Congratulations to Camden and Campbelltown Hospital staff on their recently published articles
O'Neill, R. S., Wang, W. J., Chan, P., Ho, V., Verdon, C., Turner, I., & Acharya, P. (2023). An obscure cause of gastrointestinal bleeding: Recurrent duodenal variceal hemorrhage treated with intramuscular octreotide in the absence of portal hypertension [Article]. JGH Open, 7(1), 78-80. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgh3.12847
Duodenal varices (DVs) are ectopic gastrointestinal varices (ECVs) associated with portal hypertension (PH). We present the case of an 82-year-old woman who presented with symptomatic anemia secondary to DV hemorrhage diagnosed on oesophagogastroduodenoscopy. This lesion was treated with endoscopic adrenaline injection and clip application. The patient re-presented on multiple occasions with bleeding recurrence localized to the duodenum, which was managed with intramuscular octreotide and oral beta-blockade resulting in sustained remission of bleeding. This case highlights a rare cause of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage and highlights the value of somatostatin analogues for conservative treatment of DVs. © The Authors. JGH Open published by Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
Cho, K., Femia, G., Lee, R., Nageswararajah, D., Doulatram, H., Kadappu, K., & Juergens, C. (2023). Exploration of Cardiology Patient Hospital Presentations, Health Care Utilisation and Cardiovascular Risk Factors During the COVID-19 Pandemic [Article]. Heart Lung and Circulation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlc.2022.11.013
Objectives: COVID-19 and the lockdowns have affected health care provision internationally, including medical procedures and methods of consultation. We aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 at two Australian hospitals, focussing on cardiovascular hospital admissions, the use of community resources and cardiovascular risk factor control through a mixed methods approach. Methods: Admissions data from the quaternary referral hospital were analysed, and 299 patients were interviewed from July 2020 to December 2021. With the admissions data, the number, complexity and mortality of cardiology hospital admissions, prior to the first COVID-19 lockdown (T0=February 2018–July 2019) were compared to after the introduction of COVID-19 lockdowns (T1=February 2020–July 2021). During interviews, we asked patients about hospital and community health resource use, and their control of cardiovascular risk factors from the first lockdown. Results: Admission data showed a reduction in hospital presentations (T0=138,099 vs T1=128,030) and cardiology admissions after the lockdown period began (T0=4,951 vs T1=4,390). After the COVID-19-related lockdowns began, there was an increased complexity of cardiology admissions (T0=18.7%, 95% CI 17.7%–19.9% vs T1=20.3%, 95% CI 19.1%–21.5%, chi-square test: 4,158.658, p<0.001) and in-hospital mortality (T0=2.3% of total cardiology admissions 95% CI 1.9%–2.8% vs T1=2.8%, 95% CI 2.3%–3.3%, chi-square test: 4,060.217, p<0.001). In addition, 27% of patients delayed presentation due to fears of COVID-19 while several patients reported reducing their general practitioner or pathology/imaging appointments (27% and 11% respectively). Overall, 19% reported more difficulty accessing medical care during the lockdown periods. Patients described changes in their cardiovascular risk factors, including 25% reporting reductions in physical activity. Conclusion: We found a decrease in hospital presentations but with increased complexity after the introduction of COVID-19 lockdowns. Patients reported being fearful about presenting to hospital and experiencing difficulty in accessing community health services. © 2022 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ)
Quesada, J., Härmä, K., Reid, S., Rao, T., Lo, G., Yang, N., Karia, S., Lee, E., & Borok, N. (2023). Endometriosis: A multimodal imaging review [Review]. European journal of radiology, 158, 110610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrad.2022.110610
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disorder characterized endometrial-like tissue present outside of the uterus, affecting approximately 10% of reproductive age women. It is associated with abdomino-pelvic pain, infertility and other non - gynecologic symptoms, making it a challenging diagnosis. Several guidelines have been developed by different international societies to diagnose and classify endometriosis, yet areas of controversy and uncertainty remains. Transvaginal ultrasound (TV-US) is the first-line imaging modality used to identify endometriosis due to its accessibility and cost-efficacy. Enhanced sonographic techniques are emerging as a dedicated technique to evaluate deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE), depending on the expertise of the sonographer as well as the location of the lesions. MRI is an ideal complementary modality to ultrasonography