Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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In many hospitals, children with suspected nonaccidental trauma (sNAT) are admitted to nonsurgical services (NSS). Although the surgical service (SS) initially admitted sNAT patients at our American College of Surgeons (ACS)-verified level 1 pediatric trauma center (vPTC), a change in hospital policy allowed admission to NSS. The objective of this study was to determine if the rate of care-related indicators (CRIs) varies by admission to an SS vs an NSS in the sNAT patient population. ⋯ Nonaccidental trauma patients admitted to an NSS were shown to have more CRIs than those admitted to an SS. This study supports an ACS requirement of admission of sNAT to an SS.
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Randomized trials have found that alvimopan hastens return of bowel function and reduces length of stay (LOS) by 1 day among patients undergoing colorectal surgery. However, its effectiveness in routine clinical practice and its impact on hospital costs remain uncertain. ⋯ When used in routine clinical practice, alvimopan was associated with a shorter LOS and limited but significant hospital cost savings. Both efficacy and effectiveness data support the use of alvimopan in routine clinical practice, and its use could be measured as a marker of higher quality care.
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Comparative Study
Does Performance Vary Within the Same Hospital When Separately Examining Different Patient Subgroups?
Surgical quality programs, such as the American College of Surgeons NSQIP, provide reports based on specialty or procedure, with patients aggregated together. It is unknown whether hospital performance differs by patient subgroup (eg cancer vs noncancer patients), masking opportunities for improvement. Our objectives were to determine whether performance differs within a given hospital for 6 contrasting patient subgroups and to identify the percentage of hospitals with greater than chance differences in performance. ⋯ Hospital performance within a given hospital varies by patient subgroup. Quality programs can consider separate reports for these subgroups to identify opportunities for quality improvement.
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The benefits of prophylactic central neck dissection (pCND) remain controversial in clinically node-negative (cN0) papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical impact of pCND with a large group of cN0 PTC patients. ⋯ Given the lack of proven benefits and the clear evidence of morbidities, pCND cannot be recommended as a routine procedure. We suggest that CND be reserved for therapeutic situations.