Surgery (Austin & Northern Health) - Research Publications

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    Active surveillance versus enzalutamide for low-risk prostate cancer - was it really a trial we needed?
    Williams, ISC ; Perera, S ; Murphy, DG ; Corcoran, NM ; Bolton, DM ; Lawrentschuk, N (WILEY, 2022-11)
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    Temporal changes in the epidemiology of sepsis-related intensive care admissions from the emergency department in Australia and New Zealand
    Jones, D ; Moran, J ; Udy, A ; Pilcher, D ; Delaney, A ; Peake, SL (WILEY, 2022-12)
    OBJECTIVES: The Australasian Resuscitation in Sepsis Evaluation (ARISE) study researched septic shock treatment within EDs. This study aims to evaluate whether: (i) conduct of the ARISE study was associated with changes in epidemiology and care for adults (≥18 years) admitted from EDs to ICUs with sepsis in Australia and New Zealand; and (ii) such changes differed among 45 ARISE trial hospitals compared with 120 non-trial hospitals. METHODS: Retrospective study using interrupted time series analysis in three time periods; 'Pre-ARISE' (January 1997 to December 2007), 'During ARISE' (January 2008 to May 2014) and 'Post-ARISE' (June 2014 to December 2017) using data from the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database. RESULTS: Over 21 years there were 54 121 ICU admissions from the ED with sepsis; which increased from 8.1% to 16.4%; 54.6% male, median (interquartile range) age 66 (53-76) years. In the pre-ARISE period, pre-ICU ED length of stay (LOS) decreased in trial hospitals but increased in non-trial hospitals (P = 0.174). During the ARISE study, pre-ICU ED LOS declined more in trial hospitals (P = 0.039) as did the frequency of mechanical ventilation in the first 24 h (P = 0.003). However, ICU and hospital LOS, in-hospital mortality and risk of death declined similarly in both trial and non-trial hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Sepsis-related admissions increased from 8.1% to 16.4%. During the ARISE study, there was more rapid ICU admission and decreased early ventilation. However, these changes were not sustained nor associated with decreased risk of death or duration of hospitalisation.
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    Prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography funding grants free access to superior staging for Australian men with prostate cancer Comment
    O'Brien, JS ; McVey, A ; Kelly, BD ; Jenjitranant, P ; Buteau, J ; Hofman, MS ; Kasivisvanithan, V ; Eapen, R ; Moon, D ; Murphy, DG ; Lawrentschuk, N (WILEY, 2022-11)
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    Junior doctors voice strong desire for clinical ethics teaching
    Schnall, JA ; Drewett, G ; Heynemann, S ; McDougall, R ; Ko, D (WILEY, 2022-01)
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    Registrar triage, communication and moral distress during end-of-life care rapid response team calls in a teaching hospital
    Callahan, S ; Moran, J ; See, E ; Jones, D ; Eastwood, GM ; Warrillow, S (WILEY, 2022-12)
    BACKGROUND: Approximately one-third of rapid response teams (RRT) involve end-of-life care (EOLC) issues. Intensive care unit (ICU) registrar experience in such calls is underinvestigated. AIMS: To evaluate the proportion of RRT calls triaged as relating to EOLC issues, issues around communication regarding prognostication, registrar self-reported moral distress and associations between RRT EOLC classification and patient outcomes. METHODS: Prospective observational study of RRT calls in a tertiary referrals hospital between December 2016 and January 2017 using a standardised case report form and data from an electronic RRT database. RESULTS: There were 401 RRT calls in the study period, and data were available for 270 (67%) calls, of which 72%, 10% and 18% were triaged as 'obviously not EOLC call', 'obvious EOLC call' and 'uncertain EOLC call' respectively. Most discussions regarding prognostication occurred between registrars, and more than half (55%) were with a covering doctor. Consensus on prognostication was achieved in 93% cases. Registrars reported distress in 19% of calls that obviously related to EOLC and 22% of calls that were uncertain, compared with <1% of calls that were obviously not relating to EOLC. Inhospital mortality was 6%, 67% and 39% for obviously not EOLC, obvious EOLC and uncertain EOLC calls respectively. CONCLUSIONS: EOLC issues occur commonly in RRT calls and are often associated with moral distress to ICU registrars. Although consensus on prognostication is usually achieved, conversations often involve covering doctors. These issues impact on the ICU registrar experience of RRT calls and require further exploration.
