Outcomes after Clinical and Traumatic Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

BACKGROUND

Data on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are still scarce, very varied, and indicate a poor prognosis for traumatic events.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the out-of-hospital/in-hospital survival, survival time, and neurological conditions of those treated by advanced life support units and submitted to cardiopulmonary resuscitation and compare the results of clinical and traumatic cardiac arrests.

METHODS

This is a cohort study carried out in three stages; in the first two, data were collected from the Mobile Emergency Care Service forms and medical records; then, the Brain Performance Category Scale was applied in the third stage. The sample consisted of resuscitated victims aged ≥18 years. Fisher's and log-rank tests were used to compare the causes, considering a significance level of 5%.

RESULTS

852 patients were analyzed; 20.66% were hospitalized, 4.23% survived until transfer or discharge, and 58.33% had a favorable outcome one year after arrest. There was an association between pre/in-hospital survival and the nature of the occurrence (p=0.026), but there was no difference between the survival curves (p=0.6).

CONCLUSIONS

Survival of hospitalization after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was low; however, most who survived to be discharged achieved a favorable outcome after one year. The survival time of those hospitalized after clinical and traumatic events were similar, but pre-hospital survival was higher among trauma patients.

Sixteen Years of Heart Transplant in an Open Cohort in Brazil: Analysis of Graft Survival of Patients using Immunosuppressants

BACKGROUND

Heart transplant is the main therapeutic alternative for advanced heart failure patients. Several risk factors affect these patients' survival; however, few studies about the topic are available in Brazil.

OBJECTIVES

To review the survival rates of heart transplant patients in the Brazilian Public Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde - SUS) between 2000 and 2015.

METHODS

This is a non-concurrent, open cohort study, involving cardiac transplant patients in Brazil. The cumulative survival probability was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier curve, and the curve comparison was done using the Log-Rank test. The Cox model was used to calculate the Hazard-Ratio (HR). Analyses were conducted at the 95% confidence level.

RESULTS

The heart transplant survival rate median in Brazil, during the period, was 8.3 years. Each additional year in the recipient's age, the occurrence of infections, and the performance of the surgical procedure in the South Region were associated with a higher risk of graft loss. A higher use ratio of immunosuppressants mycophenolate and azathioprine acted as a protection factor.

CONCLUSIONS

The analyses conducted provide the first information about the median survival time in heart transplant patients in Brazil. The difference noticed among the geographical regions may be related to the different treatment protocols adopted in the country, especially in the early 2000s. The rate of mycophenolate and azathioprine use as a protection factor suggests that, despite the absence of differences among therapeutic strategies, use of these drugs may favor survival of certain patients. The study provides robust epidemiological data, which are relevant for public health.

Survival in a cohort of patients with lung cancer: the role of age and gender in prognosis

OBJECTIVE

To determine the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as well as their disease course, by age group and gender.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with NSCLC from 2000 to 2012 and followed until July 2015 in a tertiary referral hospital in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Based on the 25th and 75th percentiles of the age distribution, patients were stratified into three age groups: < 55 years; ≥ 55 and < 72 years; and ≥ 72 years. Survival time was evaluated during the follow-up period of the study. Functions of overall and gender-specific survival stratified by age groups (event: all-cause mortality) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Differences among survival curves were assessed via the log-rank test.

RESULTS

We included 790 patients with the following age distribution: < 55 years, 165 patients; ≥ 55 and < 72 years, 423; and ≥ 72 years, 202. In the entire sample, there were 493 men (62.4%). Adenocarcinoma was the most common histological pattern in the < 72-year age groups; 575 patients (73%) presented with advanced disease (stages IIIB-IV). The median 5-year survival was 12 months (95% CI: 4-46 months), with no significant differences among the age groups studied.

CONCLUSIONS

NSCLC remains more common in men, although we found an increase in the proportion of the disease in women in the < 55-year age group. Adenocarcinoma predominated in women. In men, squamous cell carcinoma predominated in the ≥ 72-year age group. Most patients presented with advanced-stage disease at diagnosis. There were no statistical differences in survival between genders or among age groups.

