Surgery
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Both intra- and perioperative care are essential for patients' safety. Training for intraoperative technical skills on simulators and for perioperative care in virtual patients have independently demonstrated educational value, but no training combining these 2 approaches has been designed yet. The aim of this study was to design a pathway approach for training in general surgery. A common disease requiring essential skills was chosen, namely, acute appendicitis. ⋯ A virtual care pathway approach has been designed for acute appendicitis, enabling trainees to follow simulated patients from admission to discharge.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Introduction of a comprehensive training curriculum in laparoscopic surgery for medical students: a randomized trial.
First- and second-year medical students have limited exposure to basic surgical skills. An introductory, comprehensive, simulation-based curriculum in basic laparoscopic skills may improve medical students' knowledge and technical and nontechnical skills and may raise their interest in a career in surgery. The purpose of this study was to (1) design a comprehensive, simulation-based training curriculum (STC) aimed to introduce junior medical students to basic laparoscopic skills and (2) compare structured and supervised learning and practice to a self-directed approach. ⋯ Participation in the STC resulted in significant gains in knowledge, technical skill, and attitudes toward nontechnical skills. Exposure of junior medical students to this curriculum before their clinical rotations is expected to enhance learning, maintain motivation, and increase interest in surgery as a future career.
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Rapid thrombelastography (rTEG) has been advocated as a point-of-care test to manage trauma-induced coagulopathy. rTEG activated clotting time (T-ACT) results become available much sooner than other rTEG values, thus offering an attractive tool to guide blood component transfusion in a hemorrhagic shock. We hypothesize that patients with a prolonged T-ACT require replacement of platelets (Plts) and cryoprecipitate (Cryo) in addition to plasma to correct trauma-induced coagulopathy. ⋯ Injured patients requiring resuscitation with blood transfusion that have a T-ACT >140 seconds are polycoagulopathic and may benefit from early Cryo and Plts.
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Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) after pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) leads to prolonged hospitalization and potentially fatal complications. We sought to determine whether estimated pancreatic parenchymal remnant volume (EPPRV) on preoperative computed tomography (CT) predicts clinically relevant POPF. ⋯ EPPRV from preoperative CT was highly predictive of POPF and may help in development of management for POPF after PD.
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The mechanisms driving trauma-induced coagulopathy (TIC) remain to be defined, and its therapy demands an orchestrated replacement of specific blood products. Thrombelastography (TEG) is a tool to guide the TIC multicomponent therapy. Principal component analysis (PCA) is a statistical approach that identifies variable clusters; thus, we hypothesize that PCA can identify specific combinations of TEG-generated values that reflect TIC mechanisms. ⋯ PCA suggests depletion coagulopathy is independent from fibrinolytic coagulopathy. Furthermore, the distribution of mortality suggests that low levels of fibrinolysis may be beneficial in a select group of injured patients. These data underscore the potential of risk for concurrent presumptive treatment for preserved depletion coagulopathy and possible fibrinolysis.