International practice guidelines for the care of patients with valvular heart disease were most recently updated in 2017, before the publication of the results of the COAPT and MITRA-FR trials in 2018, and these guidelines were conservative in their recommendations regarding surgery for secondary mitral regurgitation.
Guidelines
Guidelines for Diagnosis of the Lynch Syndrome
The Lynch syndrome is the most common inherited syndrome associated with colorectal cancer, accounting for 3% of new diagnoses; it is also associated with extracolonic cancers, the most common of which is endometrial cancer.
The Lynch syndrome phenotype includes a propensity for cancers of the proximal colon, poor tumor differentiation with mucinous or signet-ring cell histologic features or a medullary growth pattern, abundant infiltrating lymphocytes in the tumor, and synchronous and metachronous colorectal cancers.
Diagnosis and Determination of Severity of Acute Cholecystitis
Acute cholecystitis is a very common complication of cholelithiasis, and as such is frequently encountered in surgical practice. TG07 diagnostic criteria are recognized as those to be recommended in current care for acute cholecystitis.
Guidelines for the Diagnosis of Prolonged Grief Disorder
The death of a loved one is one of life’s greatest, universal stressors to which most bereaved individuals successfully adapt without clinical intervention. For a minority of bereaved individuals, grief is complicated by superimposed problems and healing does not occur. The resulting syndrome of complicated grief causes substantial distress and functional impairment even years after a loss, yet knowing when and how to intervene can be a challenge.
Cervical-Cancer Screening Guidelines
The incidence of cervical cancer, as well as mortality rates from the disease, has decreased over the past 30 years because of widespread screening with cervical cytology. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recently published a clinical management guideline on cervical cytology screening.
Management Guidelines for Patients with Thyroid Nodules
As defined by the American Thyroid Association’s task force on the management of thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer, a thyroid nodule is a discrete lesion within the thyroid gland that is radiologically distinct from the surrounding thyroid parenchyma.
Guidelines for the Treatment of Asymptomatic Primary Hyperparathyroidism
The finding of hypercalcemia on routine biochemical testing or in the evaluation of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis is typically the initial clue to the diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism. The total serum calcium level, which combines both the free and albumin-bound components of circulating calcium, should be adjusted for the level of albumin. Measurement of ionized calcium may be useful in selected cases, such as in patients with hyperalbuminemia, thrombocytosis, Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, and myeloma; these patients may have elevated levels of total serum calcium, but normal levels of ionized serum calcium (artifactual hypercalcemia).
Prostate-Cancer Screening Guidelines
The rationale for screening is that early detection and treatment of asymptomatic cancers could extend life, as compared with treatment at the time of clinical diagnosis. The introduction of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing has nearly doubled the lifetime risk of receiving a diagnosis of prostate cancer.
Guidelines for the Use of Erythropoietic Proteins in Anaemic Patients with Cancer
Anaemia is a frequent finding in cancer patients and should be carefully assessed. Additional causes of anaemia such as iron deficiency, bleeding, nutritional defects or haemolysis should be corrected prior to erythropoietic protein therapy. The following recommendations are related to adult cancer patients with solid tumours or haematological malignancies:
Guidelines for the Clinical Use of Red Cell Transfusions
The red blood cell transfusions should not be dictated by a single hemoglobin “trigger” but instead should be based on the patient’s risks of developing complications of inadequate oxygenation. Red blood cell transfusion is rarely indicated when the hemoglobin concentration is greater than 10 g/dL and is almost always indicated when it is less than 6 g/dL.