Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Observational Study
Persistent Fibrinolysis Shutdown Associated with Increased Mortality in Severely Injured Trauma Patients.
Acute fibrinolysis shutdown is associated with early mortality after trauma; however, no previous studies have investigated the incidence of persistent fibrinolysis or its association with mortality. We tested the hypothesis that persistent fibrinolysis shutdown is associated with mortality in critically ill trauma patients. ⋯ Persistent fibrinolysis shutdown is associated with late mortality after trauma. A high index of suspicion should be maintained, especially in patients with penetrating injury, reduced LY30 on admission, and/or receiving blood product transfusion. Judicious use of tranexamic acid is advised in this cohort.
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Gastric adenocarcinoma is an aggressive disease with frequent lymph node (LN) metastases for which lymphadenectomy results in a survival benefit. In the US, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend D2 lymphadenectomy or a minimum of 15 LNs retrieved. However, retrieval of only 15 LNs is considered by most international guidelines as inadequate. We sought to evaluate the survival benefits associated with a more complete lymphadenectomy. ⋯ Joinpoint analysis has allowed for the creation of a model demonstrating the point at which additional dissection would not provide additional benefit. This large international dataset analysis demonstrates that the maximal survival advantage is seen by performing a lymphadenectomy with a minimum of 29 LNs retrieved.
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Nearly 30% of patients with newly formed ileostomies require hospital readmission from severe dehydration or associated complications. This contributes to significant morbidity and rising healthcare costs associated with this procedure. Our aim was to design and pilot a novel program to decrease readmissions in this patient population. ⋯ Implementation of a novel program reduced the 30-day readmission rate by 58% and cost of readmissions per patient by >80% in a high risk for readmission patient population with newly created ileostomies. Future efforts will expand this program to a greater number of patients, both institutionally and systemically, to reduce the readmission-rate and healthcare costs for this high-risk patient population.
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The Tokyo Guidelines recommend initial cholecystostomy tube drainage, antibiotics, and delayed cholecystectomy in patients with grade III cholecystitis. ⋯ Since the introduction of the Tokyo Guidelines (2007), use of cholecystostomy tubes in patients with grade III cholecystitis has increased, but the majority of patients do not get cholecystostomy tube drainage as first-line therapy. Cholecystostomy tube placement was associated with lower rates of definitive treatment with cholecystectomy, higher mortality, and higher readmission rates. These data suggest a need for additional evaluation and refinement of the Tokyo Guidelines.
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Acute coagulopathy of trauma in children is of potential importance to clinical outcomes, but knowledge is limited and has only been investigated using conventional coagulation testing. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and impact of arrival coagulopathy, determined by viscoelastic hemostatic testing, in severely injured children. ⋯ Almost 60% of severely injured children and adolescents arrive with evidence of acute traumatic coagulopathy. The presence of admission coagulopathy is associated with high mortality in children, especially among those with head injuries.