Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Gum chewing enhances early recovery from postoperative ileus after laparoscopic colectomy.
Postoperative ileus limits early hospital discharge for patients who have undergone laparoscopic procedures. Sham feeding has been reported to enhance bowel motility. Here, the effect of gum chewing is evaluated as a convenient method to enhance postoperative recovery from ileus after laparoscopic colectomy. ⋯ Gum chewing aids early recovery from postoperative ileus and is an inexpensive and physiologic method for stimulating bowel motility. Gum chewing should be added as an adjunct treatment in postoperative care because it might contribute to shorter hospital stays.
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Multicenter Study
A statewide population-based study of gender differences in trauma: validation of a prior single-institution study.
Women usually have lower mortality rates than men do at any age. This pattern is observed for most causes of death from chronic diseases. Significant controversy still exists about gender differences in outcomes in trauma. We previously reported no differences in in-hospital mortality based on gender in a large single-institution study (n= 18,892) that had a significant limitation in that it was not population based. This current study was performed to validate our earlier findings in a separate, statewide, population-based dataset of trauma victims. ⋯ These population-based data confirm that female gender does not adversely affect in-hospital mortality in trauma when patients are appropriately stratified for other variables, including Injury Severity Score and age, that do significantly affect outcomes.
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Pelvic fractures are often associated with major intraabdominal injuries or severe bleeding from the fracture site. ⋯ Some epidemiological variables are important risk factors of severity of pelvic fractures, presence of associated abdominal injuries, blood loss, and need of angiography. These risk factors can help in selecting the most appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.