JAMA surgery
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Comparison of Risk-Standardized Readmission Rates of Surgical Patients at Safety-Net and Non-Safety-Net Hospitals Using Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and American Hospital Association Data.
Medical patients discharged from safety-net hospitals (SNHs) experience higher readmission rates compared with those discharged from non-SNHs. However, little is known about whether this association persists for surgical patients. ⋯ According to results of this study, surgical patients treated at SNHs experienced slightly higher RSRRs compared with those treated at non-SNHs. This association persisted after adjusting for year, state, and hospital factors, including teaching status, hospital bed size, and hospital volume.
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Adhesive small-bowel obstruction (aSBO) is a potentially chronic, recurring surgical illness. Although guidelines suggest trials of nonoperative management, the long-term association of this approach with recurrence is poorly understood. ⋯ According to this study, operative management of the first episode of aSBO is associated with significantly reduced risk of recurrence. Guidelines advocating trials of nonoperative management for aSBO may assume that surgery increases the risk of recurrence putatively through the formation of additional adhesions. The long-term risk of recurrence of aSBO should be considered in the management of this patient population.
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Motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are a leading public health concern. Emergency medical service (EMS) response time is a modifiable, system-level factor with the potential to influence trauma patient survival. The relationship between EMS response time and MVC mortality is unknown. ⋯ Among 2268 US counties, longer EMS response times were associated with higher rates of MVC mortality. A significant proportion of MVC-related deaths were associated with prolonged response times in both rural/wilderness and urban/suburban settings. These findings suggest that trauma system-level efforts to address regional disparities in MVC mortality should evaluate EMS response times as a potential contributor.
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Venomous snakebite severity ranges from an asymptomatic dry bite to severe envenomation and death. The clinical evaluation aids in prognosis and is essential to determine the risks and potential benefits of antivenom treatment. ⋯ Clinical features can identify patients at increased risk of severe systemic envenomation and severe hematologic venom effects, but there are few features that are associated with severe tissue injury or can confidently exclude severe envenomation. Physicians should monitor patients closely and be wary of progression from nonsevere to a severe envenomation and have a low threshold to escalate therapy as needed.
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Prior studies have found a substantial risk of persistent opioid use among adolescents and young adults undergoing surgical and dental procedures. It is unknown whether family-level factors, such as long-term opioid use in family members, is associated with persistent opioid use. ⋯ The findings suggest that long-term opioid use among family members is associated with persistent opioid use among opioid-naive adolescents and young adults undergoing surgical and dental procedures. Physicians should screen young patients for long-term opioid use in their families and implement heightened efforts to prevent opioid dependence among patients with this important risk factor.