The efficacy of force of stream assessment for post-operative catheter management: a retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Postoperative urinary retention is common after urogynecologic procedures. Our objective is to determine the efficacy of force of stream (FOS) assessment without a visual analog scale for postoperative catheter management. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 110 women undergoing an inpatient gynecologic procedure. They were asked to subjectively assess FOS after surgery without a visual analog scale. If it was 50% or better than the usual preoperative void, they were discharged home without a catheter. If < 50%, the catheter was replaced and the patients were sent home and asked to follow up in 3 to 5 days for another void trial. RESULTS: Average age was 56.9 ± 10.2 years; 63.6% underwent surgery for pelvic organ prolapse, 23.6% underwent sling for urinary incontinence, and 12.7% underwent a combination of both. Force of stream was > 50% in 93.6% of the patients; 6.4% had force of stream < 50% and hence were discharged home with a Foley catheter. Only two patients (1.8%) were discharged without a Foley catheter and returned to the emergency department for signs of urinary retention. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were 77.8%, 100%, 100% and 98.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The subjective assessment of flow of stream is a reliable and safe method to assess postoperative voiding. Given it is less invasive than backfilling the bladder and easier than using a bladder scan, it should be the primary method to assess postoperative voiding.

The Beirut Port Explosion Injuries and Lessons Learned: Results of the Beirut Blast Assessment for Surgical Services (BASS) Multicenter Study.

OBJECTIVE: This multicenter study aims to describe the injury patterns, emergency management and outcomes of the blast victims, recognize the gaps in hospital disaster preparedness, and identify lessons to be learned. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: On August 4th, 2020, the city of Beirut, Lebanon suffered the largest urban explosion since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries. METHODS: All injured patients admitted to four of the largest Beirut hospitals within 72 hours of the blast, including those who died on arrival or in the emergency department (ED), were included. Medical records were systematically reviewed for: patient demographics and comorbidities; injury severity and characteristics; prehospital, ED, operative, and inpatient interventions; and outcomes at hospital discharge. Lessons learned are also shared. RESULTS: An estimated total of 1818 patients were included, of which 30 died on arrival or in the ED and 315 were admitted to the hospital. Among admitted patients, the mean age was 44.7 years (range: 1 week-93 years), 44.4% were female, and the median injury severity score (ISS) was 10 (5, 17). ISS was inversely related to the distance from the blast epicenter (r = --0.18, P = 0.035). Most injuries involved the upper extremities (53.7%), face (42.2%), and head (40.3%). Mildly injured (ISS <9) patients overwhelmed the ED in the first 2 hours; from hour 2 to hour 8 post-injury, the number of moderately, severely, and profoundly injured patients increased by 127%, 25% and 17%, respectively. A total of 475 operative procedures were performed in 239 patients, most commonly soft tissue debridement or repair (119 patients, 49.8%), limb fracture fixation (107, 44.8%), and tendon repair (56, 23.4%). A total of 11 patients (3.5%) died during the hospitalization, 56 (17.8%) developed at least 1 complication, and 51 (16.2%) were discharged with documented long-term disability. Main lessons learned included: the importance of having key hospital functions (eg, laboratory, operating room) underground; the nonadaptability of electronic medical records to disasters; the ED overwhelming with mild injuries, delay in arrival of the severely injured; and the need for realistic disaster drills. CONCLUSIONS: We, therefore, describe the injury patterns, emergency flow and trauma outcome of patients injured in the Beirut port explosion. The clinical and system-level lessons learned can help prepare for the next disaster.