Implementation of a perioperative registry in Ethiopia to enhance surgical quality improvement.

BACKGROUND: Despite a glaring need and proven efficacy, prospective surgical registries are lacking in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this study was to design and implement a comprehensive prospective perioperative registry in a low-income country. METHODS: This study was conducted at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital in Hawassa, Ethiopia. Design of the registry occurred from June 2021 to May 2022 and pilot implementation from May 2022 to May 2023. All patients undergoing elective or emergent general surgery were included. Following one year, operability and fidelity of the registry were analyzed by assessing capture rate, incidence of missing data, and accuracy. RESULTS: A total of 67 variables were included in the registry including demographics, preoperative, operative, post-operative, and 30-day data. Of 440 eligible patients, 226 (51.4%) were successfully captured. Overall incidence of missing data and accuracy was 5.4% and 90.2% respectively. Post pilot modifications enhanced capture rate to 70.5% and further optimized data collection processes. CONCLUSION: The establishment of a low-cost electronic prospective perioperative registry in a low-income country represents a significant step forward in enhancing surgical care in under-resourced settings. The initial success of this registry highlights the feasibility of such endeavors when strong partnerships and local context are at the center of implementation. Continuous efforts to refine this registry are ongoing, which will ultimately lead to enhanced surgical quality, research output, and expansion to other sites.

Grade V renal trauma management: results from the multi-institutional genito-urinary trauma study.

PURPOSE: To investigate management trends for American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) grade V renal trauma with focus on non-operative management. METHODS: We used prospectively collected data as part of the Multi-institutional Genito-Urinary Trauma Study (MiGUTS). We included patients with grade V renal trauma according to the AAST Injury Scoring Scale 2018 update. All cases submitted by participating centers with radiology images available were independently reviewed to confirm renal trauma grade. Management was classified as expectant, conservative (minimally invasive, endoscopic or percutaneous procedures), or operative (renal-related surgery). RESULTS: Eighty patients were included, 25 of whom had complete imaging and had independent confirmation of AAST grade V renal trauma. Median age was 35 years (Interquartile range (IQR) 25-50) and 23 (92%) had blunt trauma. Ten patients (40%) were managed operatively with nephrectomy. Conservative management was used in nine patients (36%) of which six received angioembolization and three had a stent or drainage tube placed. Expectant management was followed in six (24%) patients. Transfusion requirements were progressively higher with groups requiring more aggressive treatment, and injury characteristics differed significantly across management groups in terms of hematoma size and laceration size. Vascular contrast extravasation was more likely in operatively managed patients though a statistically significant association was not found. CONCLUSION: Successful use of nonoperative management for grade V injuries is used for a substantial subset of patients. Lower transfusion requirement and less severe injury radiologic phenotype appear to be important characteristics delineating this group.

Developing Research Potential and Building Partnerships: A Report of the Fundamentals of Surgical Research Course at the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa.

BACKGROUND: Approximately a decade after the inaugural Fundamentals of Surgical Research Course (FSRC) at the West African College of Surgeons meeting (2008), the Association for Academic Surgery expanded the course offering to the annual meeting of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA). After the second annual offering of the course in 2019, participants were surveyed to assess the impact of the course. METHODS: A survey was distributed to the attendees of the 2019 second COSECSA FSRC course, held in December 2019 in Kampala, Uganda. Approximately 80 people attended at least a portion of the full-day course. Forty-nine participants completed the voluntary survey questionnaire distributed to assess each session of the course at course completion. RESULTS: Ten different countries were represented among the attendees. Of the 49 evaluations, 35 respondents were male and six were female. Eight respondents did not identify a gender. Surgical residents comprised 19 of the 49 attendees, and one of the 49 attendees was a medical student. Thirty-five respondents indicated that their views of surgical research had changed after attending the course. CONCLUSIONS: The second annual FSRC at COSECSA confirmed significant interest in building research skills and partnerships in sub-Saharan Africa. A wide variety of learners attended the course, and a majority of the sessions received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Multiple conference attendees expressed interest in serving as faculty for the course moving forward, highlighting a viable path for sustainability as the Association for Academic Surgery develops an international research education platform.

