Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Heterogeneity in trauma center designation and injury volume offer possible explanations for inconsistencies in pediatric trauma center designation's association with lower mortality among children. We hypothesized that rigorous trauma center verification, regardless of volume, would be associated with lower firearm injury-associated mortality in children. ⋯ Trauma center verification level, regardless of firearm injury volume, was associated with lower firearm injury-associated mortality, suggesting that the ACS verification process is contributing to achieving optimal outcomes.
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Regional variation in complex healthcare is shown to negatively impact health outcomes. We sought to characterize geographic variance in esophageal cancer operation in Michigan. ⋯ A significant increase in variation of care was found in rural vs urban counties, as well as in regions distant to larger hospital systems. Those of male sex, White race, rural residence, and those with health insurance were significantly more likely to receive operation.
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Our purpose was to conduct a bibliometric study investigating the prevalence of underpowered randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in trauma surgery. ⋯ A concerningly large proportion of recently published RCTs in trauma surgery do not report a priori sample size calculations, do not meet enrollment targets, and are not adequately powered to detect even large effect sizes. There exists opportunity for improvement of trauma surgery study design, conduct, and reporting.