BACKGROUND:The prognosis for patients with atypical and malignant meningioma is guarded; whether the extent of resection is associated with survival-based outcomes in this population remains poorly defined. This study investigated the association between gross total resection (GTR) and all-cause mortality in patients with atypical and malignant meningioma. METHODS: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program was used to identify 575 and 64 patients betweens the ages of 18 and 70 years who were diagnosed with atypical and malignant meningioma, respectively, between 2004 and 2009. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression was used to assess the adjusted impact of GTR versus subtotal resection on all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Baseline patient characteristics were similar for patients who did undergo GTR and patients who did not undergo GTR. The 5-year overall survival rates were 91.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 86.2%-94.5%) and 78.2% (95% CI, 70.0%-84.3%) for patients with atypical meningioma who did and did not undergo GTR, respectively, and 64.5% (95% CI, 45.9%-78.1%) and 41.1% (95% CI, 17.9%-63.1%) for patients with malignant meningioma who did and did not undergo GTR, respectively. After adjustments for available, pertinent confounding variables, GTR was associated with lower all-cause mortality in patients with atypical (hazard ratio, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.23-0.67; P <.001) and malignant meningioma (hazard ratio, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.15-0.81; P 5.01). CONCLUSIONS: The extent of resection is a powerful predictor of outcome for patients with atypical and malignant meningioma. These data highlight the hazard associated with the presence of gross tumor bulk after surgery and suggest a value for more extensive resections that should be balanced against the additional potential morbidity. Cancer 2015;121:4376-81.

BackgroundHeart failure (HF) is a chronic condition affecting nearly 5.7 million Americans and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. With an aging population, the cost associated with managing HF is expected to more than double from US $31 billion in 2012 to US $70 billion by 2030. Readmission rates for HF patients are high—25% are readmitted at 30 days and nearly 50% at 6 months. Low medication adherence contributes to poor HF management and higher readmission rates. Remote telehealth monitoring programs aimed at improved medication management and adherence may improve HF management and reduce readmissions.ObjectiveThe primary goal of this randomized controlled pilot study is to compare the MedSentry remote medication monitoring system versus usual care in older HF adult patients who recently completed a HF telemonitoring program. We hypothesized that remote medication monitoring would be associated with fewer unplanned hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits, increased medication adherence, and improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL) compared to usual care.MethodsParticipants were randomized to usual care or use of the remote medication monitoring system for 90 days. Twenty-nine participants were enrolled and the final analytic sample consisted of 25 participants. Participants completed questionnaires at enrollment and closeout to gather data on medication adherence, health status, and HRQoL. Electronic medical records were reviewed for data on baseline classification of heart function and the number of unplanned hospitalizations and ED visits during the study period.ResultsUse of the medication monitoring system was associated with an 80% reduction in the risk of all-cause hospitalization and a significant decrease in the number of all-cause hospitalization length of stay in the intervention arm compared to usual care. Objective device data indicated high adherence rates (95%-99%) among intervention group participants despite finding no significant difference in self-reported adherence between study arms. The intervention group had poorer heart function and HRQoL at baseline, and HRQoL declined significantly in the intervention group compared to controls.ConclusionsThe MedSentry medication monitoring system is a promising technology that merits continued development and evaluation. The MedSentry medication monitoring system may be useful both as a standalone system for patients with complex medication regimens or used to complement existing HF telemonitoring interventions. We found significant reductions in risk of all-cause hospitalization and the number of all-cause length of stay in the intervention group compared to controls. Although HRQoL deteriorated significantly in the intervention group, this may have been due to the poorer HF-functioning at baseline in the intervention group compared to controls. Telehealth medication adherence technologies, such as the MedSentry medication monitoring system, are a promising method to improve patient self-management,the quality of pati...

No abstract

No abstract