Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Patient selection for palliative surgery is complex, and appropriate outcomes measures are incompletely defined. We explored the usefulness of a specific outcomes measure "was it worth it" in patients after palliative-intent operations for advanced malignancy. ⋯ Here we demonstrate that simply asking a patient "was it worth it" after a palliative-intent operation identifies a distinct cohort of patients that traditional outcomes measures fail to distinguish. Family engagement and durability of an intervention are critical factors in determining patient satisfaction after palliative intervention. These data highlight the need for highly individualized care with special attention paid to patients self-reporting that their operation was "not worth it."
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Geriatric patients requiring emergency general surgery (EGS) have significant risk of morbidity and mortality. Rural patients face decreased access to care. We sought to characterize the EGS needs and impact of rurality for geriatric residents of New Hampshire. ⋯ Rural geriatric patients in New Hampshire are more likely to receive care outside of their home county or be transferred to another hospital. Costs of care were similar but are likely underestimated for rural patients. There was no difference in unadjusted mortality. Further investigation is merited to determine the reasons for hospital transfer in the geriatric EGS population to evaluate which patients may benefit most from remaining close to home vs transferring to other facilities.