Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Impact of Web-Based Information on Breast Cancer Patients' Knowledge of Surgical Treatment Options.
Previous research suggests that providing information to women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, during the gap between cancer diagnosis and their first surgeon consultation, may support decision making. Our objective was to compare patients' knowledge after the pre-consultation delivery of standard websites vs a web-based decision aid (DA). ⋯ Although patients found receipt of any pre-consultation information helpful, the DA resulted in improved knowledge over standard websites and effectively conveyed that there is time to make a breast cancer surgery decision. Decreasing the urgency patients feel may improve the quality of patient-surgeon interactions and lead to more informed decision-making.
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Studies to date have shown that near-infrared autofluorescence imaging (NIR) can detect the parathyroid gland during thyroidectomy. However, there are no reports that NIR imaging can identify the parathyroid gland when it's covered with fibrofatty tissue before identification by a surgeon's naked eye. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of parathyroid gland mapping to facilitate early identification of the parathyroid gland during thyroidectomy. ⋯ Parathyroid gland mapping using our NIR-IR imaging technique was feasible, with an excellent accuracy rate. This technique may be helpful for early identification of parathyroid glands during thyroidectomy.
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Several national initiatives are aimed at training citizens to assist bleeding victims. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an effort to quickly and efficiently teach basic bleeding control techniques to a clinical and nonclinical workforce. ⋯ Results demonstrate that basic hemorrhage control skills can be taught to clinical and nonclinical people in brief, hands-on training. Efforts like this can be deployed across large workplace environments to prepare the maximum number of employees to take action to assist bleeding victims.