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Abstract Background Patients with obesity presenting in need of surgical intervention are at 2-to-sixfold higher risk of prolonged hospitalization, infectious morbidity, venous thromboembolism, and more. To mitigate some of these concerns, prescribed preoperative weight loss via very low-energy diets (VLEDs) has become a standard of care for patients with obesity undergoing bariatric surgery. While VLEDs have become standard prior to bariatric surgery, their application in other surgical settings remains limited. A large, definitive trial is required to resolve the uncertainty surrounding their use in these patients. Prior to a definitive trial to compare the efficacy of VLEDs in patients with obesity undergoing major non-bariatric surgery, we require a pilot trial. We argue a pilot trial will provide the following critical feasibility insights: (1) assessment of recruitment ability, (2) evaluation of adherence to VLED regimens, and (3) assessment of our ability follow patients completely. Methods The proposed trial will be a multi-center, surgeon, outcome assessor, and data-analyst blinded, parallel pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT). Patients older than 18 years of age with a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30 kg/m2 undergoing major elective non-bariatric surgery will be eligible for inclusion. Consecutive patients will be allocated 1:1 according to a computer-generated randomization schedule. Randomization will be stratified by center and will employ randomly permutated blocks. All patients in the intervention group will receive standard patient counseling on weight loss and an active VLED protocol. The preoperative VLED protocol will utilize commercially available weight loss products for three weeks preoperatively. The primary outcomes (randomization percentage, recruitment rate, intervention adherence, follow-up completion, network development) will assess feasibility. Descriptive statistics will be used to characterize the study sample. Discussion The PREPARE pilot RCT will aim to provide feasibility and safety data that will allow for the successful completion of the definitive PREPARE trial that has the potential to provide practice changing data pertaining to the regular use of VLEDs as a means of pre-habilitation for patients with obesity undergoing major non-bariatric surgery. Trial registration This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (reference #NCT05918471) on June 23, 2023.

Introduction The aim of this methodological review is to evaluate the completeness of reporting of surgical pilot and feasibility randomised trials as per the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) extension to randomised pilot and feasibility trials. Moreover, we aim to assess for the presence of spin reporting and inconsistency between abstract and main text reporting in surgical pilot and feasibility randomised trials.Methods and analysis A comprehensive, electronic search strategy will be used to identify studies indexed in Medline, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases. Studies will be included if they are pilot or feasibility randomised trials of surgical interventions. The primary outcome will be overall CONSORT statement extension to randomised pilot and feasibility trials checklist completeness. This will be defined as trials reporting each of the 40 items in the CONSORT statement extension to randomised pilot and feasibility trials checklist. Secondary outcomes will include the reporting of individual studies as per the CONSORT extension to randomised pilot and feasibility trials, the use of spin reporting strategies, trial factors associated with reporting quality and spin strategy use, and consistency between abstract and main text reporting. Poisson and logistic regressions will be performed to explore the association between trial factors and completeness of reporting as measured by the number of reported CONSORT items.Ethics and dissemination This is a methodological survey that has been registered a priori on the International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) (CRD42023475512). Local ethics approval is not required. We plan to disseminate study results through peer-reviewed publication and conference presentations.

BackgroundPreoperative very low energy diet (VLED) interventions are used routinely in patients undergoing bariatric surgery, a surgical subspecialty that deals almost exclusively with patients with obesity. Yet, their use and study has been limited in non-bariatric abdominal surgery. To investigate the use of VLEDs in non-bariatric surgery, we plan on conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Prior to proceeding, however, we have designed two surveys as important pre-emptive studies aimed at elucidating patient and provider perspectives regarding these interventions.MethodsThe patient survey is a cross-sectional, single-center survey aimed at assessing the safety, adherence, barriers to adherence, and willingness to participate in preoperative optimization protocols with VLEDs prior to undergoing elective non-bariatric intra-abdominal surgery (S1 File). The population of interest is all adult patients with obesity undergoing elective non-bariatric intra-abdominal surgery at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton who were prescribed a course of preoperative VLED. The primary outcomes will be safety and adherence. The target sample size is 35 survey responses. The provider survey is a cross-sectional national survey of practicing surgeons in Canada who perform major non-bariatric abdominal surgery aimed assessing the willingness and ability to prescribe preoperative weight loss interventions amongst practicing Canadian surgeons who perform major non-bariatric abdominal surgery (S2 File). The population of interest is independent practicing surgeons in Canada who perform major non-bariatric abdominal surgery. The primary outcome will be willingness to prescribe preoperative VLED to patients with obesity undergoing major non-bariatric abdominal surgery for both benign and malignant indications. The target sample size is 61 survey responses. Descriptive statistics will be used to characterize the sample populations. To determine variables associated with primary outcomes in the surveys, regression analyses will be performed.DiscussionThese survey data will ultimately inform the design of an RCT evaluating the efficacy of preoperative VLEDs for patients with obesity undergoing major abdominal surgery.

