Timing dilemma: a systematic review and meta-analysis of short-term mortality in patients with COVID-19 undergoing tracheostomy with varied timing, including 7, 10 and 14 days

Objective
To analyse the effects of tracheostomy timing on COVID-19 outcomes by comparing mortality rates at different time points (7, 10 and 14 days).

Design
Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data sources
PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Scopus were searched from 31 August 2023 to 6 September 2023.

Primary and secondary outcomes measures
The primary outcome was short-term mortality, defined as intensive care unit (ICU) mortality, hospital mortality and 28-day or 30-day mortality. The secondary outcomes included mechanical ventilation duration, ICU and hospital days.

Results
Among 3465 patients from 12 studies, the 10-day subgroup analysis revealed higher mortality for earlier tracheostomy than for later tracheostomy (49.7% vs 32.6%, OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.37–2.65). No significant differences were observed at 7- and 14-day marks. Earlier tracheostomy was associated with shorter mechanical ventilation (mean difference=–7.35 days, 95% CI –11.63 to –0.38) and ICU stays (mean difference=–11.24 days, 95% CI –18.50 to –3.97) compared with later tracheostomy. Regarding hospital stay, the later tracheostomy group exhibited a trend towards longer-term inpatients, with no significant difference.

Conclusions
No significant difference in short-term mortality was observed between patients undergoing tracheostomy at 7 and 14 days; however, at 10 days, later tracheostomy resulted in a lower mortality rate. Accordingly, subtle timing differences may impact short-term results in COVID-19 patients. Considering that the later tracheostomy group had longer mechanical ventilation and ICU stays, additional research is required to determine an optimal timing that reduces mortality cost-effectively.

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Sphincterotomy for biliary sphincter of Oddi disorder and idiopathic acute recurrent pancreatitis: the RESPOnD longitudinal cohort

Objective
Sphincter of Oddi disorders (SOD) are contentious conditions in patients whose abdominal pain, idiopathic acute pancreatitis (iAP) might arise from pressurisation at the sphincter of Oddi. The present study aimed to measure the benefit of sphincterotomy for suspected SOD.

Design
Prospective cohort conducted at 14 US centres with 12 months follow-up. Patients undergoing first-time endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with sphincterotomy for suspected SOD were eligible: pancreatobiliary-type pain with or without iAP. The primary outcome was defined as the composite of improvement by Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC), no new or increased opioids and no repeat intervention. Missing data were addressed by hierarchal, multiple imputation scheme.

Results
Of 316 screened, 213 were enrolled with 190 (89.2%) of these having a dilated bile duct, abnormal labs, iAP or some combination. By imputation, an average of 122/213 (57.4% (95% CI 50.4% to 64.4%)) improved; response rate was similar for those with complete follow-up (99/161, 61.5% (54.0% to 69.0%)); of these, 118 (73.3%) improved by PGIC alone. Duct size, elevated labs and patient characteristics were not associated with response. AP occurred in 37/213 (17.4%) at a median of 6 months post ERCP and was more likely in those with a history of AP (30.9% vs 2.9%, p

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Combined MRI, high-resolution manometry and a randomised trial of bisacodyl versus hyoscine show the significance of an enlarged colon in constipation: the RECLAIM study

Background
Colonic motility in constipation can be assessed non-invasively using MRI.

Objective
To compare MRI with high-resolution colonic manometry (HRCM) for predicting treatment response.

Design
Part 1: 44 healthy volunteers (HVs), 43 patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) and 37 with functional constipation (FC) completed stool diaries and questionnaires and underwent oral macrogol (500–1000 mL) challenge. Whole gut transit time (WGTT), segmental colonic volumes (CV), MRI-derived Motility Index and chyme movement by ‘tagging’ were assessed using MRI and time to defecation after macrogol recorded. Left colonic HRCM was recorded before and after a 700 kcal meal. Patients then proceeded to Part 2: a randomised cross-over study of 10-days bisacodyl 10 mg daily versus hyoscine 20 mg three times per day, assessing daily pain and constipation.

Results
Part 1: Total CVs median (range) were significantly greater in IBS-C (776 (595–1033)) and FC (802 (633–951)) vs HV (645 (467–780)), p

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Impact of margin thermal ablation after endoscopic mucosal resection of large (>=20 mm) non-pedunculated colonic polyps on long-term recurrence

Background and aims
The efficacy of colorectal endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is limited by recurrence and the necessity for conservative surveillance. Margin thermal ablation (MTA) after EMR has reduced the incidence of recurrence at the first surveillance colonoscopy at 6 months (SC1). Whether this effect is durable to second surveillance colonoscopy (SC2) is unknown. We evaluated long-term surveillance outcomes in a cohort of LNPCPs that have undergone MTA.

Methods
LNPCPs undergoing EMR and MTA from four academic endoscopy centres were prospectively recruited. EMR scars were evaluated at SC1 and in the absence of recurrence, SC2 colonoscopy was conducted in a further 12 months. A historical control arm was generated from LNPCPs that underwent EMR without MTA. The primary outcome was recurrence at SC2 in all LNPCPs with a recurrence-free scar at SC1.

