JAMA surgery
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Multicenter Study
Independent predictors of enteric fistula and abdominal sepsis after damage control laparotomy: results from the prospective AAST Open Abdomen registry.
Enterocutaneous fistula (ECF), enteroatmospheric fistula (EAF), and intra-abdominal sepsis/abscess (IAS) are major challenges for surgeons caring for patients undergoing damage control laparotomy after trauma. ⋯ Large bowel resection, large-volume fluid resuscitation, and an increasing number of abdominal reexplorations were statistically significant predictors of ECF, EAF, or IAS in patients with an open abdomen after damage control laparotomy.
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Reduction in length of hospital stay is a veritable target in reducing the overall costs of health care. However, many existing approaches are flawed because the assumptions of what cause excessive length of stay are incorrect; we methodically identified the right targets in this study. ⋯ System-related issues, not severity of illness, prolong hospital stay excessively. Cost-reduction efforts should target operational bottlenecks between acute and postacute care.
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Multicenter Study
Successful nonoperative management of the most severe blunt renal injuries: a multicenter study of the research consortium of New England Centers for Trauma.
Severe renal injuries after blunt trauma cause diagnostic and therapeutic challenges for the treating clinicians. The need for an operative vs a nonoperative approach is debated. ⋯ Hemodynamically stable patients with a grade IV or V BRI were safely managed nonoperatively. Nonoperative management failed for only 6.5% of patients owing to renal-related injuries, and three-fourths of the entire population retained their kidneys.
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Multicenter Study
NEXUS chest: validation of a decision instrument for selective chest imaging in blunt trauma.
Chest radiography (chest x-ray [CXR] and chest computed tomography [CT]) is the most common imaging in blunt trauma evaluation. Unnecessary trauma imaging leads to greater costs, emergency department time, and patient exposure to ionizing radiation. OBJECTIVE To validate our previously derived decision instrument (NEXUS Chest) for identification of blunt trauma patients with very low risk of thoracic injury seen on chest imaging (TICI). We hypothesized that NEXUS Chest would have high sensitivity (>98%) for the prediction of TICI and TICI with major clinical significance. ⋯ We have validated the NEXUS Chest decision instrument, which may safely reduce the need for chest imaging in blunt trauma patients older than 14 years.
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Multicenter Study
Financial impact of surgical site infections on hospitals: the hospital management perspective.
Surgical site infections (SSIs) may increase health care costs, but few studies have conducted an analysis from the perspective of hospital administrators. ⋯ The data suggest that hospitals have a financial incentive to reduce SSIs, but hospitals should expect to see an increase in both cost and revenue when SSIs are reduced.