Annals of surgery
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Higher surgeon volume is associated with improved patient outcomes. This finding has prompted recommendations for increasing specialization and referrals to high-volume surgeons, yet their implementation in clinical practice has not been measured. ⋯ The proportion of procedures performed by high-volume surgeons increased over a 6-year period, as evidence mounted in support of a surgeon volume-outcome association. Efforts are still needed to improve access among underserved subsets of the population and eliminate apparent disparities based on patient race and insurance status.
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Multicenter Study
Timing of antimicrobial prophylaxis and the risk of surgical site infections: results from the Trial to Reduce Antimicrobial Prophylaxis Errors.
The objective of this study is to determine the optimal timing for surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (AMP). ⋯ These data from a large multicenter collaborative study confirm and extend previous observations and show a consistent relationship between the timing of AMP and SSI risk with a trend toward lower risk occurring when AMP with cephalosporins and other antibiotics with short infusion times were given within 30 minutes prior to incision.
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Comparative Study
Bowel obstruction following appendectomy: what is the true incidence?
Appendicitis is a common problem that is typically treated with an appendectomy. Following abdominal surgery, adhesions may form and may cause a subsequent small bowel obstruction (SBO). The purpose of our study was to determine the rate of post-appendectomy SBO in an adult population, and to observe any difference in SBO rates between open versus laparoscopic appendectomies. ⋯ The rate of SBO following appendectomy in adults was 2.8%, or 0.0069 cases per person-year. The greatest risk factors for developing SBO were midline incision and nonappendicitis pathology. There is no statistically significant difference in SBO rates following laparoscopic appendectomy compared with open approaches.
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To examine cellular and immunologic mechanisms by which intraoperative hypothermia affects surgical patients. ⋯ Hypothermia exerts multiple effects at the cellular level, which impair innate immune function, and are associated with increased septic complications and mortality. These findings provide a physiological basis for perioperative temperature monitoring, which is a valid surgical performance measure that can be used to reduce surgical complications associated with avoidable hypothermia.
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To compare clinicopathological features and long-term outcome in gastric cancer patients coming from high-risk and low-risk areas of Italy. ⋯ Patients coming from low-risk area of Italy showed distinct pathologic features, more advanced stage, and worse prognosis when compared with patients coming from high-risk area. These findings may be indicative of different tumor biology, and may contribute to partly explain worldwide geographic variability in prognosis reported in different series.