Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie
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Comparative Study
Severe street and mountain bicycling injuries in adults: a comparison of the incidence, risk factors and injury patterns over 14 years.
Street and mountain bicycling are popular recreational activities and prevalent modes of transportation with the potential for severe injury. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the incidence, risk factors and injury patterns among adults with severe street versus mountain bicycling injuries. ⋯ With the exception of spine injuries, severely injured cyclists display similar patterns of injury and comparable outcomes, regardless of style (street v. mountain). Helmets and thoracic protection should be advocated for injury prevention.
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Scheduling emergency cases among elective surgeries often results in prolonged waits for emergency surgery and delays or cancellation of elective cases. We evaluated the benefits of a dedicated operating room (OR) for emergency procedures available to all surgical services at a large children's hospital. ⋯ A dedicated OR for emergency cases improved quality of care by decreasing cancellations and overruns in elective rooms and increasing the proportion of priority 3 patients who accessed care within the targeted time.
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In the spring of 2008, St. Boniface General Hospital in Winnipeg, Man., created an acute care surgical service (ACSS) designed to improve care for emergent, nontrauma surgical patients. We sought to assess the effect of the ACSS on patient care timeliness. ⋯ With the implementation of an ACSS, the number of surgical patients assessed and treated doubled. Despite the increased volume, consultations were completed significantly faster, there was no significant difference in time to operation, and on subgroup analysis length of hospital stay was significantly faster.
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Today's acute care surgery (ACS) service model requires multiple handovers to incoming attending surgeons and residents. Our objectives were to investigate current handover practices in Canadian hospitals that have an ACS service and assess the quality of handover practices in place. ⋯ Handover skills must be taught in a systematic fashion. Improved resident communication will likely decrease loss of patient information and therefore improve ACS patient safety.