General Surgery Applicants are Interested in Global Surgery, but Does It Affect Their Rank List?

BACKGROUND: The interest of medical students and surgery residents in global surgery continues to grow. Few studies have examined how the presence of global surgery opportunities influences an applicant's decision to choose a surgical training program. We designed a survey to examine the interest in global surgery among general surgery residency applicants and the influence of a global surgery rotation on a general surgery residency applicant's rank list. METHODS: In March 2019, an online 20-question qualitative survey was administered to all general surgery applicants to a single academic institution. Results were stratified into two applicant groups; applicants from domestic or international medical schools. The survey was designed to capture demographic information, previous global rotations or experiences, future interest in global surgery opportunities, and the importance of global surgery in choosing a residency program. RESULT: s: A total of 179 (21% response rate) applicants completed the entire survey. Of the respondents 81% were interested in a global surgery rotation during residency, 56% considered a global surgery opportunity as moderately to extremely important to their residency rankings, 71% said they would rank a residency higher if it had a funded global surgery program compared to one without funding and 58% of the surveyed applicants were interested in incorporating global surgery into their future career. CONCLUSIONS: Global surgery opportunities are important to some general surgery residency applicants. A majority of applicants believe a funded global surgery would positively influence their rank list. As residency programs train residents for their future careers greater consideration needs to be given to developing global surgery opportunities.

Current Management of Extraperitoneal Bladder Injuries: Results from the Multi-Institutional Genito-Urinary Trauma Study (MiGUTS).

PURPOSE: We studied the current management trends for extraperitoneal bladder injuries and evaluated the use of operative repair versus catheter drainage, and the associated complications with each approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively collected data on bladder trauma from 20 level 1 trauma centers across the United States from 2013 to 2018. We excluded patients with intraperitoneal bladder injury and those who died within 24 hours of hospital arrival. We separated patients with extraperitoneal bladder injuries into 2 groups (catheter drainage vs operative repair) based on their initial management within the first 4 days and compared the rates of bladder injury related complications among them. Regression analyses were used to identify potential predictors of complications. RESULTS: From 323 bladder injuries we included 157 patients with extraperitoneal bladder injuries. Concomitant injuries occurred in 139 (88%) patients with pelvic fracture seen in 79%. Sixty-seven patients (43%) initially underwent operative repair for their extraperitoneal bladder injuries. The 3 most common reasons for operative repair were severity of injury or bladder neck injury (40%), injury found during laparotomy (39%) and concern for pelvic hardware contamination (28%). Significant complications were identified in 23% and 19% of the catheter drainage and operative repair groups, respectively (p=0.55). The only statistically significant predictor for complications was bladder neck or urethral injury (RR 2.69, 95% 1.21-5.97, p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In this large multi-institutional cohort, 43% of patients underwent surgical repair for initial management of extraperitoneal bladder injuries. We found no significant difference in complications between the initial management strategies of catheter drainage and operative repair. The most significant predictor for complications was concomitant urethral or bladder neck injury.

Complicated Appendicitis: Are Extended Antibiotics Necessary? A Post Hoc Analysis of the EAST Appendicitis "MUSTANG" Study.

BACKGROUND: The need for extended postoperative antibiotics (Abx) for complicated (gangrenous or perforated) appendicitis (CA) remains unclear. We hypothesize that giving ≤24 h of Abx for CA is not inferior to a longer duration in preventing infectious complications after appendectomy. METHODS: In this post hoc analysis of a prospective multicenter study, only patients with intraoperative diagnosis of CA were included. ANOVA and Chi-squared tests were used to compare length of stay, 30-day readmission rates, surgical site infection (SSI), and intra-abdominal abscess (IAA) between patients receiving ≥96 h and ≤24 h of Abx. RESULTS: Of 751 patients with CA, 704 met inclusion criteria. Mean age was 48 (±17) y; 391 (56%) were male. A total of 185 (26%) received Abx for ≤24 h and 100 (14% of overall) received no Abx. 85 (12%) patients were lost to follow-up at 30 d postop. Twenty-seven (4%) patients developed an SSI (≤24 h = 5 (3%), ≥96 h = 22 (5%), P = 0.502) and 82 (13%) developed IAA (≤24 h = 11 (7%), ≥96 h = 71 (15%), P = 0.008) within 30d postop. Sixty-six (11%) patients underwent a secondary intervention for infection within 30 d postop. 41% of SSIs (11/27) and 60% (49/82) of IAA occurred during the index hospitalization. On the multivariate analysis, there was not any evidence of an association between the duration of Abx and an increased rate of SSI (P = 0.539), IAA (P = 0.274), emergency department visits (P = 0.509), readmission (P = 0.911), or secondary interventions (P = 0.523). CONCLUSIONS: No evidence of an association between the duration of Abx (≤24 h versus ≥ 96 h) for complicated appendicitis and an increased rate of SSI was observed and ≤24 h duration was associated with shorter length of stay. Because of possible selection bias, adequately powered randomized trials are required to definitely prove noninferiority of shorter course Abx duration.

