Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960)
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The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) Inf-9 guideline promotes removal of indwelling urinary catheters (IUCs) within 48 hours of surgery. ⋯ Most UTIs occurred in patients deemed exempt from SCIP Inf-9. Although compliance rates remain high, practices are not actually improving. Surgical Care Improvement Project Inf-9 guidelines should be modified with fewer exemptions to facilitate earlier removal of IUCs.
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Venous thromboembolism is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality and is largely preventable. Despite this fact, appropriate prophylaxis is vastly underutilized. To improve compliance with best practice prophylaxis for VTE in hospitalized trauma patients, we implemented a mandatory computerized provider order entry-based clinical decision support tool. The system required completion of checklists of VTE risk factors and contraindications to pharmacologic prophylaxis. With this tool, we were able to determine a patient's risk stratification level and recommend appropriate prophylaxis. To evaluate the effect of our mandatory computerized provider order entry-based clinical decision support tool on compliance with prophylaxis guidelines for venous thromboembolism (VTE) and VTE outcomes among admitted adult trauma patients. ⋯ Implementation of a mandatory computerized provider order entry-based clinical decision support tool significantly improved compliance with VTE prophylaxis guidelines in hospitalized adult trauma patients. This improved compliance was associated with a significant decrease in the rate of preventable harm, which was defined as VTE events in patients not ordered appropriate prophylaxis.
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Multicenter Study
Clinical outcome in relation to timing of surgery in chronic pancreatitis: a nomogram to predict pain relief.
To evaluate the effect of timing of surgery on the long-term clinical outcome of surgery in chronic pancreatitis (CP). ⋯ The timing of surgery is an important risk factor for clinical outcome in CP. Surgery may need to be considered at an earlier phase than it is now, preferably within 3 years of symptomatic CP. Likelihood of postoperative pain relief can be calculated on an individual basis using the presented nomogram.
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OBJECTIVE To demonstrate that senior surgical residents would benefit from focused training by professionals with management expertise. Although managerial skills are recognized as necessary for the successful establishment of a surgical practice, they are not often emphasized in traditional surgical residency curricula. DESIGN Senior residents from all surgical subspecialties at McGill University were invited to participate in a 1-day management seminar. ⋯ Residents also noted a statistically significant improvement in their ability to perform the managerial duties necessary for the establishment of a surgical practice. CONCLUSIONS Surgical residency programs have the responsibility of preparing their residents for leadership and managerial roles in their future careers. An annual seminar serves as a starting point that could be built on for incorporating formal management training in surgical residency curricula.