for pre-operative planning as it allows for a larger field-of-view when required and it has high levels of reproducibility and tolerability. Typically, endometriotic lesions appear hypoechoic on ultrasonography. On MRI, classical features include DIE T2 hypointensity, endometrioma T2 hypointensity and T1 hyperintensity, while superficial peritoneal endometriosis (SPE) is described as a small focus of T1 hyperintensity. Imaging has become a critical tool in the diagnosis, surveillance and surgical planning of endometriosis. This literature review is based mostly on studies from the last two decades and aims to provide a detailed overview of the imaging features of endometriosis as well as the advances and usefulness of different imaging modalities for this condition. Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Lok, S. W., De Boer, R., Baron-Hay, S., Button, P., Devitt, B., Forster, B. C., Fox, P., Harold, M., Ketheeswaran, S., Kichenadasse, G., Kiely, Belinda. E., Marx, G., Nott, L., Pellegrini, L., Tafreshi, A., & Gibbs, P. (2023). Pertuzumab study in the neoadjuvant setting for HER2-positive nonmetastatic breast cancer in Australia (PeRSIA) [Article]. International Journal of Cancer, 152(2), 267-275. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.34245
The pertuzumab study in the neoadjuvant setting for HER2+ nonmetastatic breast cancer in Australia (PeRSIA—ML39622) is an analysis of safety and effectiveness data from the pertuzumab patient registry. Although the prognosis of patients with early stage HER2+ breast cancer has been greatly improved by advances in chemotherapy approximately 25% to 30% of patients develop recurrent disease. Our study aimed to examine the effectiveness of neoadjuvant pertuzumab on surgical outcomes, describe the medium-term effectiveness outcomes of patients treated with pertuzumab, and describe the planned and actual anticancer treatment regimens that patients received. Deidentified data were collected from the patients' medical records and entered into REDCap, between March 2018 and July 2019 (n = 95). The adverse events (AEs) reported most frequently were diarrhea (20; 21.1%), rash (4; 4.2%), and LVSD (4; 4.2%; two patients during neoadjuvant treatment and two patients during adjuvant treatment). AEs, ≥Grade 3 were diarrhea (2; 2.1%) and LVSD (1; 1.1%). Following surgery, a breast pathological complete response (bpCR) was achieved in 65 patients (70.7%; 95% CI: 60.2%-79.7%) and total pathological complete response (tpCR) in 59 patients (64.1%; 95% CI: 53.4%-73.9%). All patients who did not achieve a tpCR obtained a partial response (33/92, 35.9%). Our study is the first to capture real-world data on the use of pertuzumab in the neoadjuvant setting in Australia. The effectiveness and safety data are consistent with those reported in clinical trials of pertuzumab in patients with HER2+ breast cancer, with no new safety concerns. © 2022 UICC.
Idkowiak, J., Smyth, A., Mundy, L., Wanaguru, Amy., Gleeson, H., & Högler, W. (2023). Breast satisfaction in adult women with Turner syndrome—An international survey employing the BREAST-Q questionnaire [Article]. Clinical Endocrinology, 98(1), 82-90. https://doi.org/10.1111/cen.14755
Objective: Turner syndrome (TS) is associated with short stature, delayed puberty, primary ovarian insufficiency, and other features. Most girls with TS require oestrogen replacement for pubertal induction. There is paucity of data in adult TS on pubertal outcomes, including breast satisfaction. Here, we assess breast satisfaction in TS with the BREAST-Q questionnaire, a well-validated patient-related outcome measure (PROM). Design: International survey distributed online through TS support groups. Patients: Adult women aged 18–45 years with TS (self-reported). Measurements: The questionnaire contained demographics, health history and the four domains of the BREAST-Q. BREAST-Q scores were matched on a one-to-one basis for age, body mass index (BMI) and educational background to a normative data set derived from the ‘Army of Women’, an online community of healthy volunteers. Results: Of 97 total responses, 74 could be matched to the control cohort. Median age was 32 years (18–45 years) and 97% were White Caucasian. Median age at menarche was 15.5 years (12–34 years), 86% had received pubertal induction therapy as teenagers. We found significantly lower BREAST-Q scores in TS in the domains ‘Satisfaction with Breast’ (p =.021), ‘Psychosocial Wellbeing’ (p <.0001) and ‘Sexual Wellbeing’ (p <.0001). TS who had received oestrogen replacement therapy reported lower scores compared to TS who had not received oestrogen therapy (p <.0001). Lower BMI and previous growth hormone therapy were associated with lower breast satisfaction. Conclusions: TS women who received oestrogen replacement for pubertal induction self-report lower breast satisfaction scores and late menarche, suggesting that type, mode of delivery, dose and timing of hormone supplements merit prospective study.
