The Hôpital Albert Schweitzer was established in 1913 by Albert Schweitzer and Helene Bresslau Schweitzer in Lambaréné, Gabon.
BACKGROUND:Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guidance during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been associated with increased stent optimization and reduced adverse events among patients with complex coronary-artery lesions, but adoption of this strategy in Western countries remains low. Although practice guidelines recommend intracoronary imaging for anatomically complex lesions, evidence from current European practice is limited. METHODS:In this investigator-initiated, international, open-label, randomized, controlled trial, we assigned patients undergoing complex PCI to either IVUS-guided PCI, performed with the use of prespecified stent-optimization criteria, or angiography-guided PCI. The primary end point was target-vessel failure, defined as a composite of death from cardiac causes, target-vessel myocardial infarction, or clinically indicated target-vessel revascularization. RESULTS:Of the 2020 patients who underwent randomization, 1010 in the IVUS-guided PCI group and 1009 in the angiography-guided PCI group were included in the primary analysis. The mean age of the patients was 69 years, 79.4% were men, and 27.4% presented with an acute coronary syndrome. The mean procedure duration was 88.8 minutes with IVUS-guided PCI and 66.2 minutes with angiography-guided PCI. Dilation with balloon angioplasty after stent implantation was performed in 91.3% of the IVUS-guided PCI procedures and in 84.5% of the angiography-guided PCI procedures. At a median follow-up of 19.0 months (interquartile range, 15.2 to 23.4), target-vessel failure had occurred in 140 patients (13.9%) in the IVUS-guided PCI group and in 112 patients (11.1%) in the angiography-guided PCI group (hazard ratio, 1.25; 95% confidence interval, 0.97 to 1.60; P = 0.08). Procedural complications occurred in 11.3% of the IVUS-guided PCI procedures and in 10.2% of the angiography-guided PCI procedures. The frequency of adverse events appeared to be similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS:Among patients undergoing complex high-risk PCI, a strategy of routine IVUS-guided PCI performed with the use of prespecified stent-optimization criteria was not associated with a lower risk of target-vessel failure than angiography-guided PCI alone. (Funded by Boston Scientific; IVUS-CHIP ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04854070.).
BACKGROUND:Percutaneous hepatic perfusion can lead to meaningful hepatic tumour control in metastatic uveal melanoma, but its benefit is confined to liver metastases and does not address extrahepatic disease. Immune checkpoint inhibitors ipilimumab and nivolumab show limited activity in uveal melanoma, although retrospective studies suggest improved outcomes when combined with liver-directed therapies. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combining percutaneous hepatic perfusion with ipilimumab and nivolumab. METHODS:In this investigator-initiated, single-centre, open-label, randomised, phase 2 trial, adults aged 18-80 years with unresectable liver-only or liver-dominant metastatic uveal melanoma, WHO performance status 0-1, and with no previous systemic therapy were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive percutaneous hepatic perfusion alone (perfusion group) or percutaneous hepatic perfusion combined with ipilimumab plus nivolumab (combination group). Two perfusions with melphalan (3 mg/kg; maximum 220 mg) were scheduled in weeks 1 and 7. The combination group also received intravenous ipilimumab (1 mg/kg) and nivolumab (3 mg/kg) once every 3 weeks in weeks 0, 3, 6, and 9 without maintenance therapy. The primary endpoint, 1-year progression-free survival, was analysed in the intention-to-treat population; the safety analysis included all treated patients and was prospectively collected and graded using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04283890) and EudraCT (2018-004248-49) and is ongoing but no longer enrolling. FINDINGS:Between Dec 10, 2020, and Nov 15, 2024, 80 patients were screened, of whom 76 were eligible and assigned to the combination group (n=38) or perfusion group (n=38), including 49 (64%) men and 27 (36%) women. Median follow-up was 24·9 months (IQR 15·4-36·0). 1-year progression-free survival was 54·7% (95% CI 36·8-69·5) with combination therapy versus 15·8% (5·8-30·1) with perfusion alone (adjusted hazard ratio 0·34 [95% CI 0·19-0·60]; p=0·0002). Grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 31 (82%) of 38 patients with combination therapy compared to 15 (41%) of 37 patients with perfusion alone, due to both a higher incidence of severe perfusion-related events and immunotherapy-related adverse events. The most common grade 3-4 adverse events were thrombocytopenia (13 [34%] in the combination group vs five [14%] in the perfusion group), leukopenia (ten [26%] vs five [14%]), γ-glutamyl transferase increase (seven [18%] vs three [8%]), and anaemia (five [13%] vs one [3%]). One treatment-related death (due to triple M syndrome) occurred in the combination group. INTERPRETATION:Adding ipilimumab and nivolumab to percutaneous hepatic perfusion significantly improved progression-free survival, but with a higher rate of adverse events. The combination therapy offers a promising new treatment paradigm for patients with metastatic uveal melanoma. These results would ideally be validated in larger, multicentre randomised trials; however, conducting such studies is challenging due to the low incidence of uveal melanoma. FUNDING:Leiden University Medical Centre, Delcath Systems, and Bristol Myers Squibb.
