RESUMEN

Introduction: Secondary sclerosing cholangitis in critically ill patients (SSC-CIP) is a rare but underdiagnosed entity that occurs after life-threatening events and treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU). The etiology of SSC-CIP is not fully understood but may be caused by ischemic bile duct injury. SSC-CIP is a cholestatic liver disease that rapidly progresses to liver cirrhosis, with a high mortality rate in the first year of 50%. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), which is the gold standard for diagnosing SSC-CIP, shows primary SC-like changes, usually in the intrahepatic bile ducts. Biliary cast formation is pathognomonic for SSC-CIP. No proven effective conservative treatment is available for SSC-CIP, and liver transplantation is the only curative therapy when liver cirrhosis or recurrent cholangitis occurs. Case Presentation: We report the case of a 47-year-old male patient who developed cholestasis after a long treatment in the ICU for severe pneumonia. ERCP showed characteristic findings with rarefication and multiple segmental stenosis in the intrahepatic bile ducts. We removed multiple biliary casts from the bile ducts. Conclusion: SSC-CIP should be considered for ICU patients with unclear cholestasis, especially when the cholestasis persists after recovery from the underlying disease. Early diagnosis is important to achieve better outcomes; without liver transplantation, the prognosis is generally poor.

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are rare tumours with variable clinical behaviour. Their natural history is ideally best approached in large, multicentre and multinational registries with long-term patients' follow-up. The European Neuroendocrine Tumour Society registry aims to obtain information regarding NEN outcomes and prognostic factors in a European frame. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We collected data from 7 national NEN registries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Poland, Spain, Switzerland), representing 10,102 patients. Anonymised/pseudonymised data were collected in a secured server. Descriptive statistical methods were applied, as well as Kaplan-Meier survival curves and multivariable analyses for prognostic factors of overall survival (OS). RESULTS: median age of the study population was 60 years (range: 18-102), 48% were female. Common primary tumour sites were pancreas (27%) and small intestine (21%). Stage 4 disease was found in 47% of patients, while 26/10/16% had stage 1/2/3 disease, respectively. Grading (n = 6952) was G1/2/3 in 48/37/15% of the patients, respectively. Surgery was the main treatment, provided to 71% of patients, followed by somatostatin analogues (32%), chemotherapy (20%), Peptide receptor Radionuclide Therapy (PRRT) (9%) and targeted therapies (8%). OS at 5 years was 74%, influenced by grade, stage and tissue of origin in multivariate analysis. A Ki67 cut-off value set at 55% within the G3 group allowed to separate 2 groups with a meaningful different OS. CONCLUSION: We report the first analysis of the European Neuroendocrine Tumour Society registry, comprising 10,102 patients with NEN from 7 European countries. This large cohort study describes prognostic factors for the survival of NENs throughout Europe, including primary tumour site, grade, stage and treatment.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Russia has a substantial HIV epidemic which is poised to escalate in the coming years. The increases in prevalence of HIV will result in increased healthcare needs by a medical system with limited experience with HIV. A healthcare provider's attitude towards a patient plays a significant role in determining the patient's health-related behaviours and medical outcomes. Previous studies have identified negative attitudes of medical students towards people living with HIV. Studying the prevalence of such attitudes is of particular interest, as medical students represent the future workforce and also as the schooling years present a unique opportunity to nurture bias-free healthcare providers. The study measures prevalence of prejudicial attitudes towards HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients who belong to marginalized subgroups. METHODS: The cross-sectional survey was conducted among medical students of a Russian medical university. Of 500 students surveyed, 436 provided sufficient data to be included in the analysis. Prejudicial attitudes were defined as reluctance to provide medical care to a specified hypothetical patient. Nine hypothetical HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients were proposed: physicians, injecting drug users, commercial sex workers, men who have sex with men and a patient HIV-positive due to blood transfusion. A log-binomial regression solved using generalized estimating equations was utilized to identify factors associated with reluctance to treat. RESULTS: Prevalence of reluctance to provide medical care to HIV-positive patients in marginalized subgroups was high (ranging from 26.4% up to 71.9%), compared to a maximum of 7.5% if a patient was an HIV-negative physician. Students in their clinical years reported more negative attitudes than preclinical students. In general, female students were less willing to provide care than their male counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Prejudicial attitudes about HIV-positive patients and those in marginalized subgroups of the population are prevalent among medical students in Russia. Given the increasing prevalence of HIV in the country, reasons for this hesitance to treat must be identified and addressed. Educational programs for healthcare providers are urgently needed to eliminate bias in the delivery of critically needed medical care. These targeted interventions should be coupled with other programs to eliminate structural barriers to care.

Asunto(s)