Superficial Surgical Infections in Operative Abdominal Trauma Patients: A Trauma Quality Improvement Database Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infections (SSIs) have a substantial impact on economic and health indices for patients and health-care institutions. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for superficial SSIs (sSSIs) in operative abdominal trauma patients using a national cohort. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of adult trauma patients treated within the Trauma Quality Improvement Database who underwent an exploratory laparotomy from 2010 to 2015 was performed. Risk factors for infection were evaluated using χ2, Wilcoxon rank-sum, and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: In total, 41,034 patients underwent an exploratory laparotomy for trauma. There were 18,538 (45.6%) penetrating injuries. Additionally, 10,938 (26.7%) patients suffered a hollow viscus injury with one (8484; 20.7%), two (2188; 5.3%), or three or more (266; 0.7%) hollow viscus organs injured, respectively. The sSSI rate was 4.3%. On multivariate analysis, colonic injuries conferred the greatest single organ independent risk for sSSIs (odds ratio [OR] 2.88 [2.41-3.44]), followed by duodenal injuries (OR 1.99 [1.24-3.17]), small bowel injuries (OR 1.54 [1.28-1.84]), gastric injuries (OR 1.41 [1.06-1.89]), body mass index >30 (1.32 [1.14-1.54]), severe Injury Severity Score (16-25) (OR 1.43 [1.19-1.74]), profound Injury Severity Score (>25) (OR 1.76 [1.44-2.15]), and increasing number of hollow viscus injuries with one (OR 2.75 [2.33-3.26]), two (OR 3.82 [2.98-4.89]), or three (OR 6.85 [4.20-11.17]) organs injured, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of sSSI in operative abdominal trauma patients increases with increased body mass index, increased age, location of injury, blood transfusion need, and increasing number hollow viscus injuries. Consideration should be given to avoiding primary skin closure in patients with these risk factors as a way to mitigate SSIs in this patient population.

The Impact of Increasing Surgical Capacity at a Tertiary Hospital in Southern Haiti.

BACKGROUND: St. Boniface Hospital (SBH) plays a critical role in providing safe, accessible surgery in rural southern Haiti. We examine the impact of SBH increasing surgical capacity on case volume, patient complexity, and inpatient mortality across three phases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review and geospatial analysis of all surgical cases performed at SBH between 2015 and 2017 were performed. Inpatient mortality was defined by in-hospital deaths divided by the number of procedures performed. RESULTS: Between February 2015 and August 2017, over 2000 procedures were performed. The average number of surgeries per week was 3.1 with visiting surgical teams in phase 1 (P1), 10.4 with a single general surgeon in phase 2 (P2), and 20.1 with two surgeons and a resident in phase 3 (P3). There was a six-fold increase in surgical volume between P1 and P3 and a significant increase in case complexity. The distribution of American Society of Anesthesiologists scores of 1, 2, 3, and 4 during P2 was 81.05%, 14.74%, 3.42%, and 0.79%, respectively, whereas in P3, the distribution was 68.91%, 22.55%, 7.70%, and 0.84%. Surgical mortality was 0%, 1.2%, and 1.67% across phases. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing resources and surgical staff at SBH allowed for greater delivery of safe surgical care. This study highlights that investing in surgery has a significant impact in regions of great surgical need.

Institutional variation in surgical care for early-stage breast cancer at community hospitals.