Background and Objectives: The number of lymph nodes found harboring metastasis can be impacted by the extent of harvest. Guidelines recommend 12 lymph nodes for adequate lymphadenectomy to predict long-term oncologic outcomes, yet different cut-offs remain unevaluated. The aim of this review was to determine cut-offs that may predict survival outcomes. Methods: Medline, Embase, and CENTRAL were systematically searched. Articles were included if they compared overall survival (OS) or disease-free survival (DFS) above and below a lymph node harvest cut-off. Studies solely examining rectal cancer or stage-IV disease were excluded. Pairwise meta-analyses using inverse variance random effects were performed. Results: From 2587 citations, 20 studies with 854,359 patients (51.9% female, mean age: 68.9) were included, with 19 studies included in quantitative synthesis. A lymph node harvest cut-off of 12 predicted improved five-year OS (7 studies; OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.08–1.14, p

PurposeTo optimize patients prior to bariatric surgery, very low energy diets (VLEDs) are often employed for 2–4 weeks preoperatively. They are known to result in preoperative weight loss, decrease liver volume, and decrease surgeon-perceived operative difficulty. Their impact on postoperative morbidity has been less extensively studied. We performed a focused systematic review and meta-analysis with the aim of comparing preoperative VLEDs prior to bariatric surgery with controls in terms of overall postoperative morbidity.MethodsMEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL were searched from database inception to February 2023. Articles were eligible for inclusion if they were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing postoperative morbidity in adult patients (i.e., over the age of 18) receiving a VLED with liquid formulation to those receiving a non-VLED control prior to elective bariatric surgery. Outcomes included overall 30-day postoperative morbidity and preoperative weight loss. An inverse variance meta-analysis was performed with GRADE assessment of the quality of evidence.ResultsAfter reviewing 2,525 citations, four RCTs with 294 patients receiving preoperative VLEDs with liquid formulation and 294 patients receiving a non-VLED control met inclusion. Patients receiving VLED experienced significantly more preoperative weight loss than patients receiving control (mean difference (MD) 3.38 kg, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06–5.70, p = 0.004, I2 = 95%). According to low certainty evidence, there was a non-significant reduction in 30-day postoperative morbidity in patients receiving VLED prior to bariatric surgery (risk ratio (RR) 0.67, 95%CI 0.39–1.17, p = 0.16, I2 = 0%).ConclusionThe impact of preoperative VLEDs on postoperative outcomes following bariatric surgery remains unclear. It is possible that VLEDs may contribute to decreased postoperative morbidity, but further larger prospective trials are required to investigate the signal identified in this study.

Background: Loop ileostomies (LIs) are used for temporary fecal diversion to protect downstream colorectal anastomoses. Standard operative approach for LI reversal has been through an open technique. Recently, laparoscopic LI reversal has been employed and studied. The aim of this systematic review was to compare laparoscopic and open LI reversal. Methods: Medline, Embase, and CENTRAL were systematically searched. Articles were included if they compared rate of postoperative morbidity and/or length of stay (LOS) in patients undergoing laparoscopic or open LI reversal. Pairwise meta-analyses using inverse variance random effects was performed. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evidence (GRADE) approach was conducted to assess quality of evidence. Results: From 410 citations, four observational studies with 213 patients undergoing laparoscopic LI reversal and 176 patients undergoing open LI reversal met inclusion. Patients in the laparoscopic group had significantly shorter LOS (MD -0.39, 95%CI -0.73 to -0.04, p = 0.03). Laparoscopic and open LI reversal were comparable in postoperative morbidity, aside from a decrease of superficial surgical site infection (sSSI) with the use of laparoscopy (OR 0.22, 95%CI 0.07 to 0.71, p = 0.01). Operative time was not significantly different between groups (MD 11.91, 95%CI -1.87 to 25.70, p = 0.09). The GRADE quality of evidence was low to very low. Conclusions: This review presents low quality evidence that laparoscopic LI reversal is a feasible approach that may reduce postoperative LOS and sSSI compared to open LI reversal without increasing operative time. Future prospective comparative studies are required to confirm the findings of the present review.

