Arch Surg Chicago
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Although demographic and clinical information are known to affect hospital length of stay (LOS), we hypothesized that LOS after traumatic injury would be significantly influenced by nonclinical factors. ⋯ Nonclinical factors significantly influence LOS. If LOS is used as a quality measure for injured patients, adjustment for these factors is necessary.
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Multicenter Study
National outcomes after gastric resection for neoplasm.
That factors affecting outcomes of surgical resection in the treatment of gastric cancer can be identified using a large US database. ⋯ Higher annual surgical volume is predictive of lower in-hospital mortality for patients undergoing gastric resection for neoplasm. Other factors significantly associated with superior outcomes after gastric resection included diagnosis type, procedure type, younger age, female sex, and fewer comorbid conditions.
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The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services instituted standardized reporting of measures aimed at surgical infection prevention (SIP). The complexity and number of medical personnel involved in antibiotic administration requires multiple disciplines to successfully improve compliance. ⋯ The clearly defined roles of a cross-disciplinary team and the process improvements discussed in this article can easily be implemented in other institutions. These elements were integral to our success in improving the timely delivery and discontinuation of prophylactic surgical antibiotics.
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Multicenter Study
Risk factors for the development of abdominal abscess following operation for perforated appendicitis in children: a multicenter case-control study.
The morbidity following treatment for perforated appendicitis in children is significant, with intra-abdominal abscess being one of the more serious complications. This can lead to prolonged hospitalizations and antibiotic administration, multiple computed tomographic scans, and invasive procedures. The purpose of our study was to determine risk factors for developing an intra-abdominal abscess following treatment for perforated appendicitis. ⋯ Clinical factors commonly thought to be predictive of abscess formation following perforated appendicitis were not reliable predictors of this outcome. Our results suggest that if children are afebrile and eating on postoperative day 3 they can be discharged with a low rate of abscess development.