Lenvatinib + Pembrolizumab in Advanced Gastric Cancer in First-Line or Second-Line Setting
Presence of ctDNA & CTCs After Chemotherapy & Recurrence of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy–Based Systemic Treatment in MMR-Deficient or MSI-High Rectal Cancer
COVID-19 : SARS-CoV-2 Isolated From Middle Ear, Mastoid Bone
SARS-CoV-2 has been isolated from mastoid-bones and middle-ear autopsy specimens from two patients who died with COVID-19, which has implications for otolaryngology practice, according to a new report.
“Identification of a new area of body infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is relevant and helpful for understanding risk for transmitting infection during procedures,” said Dr. C. Matthew Stewart of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, in Baltimore, Maryland.
“Knowledge of these proven risks can help protect healthcare providers during physical examination and common procedures of the ear and mastoid,” he told Reuters Health by email.
Middle-ear effusions have been shown to contain some non-SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruses, but there are no human data relating to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the middle ear.
Dr. Stewart and colleagues selected three COVID-19-positive decedents and performed bilateral cortical mastoidectomy and exposure of the aditus.
Nutrition & Cancer in the Microbiome Era
Outpatient Brain Tumor Surgery Feasible & Safe
As an ever-increasing number of complex surgeries are regularly being performed in an outpatient setting at ambulatory surgical centers, some brain tumor resections may be safe and feasible for appropriately selected patients, new research suggests.
Unadjusted results from a large feasibility study that included more than 300 patients who underwent craniotomy for resection of meningioma showed that among those who were treated in an outpatient setting, mortality and complication rates were significantly lower than for their inpatient counterparts.
Although adjusted analysis showed that between-group differences were no longer significant, outpatient surgery was still not associated with increased mortality or adverse events (AEs).
In addition, patients with low comorbidity rates appeared to be the group “most suitable for outpatient treatment,” the investigators note.