BACKGROUND: There is significant institutional variation in the surgical care of breast cancer, and this may reflect access to services and resultant physician practice patterns. In previous studies, specialty care has been associated with variation in the operative treatment of breast cancer but has not been evaluated in a community setting. This study investigates these issues in a cohort of 59 community hospitals in the United States. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data on patients receiving an operation for breast cancer (2006-2009) in a large, geographically diverse cohort of hospitals were obtained. Administrative data, autoabstracted cancer-specific variables from free text, and multiple other data sets were combined. Polymotous logistic regression with multilevel outcomes identified associations between these variables and surgical treatment. RESULTS: At 59 community hospitals, 4766 patients underwent breast conserving surgery (BCS), mastectomy, or mastectomy with reconstruction. The older patients were most likely to receive mastectomy alone, whereas the younger age group underwent more reconstruction (age <50), and BCS was most likely in patients aged 50-65. Surgical procedure also varied according to tumor characteristics. BCS was more likely at smaller hospitals, those with ambulatory surgery centers, and those located in nonmetropolitan areas. The likelihood of reconstruction doubled when there were more reconstructive surgeons in the health services area (P = 0.02). BCS was more likely when radiation oncology services were available within the hospital or network (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Interpretation of these results for practice redesign is not straightforward. Although access to specialty care is statistically associated with type of breast surgical procedure, clinical impact is limited. It may be more effective to target other aspects of care to ensure each patient receives treatment consistent with her individual preferences.

Invasive procedures in the elderly after stage IV cancer diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Invasive procedures are resource intense and may be associated with substantial morbidity. These harms must be carefully balanced with the benefits gained in life expectancy and quality of life. Prior research has demonstrated an increasing aggressiveness of care in cancer patients at the end-of-life. To better characterize surgical care in this setting, we sought to examine trends in the use of invasive procedures in patients diagnosed with metastatic cancer on presentation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results -Medicare data, we identified invasive procedure claims from 1994-2009 for patients diagnosed with incident stage IV breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer patients in 1995-2006. We grouped procedures into surgically relevant categories, using an adaptation of the Clinical Classifications Software, and measured utilization and relative changes over time. RESULTS: Of stage IV patients diagnosed in 2002-2006, 96% underwent a procedure during the course of their cancer care including 63% after the diagnostic period, and 25% in the last month of life. Between 1996 and 2006, minimal change was observed in utilization during the diagnostic period (+1.5%). However, there were significant increases during continuing care (+20.7%) and the last month of life (+21.5%). Procedures consistent with primary tumor resection decreased, whereas those with probable palliative intent and those unrelated to cancer increased. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly all patients who present with metastatic cancer undergo invasive procedures. Although overall utilization is increasing, the specific procedure types indicate that it may be appropriate, enhancing the quality of life in this vulnerable population.

Hospital variation in sphincter preservation for elderly rectal cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: The primary goal of an operation for rectal cancer is to cure cancer and, where possible, preserve continence. A wide range of sphincter preservation rates have been reported. This study evaluated hospital variation in the use of low anterior resection (LAR), local excision (LE), and abdominoperineal resection (APR) in the treatment of elderly rectal cancer patients. METHODS: Using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare linked data, we identified 4959 patients older than 65 y with stage I-III rectal cancer diagnosed from 2000-2005 who underwent operative intervention at one of 370 hospitals. We evaluated the distribution of hospital-specific procedure rates and used generalized mixed models with random hospital effects to examine the influence of patient characteristics and hospital on operation type, using APR as a reference. RESULTS: The median hospital performed APR on 33% of elderly patients with rectal cancer. Hospital was a stronger predictor of LAR receipt than any patient characteristic, explaining 32% of procedure choice, but not a strong predictor of LE, explaining only 3.8%. Receipt of LE was primarily related to tumor size and tumor stage, which combined explained 31% of procedure variation. CONCLUSIONS: Receipt of LE is primarily determined by patient characteristics. In contrast, the hospital where surgery is performed significantly influences whether a patient undergoes an LAR or APR. Understanding the factors that cause this institutional variation is crucial to ensuring equitable availability of sphincter preservation.

