Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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The Hill classification characterizes the geometry of gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) and Hill grades (HGs) III and IV have a high association with pathologic reflux. This study aimed to understand the utilization of the Hill classification and correlate the prevalence of pathologic reflux across different HGs. ⋯ Use of the Hill classification in clinical practice is low. There is an association of increasing HGs with increasing proportion of patients with abnormal AET. There is a high proportion of patients within HG I & II with documented pathologic reflux and the presence of a hiatal hernia as observed on endoscopic exam. Our study suggests that endoscopic grading of the GEJ may not adequately differentiate between normal versus abnormal reflux status, particularly for HG I and II.
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The National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC) defined a set of standards in 2017 centered on multidisciplinary program structure, evidence-based care processes, and internal audit to address widely variable rectal cancer practices and outcomes across U.S. hospitals. There have been no studies to-date testing the association between NAPRC accreditation and rectal cancer outcomes. ⋯ NAPRC accredited hospitals have lower risk-adjusted morbidity and mortality for major rectal cancer surgery. Although NAPRC standards address variability in practice, without directly addressing surgical safety, our findings suggest that NAPRC accredited hospitals may provide higher quality surgical care.
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Benchmark Outcomes for Distal Pancreatectomy: A Multicenter Prospective Snapshot Study (SPANDISPAN).
Improving the quality of care is a priority for health systems to obtain better care and reduce costs. One of the tools for measuring quality is benchmarking (BM). We presented a one-country prospective study of distal pancreatectomies (DP) and determined BM. ⋯ We present the first determination of DP-BM in a prospective series, obtaining similar results to the previous ones, but our BM values include a shorter hospital stay and a higher percentage of MIS probably related to ERAS protocols and prospective data collection. BM is a multiparameter valuable tool for reporting outcomes, comparing centers, and identifying the points to improve surgical care.
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Many institutions have developed operation-specific guidelines for opioid prescribing. These guidelines rarely incorporate in-hospital opioid consumption, which is highly correlated with consumption. We compare outcomes of several patient-centered approaches to prescribing that are derived from in-hospital consumption, including several experimental, rule-based prescribing guidelines and our current institutional guideline. ⋯ Rather than relying on fixed quantities for defined operations, rule-based guidelines offer a simple yet effective method for tailoring opioid prescribing to in-hospital consumption.