The American surgeon
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The American surgeon · Mar 2021
Undertriage Despite Use of Geriatric-Specific Trauma Team Activation Guidelines : Who Are We Missing?
Elderly trauma patients are at risk for undertriage, resulting in substantial morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to determine whether implementation of geriatric-specific trauma team activation (TTA) protocols appropriately identified severely-injured elderly patients. ⋯ Geriatric-specific TTA guidelines continue to undertriage elderly trauma patients when using ISS as a metric to measure undertriage. However, undertriaged patients have much lower morbidity and mortality, suggesting the geriatric-specific TTA guidelines identify those patients at highest risk for poor outcomes.
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The American surgeon · Feb 2021
COVID-19 and Perioperative Management Strategies for Gastrointestinal Surgery: An Experience From Jiaxing, China.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was leading to a worldwide pandemic, which affected surgical operation. This study assessed the efficacy of perioperative management of patients scheduled for gastrointestinal surgery during COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. ⋯ Perioperative management strategies minimize the risk of nosocomial infection and reduce the influence of epidemics on gastrointestinal surgery.
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The American surgeon · Feb 2021
Racial Disparities at Mixed-Race and Minority Hospitals : Treatment of African American Males With High-Grade Splenic Injuries.
Racial and socioeconomic disparities in health access and outcomes for many conditions is well known. However, for time-sensitive high-acuity diseases such as traumatic injuries, disparities in access and outcomes should be significantly diminished. Our primary objective was to characterize racial disparities across majority, mixed-race, and minority hospitals for African American ([AA] vs White) males with high-grade splenic injuries. ⋯ While multiple studies have shown that minority hospitals have increased mortality compared to majority hospitals, this study found this disparity only existed for AAs.
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The American surgeon · Feb 2021
Prophylactic Inferior Vena Cava Filters : Outcomes in Severely Injured Trauma Patients.
Patients with major trauma and contraindications to anticoagulation are often considered candidates for a prophylactic inferior vena cava filter (IVCF). Prophylactic IVCFs are controversial in trauma and backed by varying levels of evidence. This study aims to analyze outcomes in severely injured patients who receive IVCFs. ⋯ Prophylactic IVCF placement was associated with higher rates of DVT and nonfatal PE, and prolonged ICU-LOS. Prophylactic IVCF placement was not associated with increased in-hospital mortality for severely injured trauma patients. Among patients with concomitant critical head injuries (AIS-Head ≥3), prophylactic IVCF placement was associated with lower in-hospital mortality than VTE chemoprophylaxis.
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The American surgeon · Feb 2021
Analysis of the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress Twitter Hashtags and Its Impact on Online Engagement and Attendance Rates : The Era of Health Care Social Media.
Twitter at conferences facilitates remote interaction and spread of ideas. Through the use of hashtags, conference information can be gathered, referenced, disseminated, and discussed in 1 electronic location by attendees and nonattendees from remote locations. The aim of this study is to analyze the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress (ACSCC) Twitter hashtag activities and evaluate its impact on meeting participation and engagement for the last 5 annual meetings. ⋯ Despite the significant reduction in views and online engagement activities in the past 2 years, the use of Twitter at the ACS CC has greatly increased the potential dissemination of information but not meeting attendance rates.