Early venous thromboembolism chemoprophylaxis in traumatic brain injury requiring neurosurgical intervention: Safe and effective.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury patients who require neurosurgical intervention are at the highest risk of worsening intracranial hemorrhage. This subgroup of patients has frequently been excluded from prior research regarding the timing of venous thromboembolism chemoprophylaxis. This study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of early venous thromboembolism chemoprophylaxis in patients with traumatic brain injuries requiring neurosurgical interventions. METHODS: This is a single-center retrospective review (2016-2020) of traumatic brain injury patients requiring neurosurgical intervention admitted to a level I trauma center. Interventions included intracranial pressure monitoring, subdural drain, external ventricular drain, craniotomy, and craniectomy. Exclusion criteria included neurosurgical intervention after chemoprophylaxis initiation, death within 5 days of admission, and absence of chemoprophylaxis. The total population was stratified into Early (≤72 hours of intervention) versus Late (>72 hours after intervention) chemoprophylaxis initiation. RESULTS: A total of 351 patients met the inclusion criteria, of whom 204 (58%) had early chemoprophylaxis initiation. Overall, there were no significant differences in baseline and admission characteristics between cohorts. The Early chemoprophylaxis cohort had a statistically significant lower venous thromboembolism rate (5% vs 13%, P < .001) with no increased risk of worsening intracranial hemorrhage (10% vs 13%, P = .44) or neurosurgical reintervention (8% vs 10%, P = .7). On subgroup analysis, a total of 169 patients required either a craniotomy or a craniectomy before chemoprophylaxis. The Early chemoprophylaxis cohort had statistically significant lower venous thromboembolism rates (2% vs 11%, P < .001) with no increase in intracranial hemorrhage (8% vs 11%, P = .6) or repeat neurosurgical intervention (8% vs 10%, P = .77). CONCLUSION: Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis initiation within 72 hours of neurosurgical intervention is safe and effective. Further prospective research is warranted to validate the results of this study.

Physiologic parameters and radiologic findings can predict pulmonary complications and guide management in traumatic rib fractures.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic rib fracture is associated with a high morbidity rate and identifying patients at risk of developing pulmonary complications (PC) can guide management and potentially decrease unnecessary intensive care admissions. Therefore, we sought to assess and compare the utility of a physiologic parameter, vital capacity (VC), with the admission radiologic findings (RibScore) in predicting PC in patients with rib fractures. METHODS: This is a single-center retrospective review (2015-2018) of all adult (≥18 years) patients admitted to a Level I trauma center with traumatic rib fracture. Exclusion criteria included no CT scan and absence of VC within 48 h of admission. The cohort was stratified into two groups based on presence or absence of PC (pneumonia, unplanned intubation, unplanned transfer to the intensive care unit for a respiratory concern, or the need for a tracheostomy). Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to identify predictors of PC. RESULTS: A total of 654 patients met the inclusion criteria of whom 70 % were males. The median age was 51 years and fall (48 %) was the most common type of injury. A total of 36 patients (5.5 %) developed a pulmonary complication. These patients were more likely to be older, had a higher ISS, and were more likely to require a tube thoracostomy placement. On multivariable logistic regression, first VC ≤30 % (AOR: 4.29), day 1 VC ≤30 % (AOR: 3.61), day 2 VC ≤30 % (AOR: 5.54), Δ(Day2-Day1 VC) (AOR: 0.96), and RibScore ≥2 (AOR: 3.19) were significantly associated with PC. On discrimination analysis, day 2 VC had the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AuROC), 0.81, and was superior to first VC and day 1 VC in predicting PC. There was no statistically significant difference in predicting PC between day 2 VC and RibScore. On multivariable analysis, first VC ≤30 %, day 1 VC ≤30 %, day 2 VC ≤30 %, and admission RibScore ≥2 were associated with prolonged hospital and ICU LOS. CONCLUSION: VC and RibScore emerged as independent predictors of PC. However, VC was not found to be superior to RibScore in predicting PC. Further prospective research is warranted to validate the findings of this study.

A collaborative multidisciplinary trauma program improvement team improves VTE chemoprophylaxis guideline compliance in non-operative stable TBI.

