The Journal of surgical research
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Social media is a cornerstone of modern society and its use in health care has rapidly expanded in recent years. "Live Tweeting" of professional meetings is a growing way for participants to communicate with peers. The goal of this study was to analyze the initial experience with implementation of a Twitter Team at the 2013 Academic Surgical Congress (ASC). ⋯ Twitter provides a meaningful social media format for sharing information during academic surgical meetings. The use of Twitter sharply expands the available audience for meeting proceedings and broadens the discussion venue for scholarly activity. "Tweeting the meeting" represents an important future direction for information dissemination in academic surgery.
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Pediatric electrical and chemical burns are rare injuries, and the care of these patients varies significantly. We reviewed our experience in management of electrical and chemical burns to analyze the clinical course, management, and outcomes. ⋯ Pediatric electric and chemical burns are rare and require specialized care. Graft rates are not high but are mostly noted in electrical burns.
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Most literature regarding fireworks injuries are from outside the United States, whereas US-based reports focus primarily on children and are based on datasets which cannot provide accurate estimates for subgroups of the US population. ⋯ Emergency department visits for fireworks injuries are concentrated around major national holidays and are more prevalent in certain parts of the country and among young males. This suggests that targeted interventions may be effective in combating this public health problem.
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Surgical site infections (SSIs) after thyroidectomy are rare but can have significant consequences. Thyroidectomy is a clean case, and the patterns for use of prophylactic antibiotics vary. We hypothesized that patient and operative characteristics may predict a higher risk of SSI, and that SSI are associated with other complications leading to increased resource utilization. ⋯ Although rare, SSI after thyroidectomy are associated with other postoperative complications. We have identified preoperative and intraoperative factors that are associated with SSI, and this may help identify high-risk patients who may benefit from selective use of antibiotics.
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High-quality teamwork among operating room (OR) professionals is a key to efficient and safe practice. Quantification of teamwork facilitates feedback, assessment, and improvement. Several valid and reliable instruments are available for assessing separate OR disciplines and teams. We sought to determine the most feasible approach for routine documentation of teamwork in in-situ OR simulations. We compared rater agreement, hypothetical training costs, and feasibility ratings from five clinicians and two nonclinicians with instruments for assessment of separate OR groups and teams. ⋯ Additional training is needed to achieve higher levels of agreement; however, costs may be prohibitive. The most cost-effective model for real-time OR teamwork assessment may be to use a simulation technician combined with one clinical rater to allow complete documentation of all participants.