Journal of the American College of Surgeons
-
Multicenter Study Observational Study
Measuring variation in use of the WHO surgical safety checklist in the operating room: a multicenter prospective cross-sectional study.
Full implementation of safety checklists in surgery has been linked to improved outcomes and team effectiveness; however, reliable and standardized tools for assessing the quality of their use, which is likely to moderate their impact, are required. ⋯ We found large variation in WHO checklist use in a representative sample of English ORs. Measures sensitive to checklist practice quality, like CUT, will help identify areas for improvement in implementation and enable provision of comprehensive feedback to OR teams.
-
Multicenter Study
Use of endoscopic ultrasound in the preoperative staging of gastric cancer: a multi-institutional study of the US gastric cancer collaborative.
Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) can be used to guide the therapeutic plan for patients with gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC), but data on its use and accuracy remain poorly defined. We sought to define the use of EUS, as well as characterize the diagnostic accuracy of EUS among patients with GAC. ⋯ Less than one-quarter of patients with GAC underwent preoperative EUS staging. In patients who did not receive preoperative chemotherapy, tumor stage on EUS often did not correlate with T stage and N stage on final pathologic analysis. Endoscopic ultrasound should be combined with other staging modalities to optimize staging of patients with GAC.
-
Multicenter Study Observational Study
Impact of deceased organ donor demographics and critical care end points on liver transplantation and graft survival rates.
The criteria for organ acceptance remain inconsistent, which limits the ability to standardize critical care practices. We sought to examine predictors of liver graft use and survival to better guide the selection and management of potential organ donors. ⋯ After controlling for donor age, sex, and BMI, both hemodynamic and endocrine critical care end points were associated with increased liver graft use. Both donor BMI and lower sodium levels during the course of donor management were independently predictive of improved graft survival. These results may help guide the management and selection of potential organ donors after neurologic determination of death.