Natural history and surgical treatment of chordoma: a retrospective cohort study

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE

Chordoma is a rare tumor with a high risk of locoregional recurrences. The aim of this study was analyze the long-term results from treating this pathological condition.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Cohort study in a single hospital in São Paulo, Brazil.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study on 42 patients with chordoma who were treated at Hospital A. C. Camargo between 1980 and 2006. The hospital records were reviewed and a descriptive analysis was performed on the clinical-pathological variables. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and these were compared using the log-rank test.

RESULTS

Nineteen patients were men and 23 were women. Twenty-five tumors (59.5%) were located in the sacrum, eleven (26.2%) in the skull base and six (14.3%) in the mobile spine. Surgery was performed on 28 patients (66.7%). The resection was considered to have negative margins in 14 cases and positive margins in 14 cases. The five-year overall survival (OS) was 45.4%. For surgical patients, the five-year OS was 64.3% (82.2% for negative margins and 51.9% for positive margins). In the inoperable group, OS was 37.7% at 24 months and 0% at five years.

CONCLUSION

Complete resection is related to local control and definitively has a positive impact on long-term survival.

Diagnosis and treatment of polycythemia vera: Brazilian experience from a single institution

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE

Polycythemia vera (PV) is a chronic myeloproliferative disorder characterized by predominant proliferation of erythroid precursors. Few data are available concerning Brazilian patients with this condition. The aim of this study was to describe clinical and demographic characteristics of PV patients at diagnosis and analyze their long-term outcomes.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Retrospective study at the Division of Hematology, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP), São Paulo.

METHODS

All consecutive patients with PV diagnosed according to World Health Organization criteria were eligible for this study. Clinical and demographic characteristics, thrombotic events, transformation to acute leukemia, myelofibrosis and survival were evaluated.

RESULTS

Sixty-six patients were evaluated. Thirty-six (54.5%) were females, with a median age at diagnosis of 61 years. At diagnosis, the median hemoglobin concentration was 18.8 mg/dl and the median platelet count was 593,000/mm(3). Fifty-eight patients (88.0%) were treated with hydroxyurea with or without phlebotomy. During a median follow-up of 77 months, 22 patients (33.3%) had new thrombotic events, mainly of arterial type. The overall incidence of leukemia and myelofibrosis was 0.42% per patient-year and 1.06% per patient-year, respectively. Median overall survival was not reached and the seven-year survival rate was 77.8%.

CONCLUSION

The PV patients described here had long survival and arterial thrombotic events were the most important and common complication among this population.

Intensity of cervical inflammatory reaction as a risk factor for recurrence of carcinoma of the uterine cervix in stages IB and IIA

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE

Inflammatory reaction intensity has been indicated as a possible recurrence risk factor in carcinoma of the uterine cervix. Some authors observed greater risk with weak inflammatory reaction, while others described the opposite. This study aimed to evaluate risk factors for initial-stage uterine cervix carcinoma recurrence (IB and IIA), considering inflammatory reaction intensity.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Retrospective cohort at Hospital do Câncer A. C. Camargo.

METHODS

289 patients with diagnosed uterine cervix carcinoma (stages IB and IIA) who underwent radical surgery between 1980 and 1999 were studied. Data were collected from medical records. Histological sections from tumors and lymph nodes could be reviewed in 247 cases. Five-year disease-free survival rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and curves were compared using the log-rank test. Cox's proportional-hazards model was used for multivariate analysis. Recurrence risk was estimated using hazard ratios (HR).

RESULTS

Forty-three recurrences were found. Multivariate analysis identified the following independent recurrence risk factors: number of metastatic pelvic lymph nodes (one lymph node: HR = 3.3 [1.3-8.3]; two or three: HR = 5.3 [1.5-18.6]; four or more: HR = 7.6 [1.7-33.2]), tumor invasion depth (deepest third: HR = 2.1 [1.1-4.1]) and inflammatory reaction intensity in the uterine cervix (absent or slight: HR = 2.5 [1.1-5.7]).

CONCLUSION

This study identified that absent or slight inflammatory reaction was an independent risk factor for recurrence. The other risk factors were the number of metastatic pelvic lymph nodes and invasion of the deepest third of the uterine cervix.