Comprehensive abdominal composition evaluation of rectal cancer patients with anastomotic leakage compared with body mass indexmatched controls

BACKGROUND Anastomotic leakage(AL)is a fatal complication in patients with rectal cancer after undergoing anterior resection.However,the role of abdominal composition in the development of AL has not been studied.AIM To investigate the relationship between abdominal composition and AL in rectal cancer patients after undergoing anterior resection.METHODS A retrospective case-matched cohort study was conducted.Complete data for 78 patients with AL were acquired and this cohort was defined as the AL group.The controls were matched for the same sex and body mass index(±1 kg/m^(2)).Parameters related to abdominal composition including visceral fat area(VFA),subcutaneous fat area(SFA),subcutaneous fat thickness(SFT),skeletal muscle area(SMA),skeletal muscle index(SMI),abdominal circumference(AC),anterior to posterior diameter of abdominal cavity(APD),and transverse diameter of abdominal cavity(TD)were evaluated based on computed tomography(CT)images using the following Hounsfield Unit(HU)thresholds:SFA:-190 to-30,SMA:-29 to 150,and VFA:-150 to-20.The significance of abdominal compositionrelated parameters was quantified using feature importance analysis;an artificial intelligence method was used to evaluate the contribution of each included variable.RESULTS Two thousand two hundred and thirty-eight rectal cancer patients who underwent anterior resection from 2010 to 2020 in a large academic hospital were investigated.Finally,156 cases were enrolled in the study.Patients in the AL group showed longer operative time(225.03±55.29 vs 207.17±40.80,P=0.023),lower levels of preoperative hemoglobin(123.32±21.17 vs 132.60±16.31,P=0.003)and albumin(38.34±4.01 vs 40.52±3.97,P=0.001),larger tumor size(4.07±1.36 vs 2.76±1.28,P<0.001),and later cancer stage(P<0.001)compared to the controls.Patients who developed AL exhibited a larger VFA(125.68±73.59 vs 97.03±57.66,P=0.008)and a smaller APD(77.30±23.23 vs 92.09±26.40,P<0.001)and TD(22.90±2.23 vs 24.21±2.90,P=0.002)compared to their matched controls.Feature importance analysis revealed that TD,APD,and VFA were the three most important abdominal composition-related features.CONCLUSION AL patients have a higher visceral fat content and a narrower abdominal structure compared to matched controls.

Management of proximal biceps tendon pathology

The long head of the biceps tendon is widely recognized as an important pain generator,especially in anterior shoulder pain and dysfunction with athletes and working individuals.The purpose of this review is to provide a current understanding of the long head of the biceps tendon anatomy and its surrounding structures,function,and relevant clinical information such as evaluation,treatment options,and complications in hopes of helping orthopaedic surgeons counsel their patients.An understanding of the long head of the biceps tendon anatomy and its surrounding structures is helpful to determine normal function as well as pathologic injuries that stem proximally.The biceps-labral complex has been identified and broken down into different regions that can further enhance a physician’s knowledge of common anterior shoulder pain etiologies.Although various physical examination maneuvers exist meant to localize the anterior shoulder pain,the lack of specificity requires orthopaedic surgeons to rely on patient history,advanced imaging,and diagnostic injections in order to determine the patient’s next steps.Nonsurgical treatment options such as anti-inflammatory medications,physical therapy,and ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injections should be utilized before entertaining surgical treatment options.If surgery is needed,the three options include biceps tenotomy,biceps tenodesis,or superior labrum anterior to posterior repair.Specifically for biceps tenodesis,recent studies have analyzed open vs arthroscopic techniques,the ideal location of tenodesis with intra-articular,suprapectoral,subpectoral,extra-articular top of groove,and extra-articular bottom of groove approaches,and the best method of fixation using interference screws,suture anchors,or cortical buttons.Orthopaedic surgeons should be aware of the complications of each procedure and respond accordingly for each patient.Once treated,patients often have good to excellent clinical outcomes and low rates of complications.