World journal of surgery
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World journal of surgery · Apr 2015
Can focused trauma education initiatives reduce mortality or improve resource utilization in a low-resource setting?
Over 90% of injury deaths occur in low-income countries. Evaluating the impact of focused trauma courses in these settings is challenging. We hypothesized that implementation of a focused trauma education initiative in a low-income country would result in measurable differences in injury-related outcomes and resource utilization. ⋯ The mortality of severely injured patients decreased after initiation of focused trauma education courses, but no significant increase in resource utilization was observed. The explanation may be complex and multi-factorial. Long-term multidisciplinary efforts that pair training with changes in resources and mentorship may be needed to produce broad and lasting changes in the overall care system.
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World journal of surgery · Apr 2015
Essential pain management: an educational program for health care workers.
Education for health care workers on pain-related topics is not always readily available, and this is especially so in low and middle income countries (LMICs). The Essential Pain Management program (EPM) has been developed to offer a simple interactive educational opportunity for health care workers in LMICs. ⋯ The widespread adoption of the EPM program suggests there is a need for pain education in LMICs. The teach the teachers component of the program and the comparable results from their teaching should contribute to sustainability. Further support and mentoring using electronic systems such as Facebook, text messaging, and a website may also contribute to sustainability.
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World journal of surgery · Apr 2015
How's the weather? Relationship between weather and trauma admissions at a Level I Trauma Center.
It is believed commonly that the rate of trauma admissions is affected by weather, particularly temperature. ⋯ Trauma admission rate is significantly associated with temperature. Taking weather forecasts into account may be important for planning of care provision, staffing, and resource allocation in trauma units and emergency departments.
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World journal of surgery · Apr 2015
The rate-limiting step: the provision of safe anesthesia in low-income countries.
The importance of safe anesthesia for the best possible surgical outcomes in every patient is not disputed in high resource settings. Low-income countries lag far behind in the provision of, and training for, safe anesthesia practice. Too little is known about numbers and types of providers in a majority of low-income countries. ⋯ The establishment and maintenance of an anesthesia society is an indicator of respect for the profession and commitment to standards of practice, quality initiatives, and continuing medical education within the country.
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World journal of surgery · Apr 2015
Team consistency and occurrences of prolonged operative time, prolonged hospital stay, and hospital readmission: a retrospective analysis.
Human factors research has suggested benefits of consistent teams yet no surgical team consistency measures have been established for teamwork improvement initiatives. ⋯ Team consistency was an independent predictor of prolonged operative time, prolonged hospital stay, and 30-day hospital readmission in elective, primary, unilateral total knee, and hip replacement procedures, after adjusting for patient and surgery characteristics and surgeons.