Dtsch Arztebl Int
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Acute postoperative pain management is still far from satisfactory despite the availability of high-quality guidelines and advanced pain management techniques. ⋯ QUIPS shows that outcomes in postoperative pain management can be measured and compared in routine clinical practice. This may lead to improved care. QUIPS reveals which operations are the most painful. Quality improvement initiatives should use as few resources as possible, measure the quality of the outcomes, and provide rapid feedback. Structural and process parameters should be continuously reevaluated to determine their suitability as indicators of quality.
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The insertion of a chest tube in cases of large pleural effusion or spontaneous pneumothorax is a common surgical procedure often performed by a physician in training under the supervision of a senior physician. ⋯ Re-expansion edema is a rare, potentially life-threatening complication of the drainage of a spontaneous pneumothorax. With early recognition and timely treatment, complete resolution can be achieved. Risk factors include rapid re-expansion of the lung, young patient age, and a large pneumothorax persisting longer than 24 hours. If these risk factors are present, the chest tube should be inserted without primary suction. Doing so allows the lung to re-expand more slowly and may prevent this severe complication.
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The incidence of melanoma has increased fivefold during the past three decades. Melanoma can no longer be classified as rare; rather, it is now one of the more frequent tumors. ⋯ The recommendations presented here are based predominantly on the results of prospective randomized trials.
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The purpose of patient surveys is to measure the quality of health care from the patient's point of view. They are recommended as a way to detect the strengths and weaknesses of patient care and to locate areas of potential improvement. ⋯ The questionnaires documented high overall satisfaction with oncology practices with little variation among the individual items. There were a few specific areas that accounted for the differences between well and poorly rated practices and physicians; in these areas, there is a potential for improvement.