Annals of surgery
-
The relationship between patient satisfaction and surgical quality is unclear for US hospitals. Using national data, we examined if hospitals with high patient satisfaction have lower levels of performance on accepted measures of the quality and efficiency of surgical care. ⋯ Among US hospitals that perform major surgical procedures, hospitals with high patient satisfaction provided more efficient care and were associated with higher surgical quality. Our findings suggest there need not be a trade-off between good quality of care for surgical patients and ensuring a positive patient experience.
-
Effects of aspirin on patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the effect of preoperative aspirin use on postoperative renal function and 30-day mortality in patients with CKD undergoing cardiac surgery. ⋯ For patients with CKD undergoing cardiac surgery, preoperative aspirin therapy was associated with renal protection and mortality decline. The magnitude of the survival benefit was greater in patients with CKD than normal kidney function.
-
Esophageal cancer surgery carries a risk of splenic injury, which may require splenectomy, but predictors of such events remain uncertain. Moreover, the hypothesis that incidental splenectomy carries a worse prognosis deserves attention. ⋯ The inverse association between surgeon volume and splenic injury supports centralization of esophageal cancer surgery. The increased risk of mortality and severe infections after incidental splenectomy should be kept in mind during surgery, and we should encourage efforts to preserve an injured spleen and stress the relevance of vaccination after splenectomy.
-
To analyze and compare survival in patients operated for colorectal liver metastases (LM) with that in patients optimally resected for peritoneal metastases (PM). ⋯ This study underlines the prognostic impact of the tumor burden in metastatic colorectal disease. In selected patients, similar survival rates can be obtained after optimal treatment of LM and PM. As the role of optimal surgical resection of LM is widely accepted, our results confirm that an optimal attitude should also be adopted to treat PM with a PCI < 16, particularly in patients with very low PCI (<5) where survival could be better than LM.
-
The aim of the study is to assess the prognostic and predictive value of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) in bone marrow (BM) in patients with colorectal liver metastasis referred to surgery. ⋯ CTCs predict nonresectability and impaired survival. CTC analysis should be considered as a tool for decision-making before liver resection in these patients.