L. Heywood, J. Conti and P. Hay. (2022). "Paper 1: a systematic synthesis of narrative therapy treatment components for the treatment of eating disorders." Journal of Eating Disorders 10(1): 137. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-022-00635-5
Conti, J., Hewood, L. Hay, P., et al. (2022). "Paper 2: a systematic review of narrative therapy treatment outcomes for eating disorders—bridging the divide between practice-based evidence and evidence-based practice." Journal of Eating Disorders 10(1): 138. doi:10.1186/s40337-022-00636-4
Hanania, N. A., Castro, M., Bateman, E., Pavord, I. D., Papi, A., FitzGerald, J. M., Maspero, J. F., Katelaris, Constance. H., Singh, D., Daizadeh, N., Altincatal, A., Pandit-Abid, N., Soler, X., Siddiqui, S., Laws, E., Jacob-Nara, J. A., Rowe, P. J., Lederer, D. J., Hardin, M., & Deniz, Y. (2023). Efficacy of dupilumab in patients with moderate-to-severe asthma and persistent airflow obstruction [Article]. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 130(2), 206-214.e202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2022.10.018
van Nunen, S. A., Burk, M. B., Burton, P. K., Ford, G., Harvey, R. J., Lozynsky, A., . . . Katelaris, C. H. (2022). 5-grass-pollen SLIT effectiveness in seasonal allergic rhinitis: Impact of sensitization to subtropical grass pollen. World Allergy Organization Journal, 15(2). doi:10.1016/j.waojou.2022.100632
Piya MK, Fletcher T, Myint KP, Zarora R, Yu D, Simmons D. The impact of nursing staff education on diabetes inpatient glucose management: a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial. BMC Endocr Disord. 2022 Mar 10;22(1):61. doi: 10.1186/s12902-022-00975-y. PMID: 35272649; PMCID: PMC8911103.doi: 10.1186/s12902-022-00975-y.
Foldi CJ, James MH, Brown RM, Piya MK, Steward T. Advancing translational neuroscience research for eating disorders. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 2022;56(7):739-741. doi:10.1177/00048674221106678
S. Patel, C. Farkash and D. Simmons. (2022). "Type 1 diabetes management and hospitalisation in the over 25's at an Australian outer urban diabetes clinic." BMC Endocr Disord 22(1): 143. doi: 10.1186/s12902-022-01057-9.
Harreiter, J.; Mendoza, L.C.; Simmons, D.; Desoye, G.; Devlieger, R.; Galjaard, S.; Damm, P.; Mathiesen, E.R.; Jensen, D.M.; Andersen, L.L.T.; Dunne, F.; Lapolla, A.; Dalfra, M.G.; Bertolotto, A.; Wender-Ozegowska, E.; Zawiejska, A.; Hill, D.; Jelsma, J.G.M.; Snoek, F.J.; Worda, C.; Bancher-Todesca, D.; van Poppel, M.N.M.; Corcoy, R.; Kautzky-Willer, A.; on behalf of the DALI Core Investigator Group. Vitamin D3 Supplementation in Overweight/Obese Pregnant Women: No Effects on the Maternal or Fetal Lipid Profile and Body Fat Distribution—A Secondary Analysis of the Multicentric, Randomized, Controlled Vitamin D and Lifestyle for Gestational Diabetes Prevention Trial (DALI). Nutrients 2022, 14, 3781. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14183781
Bain, N., Nguyen, M. ... Tognela, A. ... Segelov, Eva. (2022). "COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Australian Patients with Solid Organ Cancers." Vaccines 10(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10060851
D. Day, L. Grech, M. Nguyen, N. Bain, A. Tognela, D. Hoffman, ... , E. Seglov. (2022). "Serious Underlying Medical Conditions and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: A Large Cross-Sectional Analysis from Australia." Vaccines 10(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10060851
O'Neill, R. S., Wang, W. J., Chan, P., Ho, V., Verdon, C., Turner, I., & Acharya, P. (2023). An obscure cause of gastrointestinal bleeding: Recurrent duodenal variceal hemorrhage treated with intramuscular octreotide in the absence of portal hypertension [Article]. JGH Open, 7(1), 78-80. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgh3.12847
R. O'Neil, P. Azzi, S. Akima, Omental caking in an immunocompetent patient: a fortunate diagnosis of disseminated TB highlighing the pitfalls of interferon gamma release assay interpretation. Chest, 161( 6), Supplement, 2022,Page A85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2021.12.117.