The impact of COVID-19 on surgical cases at a large quaternary referral hospital.

Introduction: Coronavirus-19 (COVID) stressed healthcare systems by increasing hospital admissions and in-hospital mortality. The impact of COVID on surgical patients is unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how the COVID pandemic affected surgical patients at a large quaternary referral hospital. Methods: A retrospective review of patients undergoing surgical procedures was performed to evaluate patients undergoing surgery. The impact of COVID on surgical patients was divided into four timeframes based on government regulations: pre-COVID (January 1, 2020 to March 15, 2020), suspended (March 16, 2020 to May 4, 2020), backlogged cases (May 5, 2020 to June 14, 2020), and restoration (June 15, 2020 to September 30, 2020). Differences between patient characteristics and outcomes during these timeframes were evaluated. Results: A total of 21,424 surgical cases were performed between January 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020. During the suspended timeframe (when all elective cases were cancelled), the percentage of surgeries increased in men (53.8% compared to 49.2% pre-COVID; P < 0.01), in Black and Hispanic patients (23.1% and 15.3%, respectively; P < 0.05), and in Medicaid and self-pay patients (16.3% compared to 9.9% pre-COVID; P < 0.01). All service lines experienced similar trends in overall case volume except obstetrics (constant), trauma, vascular, and thoracic (which increased during the suspended timeframe). Conclusions: COVID-19 induced stresses in surgical patients, altering payor mix and impacting minority groups at a large quaternary referral hospital.

The use of poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB, Phasix™) mesh in ventral hernia repair: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE/BACKGROUND: Despite the growing use of bioabsorbable mesh in ventral hernia repairs (VHR), the evidence of its impact on patient outcomes remains limited. This study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety profile of poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB) mesh for ventral hernia repair through a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: A literature search of five databases (PubMed, Embase, Ovid, Medline, and Google Scholar) produced a list of publications that analyzed the use of P4HB mesh in ventral hernia repair in both clean and contaminated cases. The primary postoperative outcomes of hernia recurrence, surgical site infections (SSI), and any complications were analyzed through a pooled meta-analysis. RESULTS: In our systematic review, 21 studies met the inclusion criteria with a total of 1858 patients (933 males and 925 females) and an average age of 56.8 years. The median follow-up ranged from 1.6 to 62.3 months. In our meta-analysis, the use of P4HB mesh in VHR in proportion of events demonstrated a recurrence rate of 9% [6%; 15%], SSI of 10% [6%; 16%] and 35% [9%; 42%] for rate of any complications. Sub-meta-analysis restricted to studies with follow up > 18 months continues to show low rates of recurrence of 9% (95%CI, 4-17%), SSI of 9% (95%CI, 4-16%), and 31% (95%CI, 23-41%) for any complications. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that the use of P4HB mesh is both safe and effective in ventral hernia repairs. When further analyzed past 18 months, the time where P4HB mesh fully resorbs, the rates of hernia recurrence, SSI, and any complications remain low of upwards of 5 years and comparable to the rates seen in synthetic and biologics in similar patient populations.

Variation in donation after circulatory death hospital policies in a single donor service area.

BACKGROUND: Historically, there has been wide variation among hospital policies for donation after circulatory death (DCD) processes. With more DCD donors as well as more organs from DCD donors being utilized, it is time to revisit the variability in DCD hospital policies. METHODS: Collection of hospital characteristics, DCD referrals and completions, and DCD policies from the Southwest Transplant Alliance Donor Service Area. Content analysis of DCD hospital policies. RESULTS: We found variability in referral requirements, discussion elements for authorization, pre-mortem interventions and process elements. Most policies allow prepping and draping (84.7% [83 of 98]) and premortem heparin administration (78.6% [77 or 98]). A minority allow femoral cannulation prior to extubation (19.4% [19 of 98]) or during the hands-off period (15.3% [15 of 98]). CONCLUSIONS: We recommend a national effort to achieve consistency and clarity in DCD hospital policies based on our findings of continued variability in DCD hospital policies.

Training on a virtual reality cricothyroidotomy simulator improves skills and transfers to a simulated procedure.

Objective: The virtual airway skills trainer (VAST) is a virtual reality simulator for training in cricothyroidotomy (CCT). The goal of the study is to test the effectiveness of training and transfer of skills of the VAST-CCT. Methods: Two groups, control (no training) and simulation (2 weeks of proficiency-based training), participated in this study. Subjects in the control condition did not receive any training on the task whereas those in the simulation received a proficiency-based training on the task during a period of 2 weeks. Two weeks post-training, both groups performed CCT on the TraumaMan to demonstrate the transfer of skills. Results: A total of (n=20) subjects participated in the study. The simulation group performed better than the control group at both the post-test (p<0.001) and retention test (p<0.001) on the simulator. The cumulative sum analysis showed that all subjects in the simulation group reached proficiency with acceptable failure rate within the 2 weeks of training. On the transfer test, the simulation group performed better on skin cut (p<0.001), intubation (p<0.001) and total score (p<0.001) than the control group. Conclusions: The VAST-CCT is effective in training and skills transfer for the CCT procedure. Level of evidence: Not applicable. Simulator validation study.

Family History of GERD Does Not Predict Anti-Reflux Surgery Outcomes.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a common disease and there is little known about the role family history plays in its disease process and incidence. Our study was designed to compare the patients with first degree relatives with and without the disease and see if there was any difference in patients needing antireflux surgery, the outcomes after antireflux surgery, and whether they needed redo surgery. METHODS: An institutional review board approved registry for patients undergoing antireflux surgery at a single institution was used. Patients were asked specific questions about their family history of gastroesophageal reflux disease at their pre-operative visit. Patients with a family history and those without were compared. RESULTS: There was no statistical difference between the patients with family history of gastroesophageal reflux disease for likelihood to undergo surgery, outcomes from surgery, or the need for redo surgery. There were more females than males in the study and there were more patients with a positive family history in the study than those without. CONCLUSION: Since there is no impact of family history of gastroesophageal reflux disease on antireflux surgery, patients can be counseled that their decision to undergo antireflux surgery is independent from the response of their first degree relatives.