Time to Surgery Following Short-Course Radiotherapy in Rectal Cancer and its Impact on Postoperative Outcomes. A Population-Based Study Across the English National Health Service, 2009-2014

AIMS

Preoperative short-course radiotherapy (SCRT) is an important treatment option for rectal cancer. The length of time between completing SCRT and surgery may influence postoperative outcomes, but the evidence available to determine the optimal interval is limited and often conflicting.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Information was extracted from a colorectal cancer data repository (CORECT-R) on all surgically treated rectal cancer patients who received SCRT in the English National Health Service between April 2009 and December 2014. The time from radiotherapy to surgery was described across the population. Thirty-day postoperative mortality, returns to theatre, length of stay and 1-year survival were investigated in relation to the interval between radiotherapy and surgery.

RESULTS

Within the cohort of 3469 patients, the time to surgery was 0-7 days for 76% of patients, 8-14 days for 19% of patients and 15-27 days for 5% of patients. There was a clear variation in relation to different patient characteristics. There was, however, no evidence of differences in postoperative outcomes in relation to interval length.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that the time interval between SCRT and surgery does not influence postoperative outcomes up to a year after surgery. The study provides population-level, real-world evidence to complement that from clinical trials.

Derivation of the uncontrolled donation after circulatory determination of death protocol for New York city

Evidence from Europe suggests establishing out-of-hospital, uncontrolled donation after circulatory determination of death (UDCDD) protocols has potential to substantially increase organ availability. The study objective was to derive an out-of-hospital UDCDD protocol that would be acceptable to New York City (NYC) residents. Participatory action research and the SEED-SCALE process for social change guided protocol development in NYC from July 2007 to September 2010. A coalition of government officials, subject experts and communities necessary to achieve support was formed. Authorized NY State and NYC government officials and their legal representatives collaboratively investigated how the program could be implemented under current law and regulations. Community stakeholders (secular and religious organizations) were engaged in town hall style meetings. Ethnographic data (meeting minutes, field notes, quantitative surveys) were collected and posted in a collaborative internet environment. Data were analyzed using an iterative coding scheme to discern themes, theoretical constructs and a summary narrative to guide protocol development. A clinically appropriate, ethically sound UDCDD protocol for out-of-hospital settings has been derived. This program is likely to be accepted by NYC residents since the protocol was derived through partnership with government officials, subject experts and community participants.

Indicators for transboundary river management

The aim of this paper is to analyze the potential of indicators for integrated river basin management and to develop a set of indicators for the management of transboundary river basins. An indicator, comprising a variable or some aggregation of variables, describes a system or process such that it has significance beyond the face value of its components. Integrated river basin management takes into account policies and measures for the multifunctional use of rivers on a catchment scale and associated institutional changes. Indicators are useful instruments for this process for two reasons. Firstly, they meet the information need of policy- and decision-makers. Secondly, indicators can be used to structure the definition and description of information needs and collection of information between the different international, institutional, and sectoral management levels. The development of indicators involves a number of steps: definition of aim, construction of conceptual model, selection of variables, comparison with selection criteria, database assessment, and indicator selection. In this paper these steps are discussed and specified for integrated river basin management. This results in a set of indicators describing the pressure to the river, the state of the river ecosystem, the impact to goods and services provided by the river, and the societal response. The proposed set of indicators measured at a river basin scale provides integrated information on the use and supply of goods and services, underlying cause-effect relationships and possible trade-offs and their spatial distribution (e.g., upstream versus downstream). Furthermore, we propose a division of tasks and responsibilities for river basin management with regard to the development of indicators, data collection, and their application in decision-making.