BACKGROUND: Delays in initiating venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in patients suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI) persist despite guidelines recommending early initiation. We hypothesized that the expansion of a Trauma Program Performance Improvement (PI) team will improve compliance of early (24-48 hours) initiation of VTE prophylaxis and will decrease VTE events in TBI patients. METHODS: We performed a single-center retrospective review of all TBI patients admitted to a Level I trauma center before (2015-2016,) and after (2019-2020,) the expansion of the Trauma Performance Improvement and Patient Safety (PIPS) team and the creation of trauma process and outcome dashboards. Exclusion criteria included discharge or death within 48 hours of admission, expanding intracranial hemorrhage on CT scan, and a neurosurgical intervention (craniotomy, pressure monitor, or drains) prior to chemoprophylaxis initiation. RESULTS: A total of 1,112 patients met the inclusion criteria, of which 54% (n = 604) were admitted after Trauma PIPS expansion. Following the addition of a dedicated PIPS nurse in the trauma program and creation of process dashboards, the time from stable CT to VTE prophylaxis initiation decreased (52 hours to 35 hours; p < 0.001) and more patients received chemoprophylaxis at 24 hours to 48 hours (59% from 36%, p < 0.001) after stable head CT. There was no significant difference in time from first head CT to stable CT (9 vs. 9 hours; p = 0.15). The Contemporary group had a lower rate of VTE events (1% vs. 4%; p < 0.001) with no increase in bleeding events (2% vs. 2%; p = 0.97). On multivariable analysis, being in the Early cohort was an independent predictor of VTE events (adjusted odds ratio, 3.74; 95% confidence interval, 1.45-6.16). CONCLUSION: A collaborative multidisciplinary Trauma PIPS team improves guideline compliance. Initiation of VTE chemoprophylaxis within 24 hours to 48 hours of stable head CT is safe and effective. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic/Care Management; Level IV.

PROPOSED REVISION OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR SURGERY OF TRAUMA RENAL TRAUMA ORGAN INJURY SCALE: SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF THE MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL GENITOURINARY TRAUMA STUDY.

BACKGROUND: This study updates the American Association for Surgery of Trauma (AAST) Organ Injury Scale (OIS) for renal trauma using evidence-based criteria for bleeding control intervention. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of a multi-center retrospective study including patients with high grade renal trauma from 7 Level-1 trauma centers from 2013-2018. All eligible patients were assigned new renal trauma grades based on revised criteria. The primary outcome used to measure injury severity was intervention for renal bleeding. Secondary outcomes included intervention for urinary extravasation, units of packed red blood cells (PRBCs) transfused within 24 hours, and mortality. To test the revised grading system, we performed mixed effect logistic regression adjusted for multiple baseline demographic and trauma covariates. We determined the area under the receiver-operator curve (AUC) to assess accuracy of predicting bleeding interventions from the revised grading system and compared this to 2018 AAST organ injury scale. RESULTS: based on the 2018 OIS grading system, we included 549 patients with AAST Grade III-V injuries and CT scans (III: 52% (n = 284), IV: 45% (n = 249), and V: 3% (n = 16)). Among these patients, 89% experienced blunt injury (n = 491) and 12% (n = 64) underwent intervention for bleeding. After applying the revised grading criteria, 60% (n = 329) of patients were downgraded and 4% (n = 23) were upgraded; 2.8% (n = 7) downgraded from grade V to IV, and 69.5% (n = 173) downgraded from IV to III. The revised renal trauma grading system demonstrated improved predictive ability for bleeding interventions (2018 AUC = 0.805, revised AUC = 0.883; p = 0.001) and number of units of PRBCs transfused. When we removed urinary injury from the revised system, there was no difference in its predictive ability for renal hemorrhage intervention. CONCLUSIONS: A revised renal trauma grading system better delineates the need for hemostatic interventions than the current AAST OIS renal trauma grading system. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.

Do older Americans undergo stoma reversal following low anterior resection for rectal cancer?