Energy behaviours will play a key role in decarbonising the building sector but require the provision of tailored insights to assist occupants to reduce their energy use. Energy disaggregation has been proposed to provide such information on the appliance level without needing a smart meter plugged in to each load. However, the use of public datasets with pre-collected data employed for energy disaggregation is associated with limitations regarding its compatibility with random households, while gathering data on the ground still requires extensive, and hitherto under-deployed, equipment and time commitments. Going beyond these two approaches, here, we propose a novel data acquisition protocol based on multiplexing appliances’ signals to create an artificial database for energy disaggregation implementations tailored to each household and dedicated to performing under conditions of time and equipment constraints, requiring that only one smart meter be used and for less than a day. In a case study of a Greek household, we train and compare four common algorithms based on the data gathered through this protocol and perform two tests: an out-of-sample test in the artificially multiplexed signal, and an external test to predict the household’s appliances’ operation based on the time series of a real total consumption signal. We find accurate monitoring of the operation and the power consumption level of high-power appliances, while in low-power appliances the operation is still found to be followed accurately but is also associated with some incorrect triggers. These insights attest to the efficacy of the protocol and its ability to produce meaningful tips for changing energy behaviours even under constraints, while in said conditions, we also find that long short-term memory neural networks consistently outperform all other algorithms, with decision trees closely following.

Background: The number of Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS) applicants ranking surgical specialties as their first choice has declined over the past 20 years; concurrently, there has been a reduction in the number of hours spent teaching undergraduate medical education (UGME) anatomy, particularly with cadaveric dissection. The aim of this study was to determine the factors that most influence selection of a surgical specialty, with specific focus on the impact of UGME anatomy training. Methods: A 36-item cross-sectional survey was designed by experts in medical education and distributed to all current surgical residents in Canada in October 2018. Responses were recorded on a 5-point Likert scale or by means of list ranking. We analyzed univariable outcomes with a t test for continuous outcomes and the [chi square] test for dichotomous outcomes. Results: Of 1493 surgical residents, 228 responded to the survey (response rate 15.3%). Respondents reported experiences on core rotations and elective rotations, and access to a mentor as the most important factors in deciding to pursue a surgical residency. Anatomy training with or without cadaveric dissection was moderately influential in respondents' first-choice CaRMS discipline (mean Likert scale score 2.97 [standard deviation (SD) 1.34] and 2.87 [SD 1.26], respectively). General surgery residents' CaRMS applications were more likely to have been influenced by UGME anatomy training than the applications by residents in other surgical specialties (p < 0.001). The impact of UGME anatomy training did not vary between postgraduate years or between male and female residents. Conclusion: Canadian surgical residents' decision to apply to a surgical specialty did not seem to be strongly influenced by their UGME anatomy training, with or without cadaveric dissection, but, rather, by factors such as clinical experience and surgical mentorship. Further evaluation of groups that were more positively affected by their UGME anatomy training is warranted. Contexte : Le nombre de candidats inscrits au Service de jumelage canadien des residents (SJCR) qui classent les specialites chirurgicales parmi leurs premiers choix a diminue ces 20 dernieres annees. Simultanement, dans les programmes d'etudes medicales predoctorales, on a note une baisse du nombre d'heures consacrees a l'enseignement de l'anatomie, particulierement a la dissection de cadavres. Le but de cette etude etait d'identifier les principaux facteurs qui influent sur le choix d'une specialite chirurgicale, en portant une attention particuliere a l'impact de la formation predoctorale en anatomie. Methodes : Des experts en formation medicale ont prepare un sondage de 36 questions qui a ete distribue a tous les residents en chirurgie au Canada en date d'octobre 2018. Les reponses ont ete reportees sur une echelle de Likert en 5 points ou sous forme de liste de classement. Nous avons analyse les resultats univaries au moyen d'un test t pour les resultats continus et d'un test du [chi square] pour les variables dichotomiques. Resultats : Sur 1493 residents en chirurgie, 228 ont repondu au sondage (taux de reponse, 15,3 %). Parmi les plus importants facteurs pour decider de poursuivre leur residence, les repondants ont mentionne leurs experiences de stages obligatoires et electifs et l'acces a un mentor. La formation en anatomie, avec ou sans dissection de cadavres, a eu une influence moderee sur le premier choix d'une discipline du SJCR (score moyen a l'echelle de Likert 2,97 [ecart-type (E.-T) 1,34] et 2,87 [E.-T 1,26], respectivement). Les demandes d'admission des residents en chirurgie generale etaient plus susceptibles de dependre de la formation predoctorale en anatomie que les demandes d'admission dans d'autres specialites chirurgicales (p < 0,001). L'impact de la formation predoctorale en anatomie n'a pas varie en fonction de l'annee de residence ni selon le sexe des residents. Conclusion : La decision des residents de chirurgie canadiens de s'inscrire dans une specialite chirurgicale n'a pas semble fortement influencee par la formation predoctorale en anatomie, avec ou sans dissection de cadavres, mais plutot par des facteurs tels que l'experience clinique et le mentorat en chirurgie. Il faudrait etudier plus en profondeur les groupes pour qui la formation predoctorale en anatomie a ete positive., The number of Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS) applicants ranking surgical specialties as their first choice has declined over the past 20 years. (1-5) Specifically, there was a reduction in [...]