Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Hospital readmissions are increasingly used to pay hospitals differently. We hypothesized that readmission rates, readmissions related to index admission, and potentially unnecessary readmissions vary by data collection method for surgical patients. ⋯ Readmission rates and unnecessary readmissions vary depending on data collection methodology. Reimbursements based on readmission should use standardized and fair methods to minimize perverse incentives that penalize hospitals for appropriate care of high-risk surgical patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A prospective, blinded comparison of laparoscopic ultrasound with transabdominal ultrasound for the detection of gallbladder pathology in morbidly obese patients.
Transabdominal ultrasound (TAU) is the gold standard for detecting cholelithiasis. Morbid obesity can inhibit detection of gallbladder pathology due to increased subcutaneous and visceral fat. Laparoscopic ultrasound (LUS) has the potential to overcome these technical challenges. We hypothesized that LUS would have a sensitivity and specificity similar to TAU for detecting cholelithiasis and polyps in morbidly obese patients presenting for laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. ⋯ Laparoscopic ultrasound is equivalent to TAU in detecting cholelithiasis, however, LUS detected significantly more polyps. Intraoperative LUS is an appropriate alternative to TAU in patients undergoing laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Are results of bariatric surgery different in the Middle East? Early experience of an international bariatric surgery program and an ACS NSQIP outcomes comparison.
Bariatric operations performed at the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute Abu Dhabi are submitted randomly from the entire surgery volume at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City to the American College of Surgeons (ACS) NSQIP. Our aim is to report our early experience and compare our bariatric surgery outcomes with ACS NSQIP hospitals of similar size. ⋯ This is the first report comparing outcomes of an international bariatric surgery program (Bariatric and Metabolic Institute Abu Dhabi) with ACS NSQIP bariatric surgery programs. Our outcomes are equivalent to ACS NSQIP bariatric surgery programs.