OBJECTIVE: For low-lying rectal cancers, proximal diversion can reduce anastomotic leak after sphincter-preserving surgery; however, evidence suggests that such temporary diversions are often not reversed. We aimed to evaluate nonreversal and delayed stoma reversal in elderly patients undergoing low anterior resection (LAR). DESIGN: SEER-Medicare-linked analysis from 1991-2007. SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1179 primary stage I-III rectal cancer patients over age 66 who underwent LAR with synchronous diverting stoma. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) Stoma creation and reversal rates; (2) time to reversal; (3) characteristics associated with reversal and shorter time to reversal. RESULTS: Within 18 mo of LAR, 51% of patients (603/1179) underwent stoma reversal. Stoma reversal was associated with age <80 y (P < 0.0001), male sex (P = 0.018), fewer comorbidities (P = 0.017), higher income (quartile 4 versus 1; P = 0.002), early tumor stage (1 versus 3; P < 0.001), neoadjuvant radiation (P < 0.0001), rectal tumor location (versus rectosigmoid; P = 0.001), more recent diagnosis (P = 0.021), and shorter length of stay on LAR admission (P = 0.021). Median time to reversal was 126 d (interquartile range: 79-249). Longer time to reversal was associated with older age (P = 0.031), presence of comorbidities (P = 0.014), more advanced tumor stage (P = 0.007), positive lymph nodes (P = 0.009), receipt of adjuvant radiation therapy (P = 0.008), more recent diagnosis (P = 0.004), and longer length of stay on LAR admission (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Half of elderly rectal cancer patients who undergo LAR with temporary stoma have not undergone stoma reversal by 18 mo. Identifiable risk factors predict both nonreversal and longer time to reversal. These results help inform preoperative discussions and promote realistic expectations for elderly rectal cancer patients.

Academic Global Surgery: Creating Opportunities, Equity, and Diversity.

A workforce trained in the development and delivery of equitable surgical care is critical in reducing the global burden of surgical disease. Academic global surgery aims to address the present inequities through collaborative partnerships that foster research, education, advocacy and training to support and increase the surgical capacity in settings with limited resources. Barriers include a deficiency of resources, personnel, equipment, and funding, a lack of communication, and geographical challenges. Multi-level partnerships remain fundamental; these types of partnerships include a wide range of trainees, professionals, institutions, and nations, yet care must be taken to avoid falling into the trap of surgical "voluntourism" and undermining the expertise and practice of long-standing frontline providers. Academic global surgery has the benefit of developing a community of surgeons who possess the tools needed to collaborate on individual, institutional, and international levels to address inequities in surgery that are spread variously across the globe. However, challenges for surgeons pursuing a career in global surgery include balancing clinical responsibilities while integrating global surgery as a career during training. This is due in part to the lack of mentorship, research time, grant funding, support to attend conferences, and a limitation of resources, all of which are significantly more pronounced for surgeons from low-resource countries.

Predictors of initial management failure in traumatic hemothorax: A prospective multicenter cohort analysis.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic hemothorax is common, and management failure leads to worse outcomes. We sought to determine predictive factors and understand the role of trauma center performance in hemothorax management failure. METHODS: We prospectively examined initial hemothorax management (observation, pleural drainage, surgery) and failure requiring secondary intervention in 17 trauma centers. We defined hemothorax management failure requiring secondary intervention as thrombolytic administration, tube thoracostomy, image-guided drainage, or surgery after failure of the initial management strategy at the discretion of the treating trauma surgeon. Patient-level predictors of hemothorax management failure requiring secondary intervention were identified for 2 subgroups: initial observation and immediate pleural drainage. Trauma centers were divided into quartiles by hemothorax management failure requiring secondary intervention rate and hierarchical logistic regression quantified variation. RESULTS: Of 995 hemothoraces in 967 patients, 186 (19%) developed hemothorax management failure requiring secondary intervention. The frequency of hemothorax management failure requiring secondary intervention increased from observation to pleural drainage to surgical intervention (12%, 22%, and 35%, respectively). The number of ribs fractured (odds ratio 1.12 per fracture; 95% confidence interval 1.00-1.26) and pulmonary contusion (odds ratio 2.25, 95% confidence interval 1.03-4.91) predicted hemothorax management failure requiring secondary intervention in the observation subgroup, whereas chest injury severity (odds ratio 1.58; 95% confidence interval 1.17-2.12) and initial hemothorax volume evacuated (odds ratio 1.10 per 100 mL; 95% confidence interval 1.05-1.16) predicted hemothorax management failure requiring secondary intervention after pleural drainage. After adjusting for patient characteristics in the logistic regression model for hemothorax management failure requiring secondary intervention, patients treated at high hemothorax management failure requiring secondary intervention trauma centers were 6 times more likely to undergo an intervention after initial hemothorax management failure than patients treated in low hemothorax management failure requiring secondary intervention trauma centers (odds ratio 6.18, 95% confidence interval 3.41-11.21). CONCLUSION: Failure of initial management of traumatic hemothorax is common and highly variable across trauma centers. Assessing patient selection for a given management strategy and center-level practices represent opportunities to improve outcomes from traumatic hemothorax.

