No abstract

Continuous enteral feeding (CEF) has been associated with decreased gastric acidity, thereby stimulating gastric colonization and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Intermittent enteral feeding (IEF) could induce a temporary increase in gastric acidity and decrease the risk of VAP. We studied the influence of IEF (18 h/d) and CEF (24 h/d) on gastric and oropharyngeal colonization. Sixty patients were randomized to receive either IEF or CEF, and continuous intragastric pH monitoring was performed in 50 patients. Median intragastric pH levels were similar before enteral feeding was instituted (pH 2.5 for CEF and pH 2.4 for IEF), and median pH values increased slightly after institution of nutrition (NS). In patients receiving IEF, median pH decreased from 3.5 to 2.2 (p = 0.0002) when enteral feeding was discontinued. However, despite this, 80% of the patients in both study groups were colonized in the stomach after 7 d in study. In addition, colonization rates of the oropharynx and trachea, the incidence of VAP, and mortality were similar in both study groups. IEF was less well tolerated than CEF. We conclude that almost all patients receiving enteral feeding are colonized in the stomach with gram-negative bacteria. IEF resulted in a slight decrease in intragastric pH without influencing rates of colonization and infection of the respiratory tract.

IMPORTANCE Autologous fat transfer (AFT or fat grafting) has become an invaluable tool for the correction of disfiguring deformities after breast cancer surgery. However, clinical and animal studies have shown conflicting results regarding its oncologic safety. OBJECTIVE To determine whether exposure to AFT vs conventional breast reconstruction is associated with increased rates of cancer relapse in patients with breast cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This matched cohort study involved retrospective medical record review to identify all patients in a local patient database receiving AFT between 2006 and 2014. Each AFT case was matched with a nonexposed control patient with similar baseline characteristics. The mean (SD) follow-up of patients receiving AFT was 9.3 (4.9) years including 5.0 (1.7) years following AFT. Control patients were followed up for a mean (SD) of 8.6 (1.8) years from the primary surgery. Patients were identified through the local patient database of the Tergooi Hospital in Hilversum, the Netherlands. A total of 287 patients with breast cancer (300 affected breasts) who received AFT for breast reconstruction after cancer were included in the intervention group. Each AFT case was matched with a respective control patient based on age, type of oncologic surgery, tumor invasiveness, and disease stage. In addition, individual AFT-control pairs were selected to have the same locoregional recurrence-free interval at baseline. Data were analyzed between 2016 and 2017. EXPOSURES Reconstruction with AFT vs conventional breast reconstruction or none. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Primary end points were the cumulative incidences of oncologic events in AFT and control patients and their respective hazard ratios. RESULTS Of the 587 total patients, all were women and the mean age was 48.1 years for the patients undergoing AFT and 49.4 years for the control patients. Eight locoregional recurrences were observed in the treatment group (287 patients) and 11 among the control group (300 patients), leading to an unadjusted hazard ratio of 0.63 (95% CI, 0.25-1.60; P = .33). No increased locoregional recurrence rates were seen in relevant subgroups based on the type of oncological surgery, tumor invasiveness, or pathological stage. In addition, no increased risks with AFT were detected with respect to distant recurrences or breast cancer-specific mortality. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE No significant differences in the locoregional recurrence rates between the AFT and control groups were observed after 5 years of follow-up. These findings confirm the results of previous studies; therefore, clinical evidence suggesting that AFT is associated with increased risk for cancer relapse is still lacking.

IMPORTANCEThe use of autologous fat transfer (AFT) or lipofilling for correcting contour deformities is seen as one of the major breakthroughs in reconstructive plastic surgery. Its applications in facial reconstructive surgery have been of particular interest owing to the prospect of achieving autologous reconstruction by a minimally invasive approach. However, its unpredictability and variable degree of resorption have limited its utility and much skepticism still exists regarding its efficacy. Furthermore, more than 2 decades of clinical research have produced a highly fragmented body of evidence that has not been able to provide definite answers. OBJECTIVE To investigate the safety and efficacy of AFT in facial reconstruction through a systematic review and meta-analysis.