The British journal of surgery
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Patients are increasingly taking an active role in the design and delivery of surgical research. Public communication of results should also be encouraged, but this is often limited to non-expert commentary. This study assessed the role of plain English abstracts disseminated via social media in engaging patients and clinicians in the communication of surgical research. ⋯ Online, public engagement with surgical research was low. Overall engagement (predominantly from healthcare professionals) was enhanced by the use of visual abstracts.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Long-term follow-up of the AVOD randomized trial of antibiotic avoidance in uncomplicated diverticulitis.
The aim of this study was to assess the long-term results in patients with uncomplicated diverticulitis who had participated in the Antibiotics in Acute Uncomplicated Diverticulitis (AVOD) RCT, which randomized patients with CT-verified left-sided acute uncomplicated diverticulitis to management without or with antibiotics. ⋯ Antibiotic avoidance for uncomplicated diverticulitis is safe in the long term.
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A video and medical data recorder in the operating theatre is possible, but concerns over privacy, data use and litigation have limited widespread implementation. The literature on legal considerations and challenges to overcome, and guidelines related to use of data recording in the surgical environment, are presented in this narrative review. ⋯ Transparency on the use and purpose of recorded data should be ensured to both staff and patients. The recorded video data do not need to be used as evidence in court if patient medical records are well maintained. Clear legislation on data responsibility is needed to use the medical recorder optimally for quality improvement initiatives.
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Multicenter Study
Multicentre analysis of the learning curve for laparoscopic liver resection of the posterosuperior segments.
Laparoscopic liver resection demands expertise and a long learning curve. Resection of the posterosuperior segments is challenging, and there are no data on the learning curve. The aim of this study was to evaluate the learning curve for laparoscopic resection of the posterosuperior segments. ⋯ The learning curve for laparoscopic liver resection of the posterosuperior segments consists of a stepwise process, during which accurate patient selection is key.
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Burn injuries are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Cooling is widely practised as a first aid measure, but the efficacy of cooling burns in human skin has not been demonstrated. A safe, consistent, ethically acceptable model of burning and cooling in live human skin in vivo was developed, and used to quantify the effects of cooling. ⋯ This study demonstrated the favourable effects of cooling on human burns. Public heath messaging should emphasize cooling as first aid for burns. This model will allow analysis of the molecular effects of cooling burns, and provide a platform for testing novel therapies aimed at reducing the impact of burn injury.