In our study, IIT did not improve the neurologic outcome of patients with STBI but did increase the risk of hypoglycemia compared with CGT.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is responsible for the increasing number of patients on dialysis in developing countries, and is already the most common cause of renal replacement therapy in the developed ones. In this manuscript, we review the risk factors and point out strategies to prevent this microvascular complication in type 2 diabetic patients (DM2). There are some known genetic and non-genetic risk factors related to the development and progression of DN in DM2 patients. Candidate genes have been analysed, but there are still controversy about the genetic markers of the disease. Recognized non-genetic risk factors are poor glycemic, pressoric and lipidic control. Additionally, it has been suggested that the presence of diabetic retinopathy, autonomic neuropathy, smoking habit, higher protein ingestion, and higher normal levels of albuminuria (even within the normal range) are associated with an increased risk of developing DN. Some strategies have been investigated and proved to prevent or at least to postpone DN, such as to control blood pressure, glycemic levels and dyslipidemia. Furthermore, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin-II blockers have independent effects, not explained by blood pressure control alone. Other therapeutic items are to consume a low protein diet and to quit smoking.

WHAT THIS PAPER ADDSThe peri-operative outcome of carotid endarterectomy is still mostly reported as a composite end point of combined ipsilateral stroke and death rate, both at individual patient level and at hospital level. This paper shows that textbook outcome, a composite measure achieved for an individual patient when all undesirable outcomes are absent, could be added to individual outcome measures to better evaluate hospital performance, especially in surgical interventions with low baseline risk such as carotid interventions.Objective: Composite measures may better objectify hospital performance than individual outcome measures (IOM). Textbook outcome (TO) is an outcome measure achieved for an individual patient when all undesirable outcomes are absent. The aim of this study was to assess TO as an additional outcome measure to evaluate quality of care in symptomatic patients treated by carotid endarterectomy (CEA). Methods: All symptomatic patients treated by CEA in 2018, registered in the Dutch Audit for Carotid Interventions, were included. TO was defined as a composite of the absence of 30 day mortality, neurological events (any stroke or transient ischaemic attack [TIA]), cranial nerve deficit, haemorrhage, 30 day readmission, prolonged length of stay (LOS; > 5 days) and any other surgical complication. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify covariables associated with achieving TO, which were used for casemix adjustment for hospital comparison. For each hospital, an observed vs. expected number of events ratio (O/E ratio) was calculated and plotted in a funnel plot with 95% control limits. Results: In total, 70.7% of patients had a desired outcome within 30 days after CEA and therefore achieved TO. Prolonged LOS was the most common parameter (85%) and mortality the least common (1.1%) for not achieving TO. Covariates associated with achieving TO were younger age, the absence of pulmonary comorbidity, higher haemoglobin levels, and TIA as index event. In the case mix adjusted funnel plot, the O/E ratios between hospitals ranged between 0.63 and 1.27, with two hospitals revealing a statistically significantly lower rate of TO (with O/E ratios of 0.63 and 0.66). Conclusion:In the Netherlands, most patients treated by CEA achieve TO. Variation between hospitals in achieving TO might imply differences in performance. TO may be used as an additive to the pre-existing IOM, especially in surgical care with low baseline risk such as CEA.

Background: While several observational studies suggested a lower postoperative mortality after minimal invasive endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) in patients with a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (RAAA) compared to conventional open surgical repair (OSR), landmark randomized controlled trials have not been able to prove the superiority of EVAR over OSR. Randomized controlled trials contain a selected, homogeneous population, influencing external validity. Observational studies are biased and adjustment of confounders can be incomplete. Instrumental variable (IV) analysis (pseudorandomization) may help to answer the question if patients with an RAAA have lower postoperative mortality when undergoing EVAR compared to OSR. Methods: This is an observational study including all patients with an RAAA, registered in the Dutch Surgical Aneurysm Audit between 2013 and 2017. The risk difference (RD) in postoperative mortality (30 days/in-hospital) between patients undergoing EVAR and OSR was estimated, in which adjustment for confounding was performed in 3 ways: linear model adjusted for observed confounders, propensity score model (multivariable logistic regression analysis), and IV analysis (two-stage least square regression), adjusting for observed and unobserved confounders, with the variation in percentage of EVAR per hospital as the IV instrument. Results: 2419 patients with an RAAA (1489 OSR and 930 EVAR) were included. Unadjusted postoperative mortality was 34.9% after OSR and 22.6% after EVAR (RD 12.3%, 95% CI 8.5e16%). The RD adjusted for observed confounders using linear regression analysis and propensity score analysis was, respectively, 12.3% (95% CI 9.6e16.7%) and 13.2% (95%CI 9.3e 17.1%) in favor of EVAR. Using IV analysis, adjusting for observed and unobserved confounders, RD was 8.9% (95% CI-1.1e18.9%) in favor of EVAR.