The Annals of thoracic surgery
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Multicenter Study
"Nobody told me": Communication Issues Affecting Australian Cardiothoracic Surgery Patients.
Failure of communication can have potentially severe results in cardiothoracic surgery. Previous literature regarding patient safety highlighted communication as a common area for improvement. This study utilized a qualitative approach to analyze a national mortality audit data set to identify and describe communication issues that could potentially contribute to patient mortality following cardiothoracic surgery. ⋯ Poor communication was identified in patients who died after cardiothoracic surgery. Communication is an important modifiable factor in patient mortality. Efforts to address teamwork and communication have the potential to improve safety and quality of care for patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery.
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We report a case of metachronous thin-walled cavity lung cancers exhibiting variable histopathology. A 70-year-old man visited our hospital because of a thin-walled cavity located in the right upper lobe, detected by chest computed tomography. ⋯ Histopathology after video-assisted thoracic surgery left S6 segmentectomy revealed adenocarcinoma. Patients with primary lung carcinoma may present with thin-walled cavities; postoperative screening can aid early the detection of metachronous primary lung cancers of variable origin.
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Diversity within health care organizations has many proven benefits, yet women and other groups remain underrepresented in cardiothoracic surgery. We sought to explore responses from a Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) survey to identify myths and barriers for informing organizational strategies in the STS and cardiothoracic surgery. We performed a qualitative review of narrative survey responses within three domains surrounding diversity in cardiothoracic surgery: myths, barriers, and strategies for improvement. ⋯ Suggested strategies toward improvement were culture change prioritizing diversity (22%) and training the leaders (14%). Notably, 15% of response codes reflected the belief that disparities do not exist; thus, the issue should not be prioritized by the organization. The results do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of most of the STS membership; nonetheless, they provide important insight critical to guide any efforts toward eliminating disparities within cardiothoracic surgery and improving the care of our patients.
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The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) National Database was established in 1989 as an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety for cardiothoracic surgery. The STS National Database has 4 components, each focusing on a distinct discipline-Adult Cardiac Surgery, General Thoracic Surgery, Congenital Heart Surgery, and mechanical circulatory support with the STS Interagency Registry for Mechanical Circulatory Support (Intermacs)/Pediatric Interagency Registry for Mechanical Circulatory Support (Pedimacs) Database. In December 2015, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery began publishing a monthly series of scholarly articles on outcomes analysis, quality improvement, and patient safety. This article provides the fourth annual summary of the status of the STS National Database.