Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie
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Similar to penetrating torso trauma, nontorso injuries have undergone a fascinating oscillation between invasive and noninvasive approaches. This article discusses an organized approach to the evaluation and initial treatment of penetrating extremity injuries based on regional anatomy and clinical examination. The approach is reliable, efficient and minimizes both delays in diagnosis and missed injuries. Outpatient follow- up is particularly important for patients with extremity injuries who are discharged home from the emergency department.
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Door openings disrupt the laminar air flow and increase the bacterial count in the operating room (OR). We aimed to define the incidence of door openings in the OR during primary total joint arthroplasty (TJA) surgeries and determine whether measures were needed and/or possible to reduce OR staff traffic. ⋯ There is a high incidence of door openings during TJA. Because we observed a range in the number of door openings per surgery, we believe it is possible to reduce this number during TJA.
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Communication errors are considered one of the major causes of sentinel events. Our aim was to assess the process of patient handoff among junior surgical residents and to determine ways in which to improve the handoff process. ⋯ Our survey results indicate that the current patient handoff system contributes to patient harm. More efforts are needed to establish standardized forms of verbal and written handoff to ensure patient safety and continuity of care.