A quality improvement cycle of the care process in a general surgery hospitalization ward.

BACKGROUND: There could be important failures in clinical data and plan records that potentially influence the surgical care process. OBJECTIVE: To complete a quality of care improvement cycle on the surgical care process in the General Surgery ward rounds. Structured quality criteria were measured, in order to identify major deficiencies, to implement improvement measures and to reassess the quality of surgical care process. Furthermore, we'll value the viability the implementation of a structured registration system and nutritional assessment method. METHOD: Comparative quality study (n = 60) before-after the setting of several improvement measures derived from the analysis of the surgical care process. Evaluated criteria were the information received by the patient, adequate recording of the clinical course and plan of care established by the surgeon in the Electronic Health Record, recording of patient's weight and size and nutritional assessment. Informative sessions, subjective, objective, assessment, plan notes on the electronic clinical record and a nutritional assessment test were implemented. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in all measured criteria (information, data records and nutritional assessment). CONCLUSION: Simple organizational measures allow a significant improvement in the information process, clinical records and malnutrition risk detection in a surgical ward.

ANTECEDENTES: Podrían existir carencias en el registro de datos relevantes del proceso asistencial de hospitalización quirúrgica. OBJETIVO: Completar un ciclo de mejora de la calidad del proceso asistencial quirúrgico en una planta de cirugía. Mediremos unos criterios de calidad estructurados, identificando las principales deficiencias, implementando medidas de mejora y reevaluando la calidad del proceso asistencial quirúrgico. Además, se valora la viabilidad de la implantación de un sistema nemotécnico de registro de actividad y de un método de evaluación nutricional. MÉTODO: Estudio comparativo (n = 60) antes-después del establecimiento de medidas de mejora basadas en el análisis del proceso asistencial quirúrgico. Los criterios evaluados fueron la información recibida por el paciente, el registro de la evolución clínica y el plan de cuidado establecido por el cirujano en la historia clínica, el registro de peso y talla, y la valoración nutricional. Se realizaron sesiones informativas e implementación electrónica de la nota SOAP (subjetive, objetive, assessment, plan) y de un test de valoración nutricional. RESULTADOS: Hubo mejoría significativa en todos los criterios medidos (información, registro y evaluación nutricional). CONCLUSIÓN: Algunas medidas sencillas permiten una mejoría importante en la información, la evaluación nutricional y el registro del proceso asistencial en una planta de cirugía.

Single-port transanal endoscopic microsurgery: a developing technique.

INTRODUCTION: Transanal endoscopic microsurgery is a widely used and valid technique with established indications. However, the cost of surgical anoscopes is not available in all centers. Many authors have described transanal resection of rectal tumors through a single laparoscopy port such as the SILS system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 5 cases of patients undergoing transanal resection with an SILS device. The clinical, surgical, and oncological data were assessed. RESULTS: The median distance to the anal margin was 7.2 cm (range, 5 to 10 cm) and median tumor size was 3 cm (range, 1 to 6 cm). Median operating time was 75 minutes (range, 60 to 120 min). A postsurgical rectorrhagia occurred in 1 of the case. Two cases were adenocarcinoma, 2 were adenomas, and the other was a mucosa without any tumor remnants. The margins were negative in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: Transanal resection of rectal tumors using the SILS technique is a feasible procedure. Longer series and prospective studies are necessary.