American journal of surgery
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The aim of this study was to determine if prolonged immobility and tissue injury from a prehospital entrapment would place patients at higher risk for in-hospital venous thromboembolism (VTE) complications. It was hypothesized that entrapment would increase in-hospital VTE. ⋯ Patients with prehospital entrapment are at higher risk for VTE. These results mandate aggressive VTE prophylaxis in patients with histories of prehospital entrapment.
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Accurate assessment is imperative for learning, feedback and progression. The aim of this study was to examine whether surgeons can accurately self-assess their technical and nontechnical skills compared with expert faculty members' assessments. ⋯ Surgeons can accurately self-assess their technical skills in virtual reality LC. Conversely, formal assessment with faculty members' input is required for nontechnical skills, for which surgeons lack insight into their behaviours.
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Surgical research on decision making and risk management usually focuses on perioperative care, despite the magnitude and frequency of intraoperative risks. The aim of this study was to examine surgeons' intraoperative decisions and risk management strategies to explore differences in cognitive processes. ⋯ Surgeons described making key intraoperative decisions using either an intuitive or an analytic mode of thinking. Surgeons' risk assessment, risk tolerance, and decision strategies appear to be influenced by their personalities.
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Historically, emergency physicians and trauma surgeons have referred to a systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 90 mm Hg as hypotension. Recent evidence from the civilian trauma literature suggests that 110 mm Hg may be more appropriate based on associated acidosis and outcome measures. In this analysis, we sought to determine the relationship between SBP, hypoperfusion, and mortality in the combat casualty. ⋯ This analysis shows that an SBP of 100 mm Hg or less may be a better and more clinically relevant definition of hypotension and impending hypoperfusion in the combat casualty. One utility of this analysis may be the more expeditious identification of battlefield casualties in need of life-saving interventions such as the need for blood or surgical intervention.