BACKGROUND:Current society guidelines recommend physiological assessment of intermediate coronary lesions to guide revascularization. Data regarding revascularization guided by vessel fractional flow reserve (vFFR), derived from three-dimensional quantitative coronary angiography without the need for a pressure wire or hyperemic agent, as compared with pressure-wire-based fractional flow reserve (FFR), are lacking. METHODS:We conducted an international, open-label, randomized, noninferiority trial at 37 sites in Europe. Patients with intermediate coronary-artery lesions (diameter stenosis of 30 to 80%) who presented with chronic or acute coronary syndromes were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to undergo either vFFR-guided or FFR-guided revascularization of the intermediate coronary-artery lesions. The primary end point was a composite of death from any cause, any myocardial infarction, or any revascularization at 1 year. The noninferiority margin was 3.0 percentage points. RESULTS:The primary end point was assessed in 1116 patients in the vFFR group and 1095 in the FFR group. The mean age of the patients was 67 years, 24.3% were women, 18.7% presented with an acute coronary syndrome, and 26.6% had diabetes mellitus. At 1 year, a primary end-point event had occurred in 80 patients (Kaplan-Meier estimate, 7.5%) in the vFFR group and in 79 patients (Kaplan-Meier estimate, 7.5%) in the FFR group (risk difference, -0.02 percentage points; 95% confidence interval, -2.25 to 2.21; P = 0.004 for noninferiority). The incidence of serious adverse events appeared to be similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS:Among patients with intermediate coronary lesions, vFFR-guided revascularization was noninferior to FFR-guided revascularization with respect to a composite of death, myocardial infarction, or revascularization at 1 year. (Funded by Pie Medical Imaging and Siemens Healthineers; FAST III ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04931771.).
Background: Lateral ligament repair is a reliable surgical approach for the treatment of chronic ankle instability (CAI). Although the open technique has shown success over time, technological advancements have enabled the increasing use of arthroscopic techniques, with the expectation of improving results. The objective of the current trial was to compare the results of open and arthroscopic anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) repair in patients with CAI. Hypothesis: Arthroscopic anatomic repair would lead to superior functional outcome as measured by the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) compared with open anatomic repair. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: Patients at 6 participating sites were included if they were age 16 years or older, had a history of ankle inversion sprain, had symptoms ≥6 months, and had mechanical ankle instability. Randomization was performed over open and arthroscopic ATFL repair, with or without retinacular augmentation. Both procedures were performed using all-suture anchors and corresponding instrumentation. The primary outcome measure was functional outcome as measured by the FAOS at 24 months of follow-up. Results: A total of 41 patients were included: 21 patients in the open repair group and 20 patients in the arthroscopic repair group. The mean ± SD age of the patients at the time of surgery was 32 ± 13 years. No statistically significant difference was found between treatment groups for any of the FAOS subscales at any of the follow-up intervals. Both groups showed statistically significant score improvements across all FAOS subscales ( P < .005). Complications were reported in 4 patients (18%) in the open surgery group (infection, swelling, deep venous thrombosis, adhesion) and 1 patient (5%) in the arthroscopy group (neurogenic pain) ( P = .343). In both groups, 1 resprain was reported (5%). Conclusion: Open and arthroscopic ATFL repairs equally achieved statistically significant improvement in functional outcome and effectively addressed functional and mechanical ankle instability. Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov database (reference NCT02998333) and the Dutch trial registry (NL55707.018.16).
Background This systematic review aimed to identify risk factors for fibrosis and unfavorable cosmetic outcomes after breast conserving therapy (BCT) for breast cancer in the light of contemporary oncoplastic surgery and 3D-radiotherapy techniques. Methods The systematic literature search was carried out in Embase, Ovid Medline, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and CINAHL. Studies published after 2005, reporting two or more risk factors for fibrosis or unfavorable cosmetic outcomes as primary outcomes were eligible for inclusion. Only prospective studies with 100 or more patients analyzed were included. The Quality In Prognosis Studies tool and Cochrane risk-of-bias tool were used to assess risk of bias. Patient, tumor, and treatment-related predictors were identified. Results Twelve papers investigating 12.118 patients were identified. Risk factors for both the development of fibrosis and unfavorable cosmetic outcomes were increasing age, larger tumor size, re-resection, poor early cosmetic outcomes before the start of radiotherapy, high boost dose, boost volume per 10cc, homogeneity-index, dose whole breast irradiation, and adjuvant chemotherapy. No specific risk factors in the setting of BCT with complex oncoplastic surgery techniques or ultra-hypo fractionated radiotherapy were identified in this review. Conclusion The risk factors identified in this review are largely similar to those found in 2D-radiotherapy studies; dose homogeneity was additionally identified. Administering chemotherapy before radiotherapy should be considered for patients requiring both treatments. However, the lack of sufficient high-quality data regarding BCT with (complex) oncoplastic surgery techniques and ultra-hypo fractionated radiotherapy schedules address the need for large, multidisciplinary prospective studies with long-term follow-up.