institution and reviewed the literature for these patients. The study cohort consisted of nine AML patients with late relapse. The median interval between CR1 and AML relapse was 6.1 years (range: 5.1–16.2 years). At relapse, the karyotype was different from the initial AML diagnosis in 50% of patients. At the time of AML relapse, seven patients received induction chemotherapy and two More >

Chunmou Li^*1, Xiaomin Peng^*1, Chuchu Feng^*1, Xilin Xiong^*, Jianxin Li^†, Ning Liao^‡, Zhen Yang^§, Aiguo Liu^¶, Pingping Wu^*, Xuehong Liang^†, Yunyan He^‡, Xin Tian^§, Yunbi Lin^§, Songmi Wang^¶, Yang Li^*

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.7-8, pp. 791-800, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504021X16184815905096

Abstract This nonrandomized, multicenter cohort, open-label clinical trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of combined chemotherapy with arsenic trioxide (ATO) in children with stage 4/M neuroblastoma (NB). We enrolled patients who were newly diagnosed with NB and assessed as stage 4/M and received either traditional chemotherapy or ATO combined with chemotherapy according to their own wishes. Twenty-two patients were enrolled in the trial group (ATO combined with chemotherapy), and 13 patients were enrolled in the control group (traditional chemotherapy). Objective response rate (ORR) at 4 weeks after completing induction chemotherapy was defined as the main outcome,… More >

Waleed Rashideh^1,*, Omar Abdullah Alshathry¹, Samer Atawneh², Hussein Al Bazar³, Mohammed Said AbualRub⁴

Intelligent Automation & Soft Computing, Vol.26, No.6, pp. 1285-1307, 2020, DOI:10.32604/iasc.2020.012995 - 24 December 2020

Abstract Scientific programs in higher educational institutes are measured by their performances in showing evidences for expected quality assurance levels and for obtaining the academic accreditation. However, obtaining an accreditation for a scientific program is a lengthy process, as it requires extensive efforts from all members belonging to the program. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accreditation is a common form of quality assurance that is based on different areas such as computing, engineering and sciences. In order to determine the ABET accreditation, several processes and methods are assessed to guarantee the required accreditation. More >