Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Since the Institute of Medicine patient safety reports, a number of survey-based measures of organizational climate safety factors (OCSFs) have been developed. The goal of this study was to measure the impact of OCSFs on risk-adjusted surgical morbidity and mortality. ⋯ Survey-based teamwork, safety climate, and working conditions scales are not confirmed to measure organizational factors that influence risk-adjusted surgical outcomes. Reported communication/collaboration with attending and resident doctors on surgical services influenced patient morbidity. This suggests the importance of doctors' coordination and decision-making roles on surgical teams in providing high-quality and safe care. We propose risk-adjusted morbidity as an effective measure of surgical patient safety.
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The timing of cholecystectomy in gallstone pancreatitis remains controversial. We hypothesized that in patients with mild to moderate gallstone pancreatitis (three or fewer Ranson's criteria), performing early cholecystectomy before resolution of laboratory or physical examination abnormalities would result in shorter hospitalization, without adversely affecting outcomes. ⋯ In patients with mild to moderate gallstone pancreatitis, a policy of early cholecystectomy resulted in a significantly reduced length of hospital stay with no increase in complications or mortality.
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United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) reports indicate that waiting list mortality for intestinal transplant candidates greatly exceeds that for all other organ transplant candidates. But United Network for Organ Sharing outcomes reports have not routinely distinguished between the intestine candidate subgroups that are listed only for an intestine and those that are also listed for a liver. ⋯ The preponderance of dual listings and their associated inferior outcomes, before and after transplantation, has skewed overall intestinal transplant outcomes. Because progression of parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease can be insidious, and recognition of irreversibility is often difficult, intestine-only transplants should be considered early for high-risk patients before parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease progression mandates inclusion of a liver graft also.
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Diagnosis of cervical spine injuries (CSI) in multitrauma patients, especially in the presence of head trauma, can be difficult. Identification of risk factors associated with CSI can help avoid missed or delayed diagnosis. ⋯ Incidence of CSI after injuries to pedestrians hit by automobiles increases with age and severity of head trauma. Age, severe head trauma, severe chest trauma, pelvic fracture, and femur fractures are independent predictors of CSI.