Results
1152 LNPCPs underwent EMR with complete MTA over 90 months until October 2022. 854 LNPCPs underwent SC1 with 29/854 (3.4%) LNPCPs demonstrating recurrence. 472 LNPCPs free of recurrence at SC1 underwent SC2. 260 LNPCPs with complete SC2 follow-up formed the control arm from January 2012 to May 2016. Recurrence at SC2 was significantly less in the MTA arm versus controls (1/472 (0.2%) vs 9/260 (3.5%); p

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Selective vs Standard Obstetric Thromboprophylaxis Protocol

To the Editor In a recent study comparing standard risk-stratified with more selective postpartum VTE chemoprophylaxis protocols, the more selective protocol was associated with decreased rates of wound hematomas without increased rates of postpartum VTE. I would like to discuss a few concerns about this study.

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Selective vs Standard Obstetric Thromboprophylaxis Protocol

To the Editor A recent study found that a more selective risk stratification scheme for enoxaparin thromboprophylaxis reduced the incidence of postpartum wound hematoma without increasing the risk of postpartum venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, we believe there are several key issues that may affect the interpretation of the study results.

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The Burden of Choice

In this narrative medicine essay, a family planning fellow discusses how undergoing an abortion, the procedure she specializes in performing, has deepened her perception of the concept of the difficult components of choice and helped her understand the difference in providing vs experiencing care.

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Evaluating transportability of overall survival estimates from US to UK populations receiving first-line treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective cohort study

Objectives
The objective of this study is to explore how the UK versus the USA compare in patient characteristics, treatment patterns and overall survival (OS) of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) initiating first-line (1L) treatment.

Design
Retrospective cohort study.

Setting
Oncology treatment centres in the USA and UK.

Participants
People in the USA and UK diagnosed with aNSCLC and treated in the 1L setting between 2016 and 2018. The US cohort was obtained from a nationwide electronic health record-derived deidentified database. The UK cohort information was derived from a published study exploring the patient characteristics, treatments and outcomes of people with aNSCLC in the UK.

Interventions
1L chemotherapy, immunotherapy monotherapy or targeted therapy.

Primary outcome measure
The primary outcome was OS—defined as the time from treatment initiation to death from any cause.

Results
There were 1003 patients in the UK and 3819 in the US cohorts receiving 1L therapy for aNSCLC. After standardising the US cohort to the UK cohort, median OS in the USA and UK was similar across 1L drug classes: chemotherapies (7.7 (95% CI 7.1 to 8.3) vs 8.1 (95% CI 7.4 to 8.9) months), immunotherapies (13.9 (95% CI 11.0 to 17.1) vs 14.0 (95% CI 10.7 to 20.6)) and targeted therapies (21.6 (95% CI 18.5 to 23.7) vs 20.2 (95% CI 16.0 to 30.5)). OS curves for 1L immunotherapy and targeted therapy were almost overlapping after standardisation. OS after around 12 months was higher in US patients compared with UK patients receiving 1L chemotherapy regimens. Of those receiving 1L chemotherapy, the proportion receiving any second-line therapy appeared higher for patients in the USA versus UK.

Conclusions
The results suggest that in aNSCLC patients receiving 1L treatment, US data have the potential to be used in technology evaluations to understand long-term OS where UK data are unavailable or sparse.

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Factors associated with declining a menstrual cup among female students and their parents in Ugandan secondary schools: a cross-sectional study

Introduction
A greater choice of menstrual products may improve menstrual health (MH). This study assessed factors associated with declining consent to receive a menstrual cup by parents and female students participating in a MH intervention trial in Ugandan schools.

Methods
We analysed baseline data from a cluster-randomised trial evaluating the effectiveness of a multicomponent MH intervention among female students in 60 Ugandan secondary schools. Parental consent and student assent to receive a menstrual cup and training on its use was sought separately from consent from other trial activities. Random-effects logistic regression models were used to estimate adjusted OR (aOR) and 95% CIs for factors associated with (i) parents or guardians declining the cup and (ii) students declining the cup using hierarchical conceptual frameworks.

Results
The baseline trial population comprised 3705 post-menarchal students (mean age 15.6 (SD 0.9 years), of whom 2048 (55.3%) were day students. Among the parents of the 3635 participants aged

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Comparative adherence and persistence of single-inhaler and multiple-inhaler triple therapies among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Japan: a retrospective cohort study

Objectives
To evaluate and compare medication adherence and persistence for patients newly initiating single-inhaler triple therapy (SITT) and multiple-inhaler triple therapy (MITT) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Japan.

Design
Retrospective, new-user, active comparator, observational cohort study using inverse probability of treatment weighting.

Setting
Health insurance claims data from the Medical Data Vision Co., Ltd, hospital claims database.

Participants
Adults diagnosed with COPD at age ≥40 years newly initiating MITT or SITT (fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) or formoterol fumarate/budesonide/glycopyrronium) from 1 September 2019 to 31 July 2021.

Primary and secondary outcome measures
The primary outcome was medication adherence compared between patients using SITT and MITT, assessed by the proportion of days covered ≥80%. Secondary outcomes included medication persistence (time from index treatment initiation to discontinuation) compared between patients using SITT and MITT and medication adherence compared before and after the switch in a subgroup of patients switching from MITT to SITT.

Results
We included 2575 MITT and 2962 SITT users with similar baseline characteristics following weighting. The proportion of adherent patients was significantly greater for SITT versus MITT users at 6 months (19.7% vs 10.2%, p

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