ObjectivesTo investigate the ability of emergency medical rescue personnel in Sichuan province to collect information and contact resources at rescue sites, and to provide evidence for emergency training and drills. MethodsThe rescue site of a batch of critically ill patients in public emergency was simulated. The cross-sectional survey was made on rescue personnel at the city (prefecture) and county level of Sichuan province. The rating scale of on-site information contact ability was used to evaluate their performance. Because the score distribution does not conform to the normal distribution, the space between the median and interquartile was used to describe the score, and multiple measurement data was compared by the rank sum test. ResultsA total of 287 rescue drill personnel were included. The overall score M (P25, P75) of information contact ability was 19.57 (13.04, 28.26). The scores of each dimension were as follows: the safety zone was set as 0 (0, 10), the on-site hazard identification was 0 (0, 16.67), external contact and coordination was 50 (0, 50), internal coordination and command was 50 (16.67, 50), the on-site disaster statistics was 40 (10, 70), the on-site resource status was 0 (0, 0), and the on-site reinforcement demand was 0 (0, 0). Hierarchy by occupation: 19.57 (12.50, 28.26) for clinicians, 19.57 (14.13, 34.78) for nurses, 25 (14.67, 32.61) for medical skills, 21.74 (14.13, 30.44) for public health doctors, and 17.39 (9.78, 21.74) for health management. Hierarchy by titles: 21.74 (13.04, 28.26) for intermediate level, and 17.39 (10.33, 23.91) for advanced level. Scores of different dimensions, occupations and titles were compared respectively, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). ConclusionsThe results of this survey show that the emergency medical rescue personnel at the city (prefecture) and county level of Sichuan province have insufficient overall ability to contact information on site, so those with insufficient ability need to be trained. The training focuses on the on-site resource status, on-site reinforcement demands, safety zone setting and the ability to identify on-site hazards.
ObjectiveTo compare the long-term survival of elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with surgical versus non-surgical treatment. MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of elderly patients aged ≥70 years with ESCC who underwent esophagectomy or radiotherapy/chemotherapy at Sichuan Cancer Hospital from January 2009 to September 2017. Patients were divided into a surgical group (S group) and a non-surgical group (NS group) according to the treatment method. The propensity score matching method was used to match the two groups of patients at a ratio of 1:1, and the survival of the two groups before and after matching was analyzed. ResultsA total of 726 elderly patients with ESCC were included, including 552 males and 174 females, with 651 patients aged 70-79 years and 75 patients aged≥80 years. There were 515 patients in the S group and 211 patients in the NS group. The median follow-up time was 60.8 months, and the median overall survival of the S group was 41.9 months [95%CI (35.2, 48.5)], while that of the NS group was only 24.0 months [95%CI (19.8, 28.3)]. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates of the S group were 84%, 54%, and 40%, respectively, while those of the NS group were 72%, 40%, and 30%, respectively [HR=0.689, 95%CI (0.559, 0.849), P<0.001]. After matching, 138 patients were included in each group, and there was no statistical difference in the overall survival between the two groups [HR=0.871, 95%CI (0.649, 1.167), P=0.352]. ConclusionCompared with conservative treatment, there is no significant difference in the long-term survival of elderly patients aged≥70 years who undergo esophagectomy for ESCC. Neoadjuvant therapy combined with surgery is still an important choice to potentially improve the survival of elderly patients with ESCC.