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    Monitoring quality of care in hepatocellular carcinoma: A modified Delphi consensus
    Maharaj, AD ; Lubel, J ; Lam, E ; Clark, PJ ; Duncan, O ; George, J ; Jeffrey, GP ; Lipton, L ; Liu, H ; McCaughan, G ; Neo, E-L ; Philip, J ; Strasser, S ; Stuart, K ; Thompson, A ; Tibballs, J ; Tu, T ; Wallace, MC ; Wigg, A ; Wood, M ; Zekry, A ; Greenhill, E ; Ioannou, LJ ; Ahlenstiel, G ; Bowers, K ; Clarke, SJ ; Dev, A ; Fink, M ; Goodwin, M ; Karapetis, CS ; Levy, MT ; Muller, K ; O'Beirne, J ; Pryor, D ; Seow, J ; Shackel, N ; Tallis, C ; Butler, N ; Olynyk, JK ; Reed-Cox, K ; Zalcberg, JR ; Roberts, SK (LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS, 2022-11)
    Although there are several established international guidelines on the management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), there is limited information detailing specific indicators of good quality care. The aim of this study was to develop a core set of quality indicators (QIs) to underpin the management of HCC. We undertook a modified, two-round, Delphi consensus study comprising a working group and experts involved in the management of HCC as well as consumer representatives. QIs were derived from an extensive review of the literature. The role of the participants was to identify the most important and measurable QIs for inclusion in an HCC clinical quality registry. From an initial 94 QIs, 40 were proposed to the participants. Of these, 23 QIs ultimately met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final set. This included (a) nine related to the initial diagnosis and staging, including timing to diagnosis, required baseline clinical and laboratory assessments, prior surveillance for HCC, diagnostic imaging and pathology, tumor staging, and multidisciplinary care; (b) thirteen related to treatment and management, including role of antiviral therapy, timing to treatment, localized ablation and locoregional therapy, surgery, transplantation, systemic therapy, method of response assessment, and supportive care; and (c) one outcome assessment related to surgical mortality. Conclusion: We identified a core set of nationally agreed measurable QIs for the diagnosis, staging, and management of HCC. The adherence to these best practice QIs may lead to system-level improvement in quality of care and, ultimately, improvement in patient outcomes, including survival.
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    Liver Machine Perfusion-When Physiopathology Matters
    Furtado, R ; Weinberg, L ; Perini, MV (MDPI, 2022-09)
    Liver transplantation (LT) has become a victim of its own success [...].
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    Impact of Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in the Management of Oligometastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma
    Udovicich, C ; Callahan, J ; Bressel, M ; Ong, WL ; Perera, M ; Tran, B ; Azad, A ; Haran, S ; Moon, D ; Chander, S ; Shaw, M ; Eapen, R ; Goad, J ; Lawrentschuk, N ; Murphy, DG ; Hofman, M ; Siva, S (ELSEVIER, 2022-10)
    BACKGROUND: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is overexpressed in the neovasculature of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, there remains limited evidence regarding the use of PSMA positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in RCC. OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of PSMA PET/CT in the management of metastatic RCC. DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a retrospective review of patients who underwent PSMA PET/CT from 2014 to 2020 for restaging or suspected metastatic RCC in a tertiary academic setting. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Management plans before and after PSMA PET/CT were recorded. Impact was classified as high (change of treatment intent, modality, or site), medium (change in treatment method), or low. Secondary outcomes included the patient-level detection rate, PSMA PET/CT parameters, sensitivity, and comparison to CT and, if available, fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Sixty-one patients met the inclusion criteria, of whom 54 (89%) had clear cell RCC. PSMA-positive disease was detected in 51 patients (84%). For 30 patients (49%) there was a change in management due to PSMA PET/CT (high impact, 29 patients, 48%). In 15 patients (25%), more metastases were detected on PSMA PET/CT than on CT. The sensitivity of combined PSMA PET/CT and diagnostic CT was 91% (95% confidence interval 77-98%). In a subcohort of 40 patients, the detection rate was 88% for PSMA and 75% for FDG PET/CT (p = 0.17). The maximum standardised uptake value (SUVmax) was higher for PSMA than for FDG PET/CT (15.2 vs 8.0; p = 0.02). Limitations include selection bias due to the retrospective design, and a lack of corresponding histopathology for all patients. CONCLUSIONS: PSMA PET/CT is a promising imaging modality in metastatic RCC and led to a change in management in 49% of patients. PSMA PET/CT detected additional metastases compared to CT in 25% of patients and registered a significantly higher SUVmax than FDG PET/CT. Prospective studies are required to further define its role. PATIENT SUMMARY: We report on a group of patients undergoing a new type of imaging for suspected advanced kidney cancer, called PSMA PET/CT. This imaging changed the management plan in 49% of the patients. PSMA PET/CT detected metastases in 84% of our patients and detected more metastases than computed tomography imaging in 25%.
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