Shattered Kidney After Renal Trauma: Should It Be Classified As an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Grade V Injury?

OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence and management of shattered kidney and to evaluate if the new description of "loss of identifiable renal anatomy" in the 2018 American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) organ injury scale (OIS) would improve the ability to predict bleeding control interventions. METHODS: We used high-grade renal trauma data from 21 Level-1 trauma centers from 2013 to 2018. Initial CT scans were reviewed to identify shattered kidneys, defined as a kidney having ≥3 parenchymal fragments displaced by blood or fluid on cross-sectional imaging. We further categorized patients with shattered kidney in two models based on loss of identifiable renal parenchymal anatomy and presence or absence of vascular contrast extravasation (VCE). Bleeding interventions were compared between the groups. RESULTS: From 861 high-grade renal trauma patients, 41 (4.8%) had shattered kidney injury. 25 (61%) underwent a bleeding control intervention including 18 (43.9%) nephrectomies and 11 (26.8%) angioembolizations. 18 (41%) had shattered kidney with "loss of identifiable parenchymal renal anatomy" per 2018 AAST OIS (model-1). 28 (68.3%) had concurrent VCE (model-2). Model-2 had a statistically significant improvement in area under the curve over model-1 in predicting bleeding interventions (0.75 vs 0.72; P = .01). CONCLUSION: Shattered kidney is associated with high rates of active bleeding, urinary extravasation, and interventions including nephrectomy. The definition of shattered kidney is vague and subjective and our definition might be simpler and more reproducible. Loss of identifiable renal anatomy per the 2018 AAST OIS did not provide better distinction for bleeding control interventions over presence of VCE.

Factors associated with the adoption of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy in the United States.

PURPOSE: Minimally invasive radical prostatectomy has supplanted radical retropubic prostatectomy in popularity despite the absence of strong comparative effectiveness data demonstrating its superiority. We examined the influence of patient, surgeon and hospital characteristics on the use of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy vs radical retropubic prostatectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results)-Medicare linked data we identified 11,732 men who underwent radical prostatectomy from 2003 to 2007. We assessed the contribution of patient, surgeon and hospital characteristics to the likelihood of undergoing minimally invasive radical prostatectomy vs radical retropubic prostatectomy using multilevel logistic regression mixed models. RESULTS: Patient factors (36.7%) contributed most to the use of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy vs radical retropubic prostatectomy, followed by surgeon (19.1%) and hospital (11.8%) factors. Among patient specific factors Asian race (OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.27-2.72, p = 0.001), clinically organ confined tumors (OR 2.71, 95% CI 1.60-4.57, p <0.001) and obtaining a second opinion from a urologist (OR 3.41, 95% CI 2.67-4.37, p <0.001) were associated with the highest use of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy while lower income was associated with decreased use of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy. Among surgeon and hospital specific factors, higher surgeon volume (OR 1.022, 95% CI 1.015-1.028, p <0.001), surgeon age younger than 50 years (OR 2.68, 95% CI 1.69-4.24, p <0.001) and greater hospital bed size (OR 1.001, 95% CI 1.001-1.002, p <0.001) were associated with increased use of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy, while solo or 2 urologist practices were associated with decreased use of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.27-0.86, p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: The adoption of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy vs radical retropubic prostatectomy is multifactorial, and associated with specific patient, surgeon and hospital related factors. Obtaining a second opinion from another urologist was the strongest factor associated with opting for minimally invasive radical prostatectomy.