Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Advances in surgical practices have decreased hospital length of stay (LOS) after surgery. This study aimed to determine the safety of short-stay (≤24-hour) left colectomy for colon cancer patients in the US. ⋯ Although currently performed at low rates in the US, short-stay left colectomy is safe for a select group of patients. Attention to patient selection, refinement of clinical pathways, and close follow-up may enable short-stay colectomies to become a more feasible reality.
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Most patients who sustain a traumatic injury require outpatient follow-up. A common barrier to outpatient postadmission care is patient failure to follow-up. One of the most significant factors resulting in failure to follow-up is age more than 35 years. Recent work has shown that follow-up telephone calls reduce readmission rates. Our aim was to decrease no-show appointments by 10% in 12 months. ⋯ Reminder calls led to a 12.2% reduction in no-show rate and were an independent predictor of a patient's likelihood of attending their appointment. Other predictors of attendance included insurance status and abdominal injury.
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Device classification and preclinical data requirements for animal-derived wound care products were recently reviewed by the FDA. Given the possible performance differences for these products, we evaluated the FDA data requirements as well as the published literature for all animal-derived wound care products ever cleared through the FDA. ⋯ Although the current pathway is appropriate for efficiently clearing new wound care products, clinical effectiveness is not included in the regulatory review process. Wound care products are primarily evaluated by the FDA for safety and biocompatibility. Thus, any claims of clinical effectiveness require independent validation, which is often lacking.