The American surgeon
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The American surgeon · Aug 2015
Risk Factors for Postoperative Unplanned Intubation: Analysis of a National Database.
Postoperative unplanned intubation (PUI) is a significant complication and is associated with severe adverse events and mortality. By participating in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP), we learned that PUI occurred more frequently than expected at our institution. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors that are predictors of PUI at our institution. ⋯ Analysis of the NSQIP data at our institution demonstrated that emergent cases, preoperative ventilator status, smoking, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and older age were independent risk factors. In conclusion, patients at our institution with these five risk factors were at higher risk of requiring PUI. These risk factors could be used to help identify patients at high risk and possibly help prevent postoperative respiratory failure and unplanned intubation.
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The American surgeon · Aug 2015
Comparative StudyEffect of Pain Medication Choice on Emergency Room Visits for Pain after Ambulatory Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.
Inadequate pain control after ambulatory surgery can lead to unexpected return visits to the hospital. The purpose of this study was to compare patients based on which medications they were prescribed and to see whether this affected the rate of return to the hospital. A retrospective chart review of patients who underwent ambulatory laparoscopic cholecystectomy between January 2009 and December 2013 was performed. ⋯ In conclusion, patients who were given opioid pain medications after ambulatory laparoscopic cholecystectomy were less likely to return to the ER for pain. This implied that opioids were better at pain control and helped avoid the costs of unnecessary ER visits. Future research should be aimed at more direct measures of pain control, as well as the role of opioids after inpatient surgery.
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The American surgeon · Aug 2015
Comparative StudyPermissive Hypotension: Potentially Harmful in the Elderly? A National Trauma Data Bank Analysis.
Permissive hypotension is a component of damage control resuscitation that aims to provide a directed, controlled resuscitation, while countering the "lethal triad." This principle has not been specifically studied in elderly (ELD) trauma patients (≥55 years). Given the ELD population's lack of physiologic reserve and risk of inadequate perfusion with "normal" blood pressures, we hypothesized that utilized a permissive hypotension strategy in ELD trauma patients would result in worse outcomes compared with younger patients (18-54 years). ⋯ Although there was a higher likelihood of death with greater age, lower admission systolic blood pressure, lower Glasgow Coma Score, increased injury severity score, and acute renal failure, a synergistic effect of age and blood pressure on mortality was not identified. Permissive hypotension appears to be a possible management strategy in ELD trauma patients.
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The American surgeon · Aug 2015
Safety of Outpatient Chest Tube Management of Air Leaks After Pulmonary Resection.
Prolonged air leaks are the most common postoperative complication following pulmonary resection, leading to increased hospital length of stay (LOS) and cost. This study assesses the safety of discharging patients home with a chest tube (CT) after pulmonary resection. A retrospective review was performed of a single surgeon's experience with pulmonary resections from January 2010 to January 2015. ⋯ Patients discharged home with a CT following lobectomy had a shorter mean LOS compared to lobectomy patients (3.65 vs 6.2 days). Mean time to CT removal after discharge was 4.7 days (range 1-22 days) potentially saving 305 inpatient hospital days. Select patients can be discharged home with a CT with reduced postoperative LOS and without increase in major morbidity or mortality.
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The American surgeon · Aug 2015
Emergency General Surgery: Defining Burden of Disease in the State of Maryland.
Acute care surgery services continue expanding to provide emergency general surgery (EGS) care. The aim of this study is to define the characteristics of the EGS population in Maryland. Retrospective review of the Health Services Cost Review Commission database from 2009 to 2013 was performed. ⋯ In both ED and non-ED patients, there was a bimodal distribution of death, with most patients dying at LOS ≤ 2 or LOS > 7 days. In this study, EGS diagnoses are present in 26 per cent of inpatient encounters in Maryland. The EGS population is elderly with prolonged LOS and a bimodal distribution of death.