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OBJECTIVE: To assess the degree of psychological impact among surgical providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The COVID-19 pandemic has extensively impacted global healthcare systems. We hypothesized that the degree of psychological impact would be higher for surgical providers deployed for COVID-19 work, certain surgical specialties, and for those who knew of someone diagnosed with, or who died, of COVID-19. METHODS: We conducted a global web-based survey to investigate the psychological impact of COVID-19. The primary outcomes were the depression anxiety stress scale-21 and Impact of Event Scale-Revised scores. RESULTS: A total of 4283 participants from 101 countries responded. 32.8%, 30.8%, 25.9%, and 24.0% screened positive for depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD respectively. Respondents who knew someone who died of COVID-19 were more likely to screen positive for depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD (OR 1.3, 1.6, 1.4, 1.7 respectively, all P < 0.05). Respondents who knew of someone diagnosed with COVID-19 were more likely to screen positive for depression, stress, and PTSD (OR 1.2, 1.2, and 1.3 respectively, all P < 0.05). Surgical specialties that operated in the head and neck region had higher psychological distress among its surgeons. Deployment for COVID- 19-related work was not associated with increased psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic may have a mental health legacy outlasting its course. The long-term impact of this ongoing traumatic event underscores the importance of longitudinal mental health care for healthcare personnel, with particular attention to those who know of someone diagnosed with, or who died of COVID-19.
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COVID-19 , Cirujanos , Humanos , Salud Mental , SARS-CoV-2 , Pandemias , Depresión/psicología , Ansiedad/psicología , Personal de Salud/psicología , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Estrés Psicológico/psicologíaRESUMEN
Many infectious diseases (ID) clinicians join Twitter to follow other ID colleagues or "like" people. While there is great value in engaging with people who have similar interests, there is equal value in engaging with "unlike" or non-ID people. Here, we describe how Twitter connected an ID pharmacist with a pediatric surgeon, a vice chair of surgery, a surgeon chief medical officer from Spain, and a surgical intensive care unit pharmacist. This Twitter collaboration resulted in several scholarly activities related to antibiotic resistance and antibiotic stewardship and served as a conduit for global collaboration.
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Programas de Optimización del Uso de los Antimicrobianos , Enfermedades Transmisibles , Medios de Comunicación Sociales , Cirujanos , Niño , Enfermedades Transmisibles/tratamiento farmacológico , Humanos , EspañaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Management of rectal cancer has a number of potentially appropriate alternatives for each patient. Despite acceptance of standards, practices may vary among regions. There is significant paucity of data in this area. The objective was to create a snapshot of the regional differences. DESIGN: This online survey included 10 questions. Enquiries focused on controversial topics, on surgeon and hospital volume, surgical margins, appropriateness of surgical approaches and techniques, watch-and-wait strategies, and total neoadjuvant therapy. Major colorectal surgery societies around the world were asked to invite their members to complete the survey. OUTCOME MEASURES: Frequency of responses across regions within each question was compared by Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Seven hundred and fifty-three participants from 60 countries responded. Eight regions were identified, and four had sufficient representation for comparisons. Similarities and differences in the therapies among these regions were identified. Robotic surgery penetrance is higher in North America, and watch and wait is more accepted in South America. Patients in Oceania are more likely to be diverted; Europe has more usage of taTME. DISCUSSION: This online survey was practical as a mean to provide a rapid assessment of the international picture on consistency and variability of rectal cancer patients' care, and to potentially identify opportunities to standardized care to patients. Medical surveys have inherent limitations; pertinence to our study is selection bias. CONCLUSIONS: The management of rectal cancer varies among different regions. Identification of differences is important when considering global efforts to improve management and interpret data.
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Neoplasias del Recto , Cirugía Colorrectal , Europa (Continente) , Humanos , Terapia Neoadyuvante , Proctectomía , Neoplasias del Recto/cirugíaRESUMEN
Purpose. The primary aim of the study was to review the existing literature about patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in colorectal cancer and IBD. The secondary aim was to present a road map to develop a core outcome set via opinion gathering using social media. Method. This study is the first step of a three-step project aimed at constructing simple, applicable PROMs in colorectal surgery. This article was written in a collaborative manner with authors invited both through Twitter via the #OpenSourceResearch hashtag. The 5 most used PROMs were presented and discussed as slides/images on Twitter. Inputs from a wide spectrum of participants including researchers, surgeons, physicians, nurses, patients, and patients' organizations were collected and analyzed. The final draft was emailed to all contributors and 6 patients' representatives for proofreading and approval. Results. Five PROM sets were identified and discussed: EORTC QLQ-CR29, IBDQ short health questionnaire, EORTC QLQ-C30, ED-Q5-5L, and Short Form-36. There were 315 tweets posted by 50 tweeters with 1458 retweets. Awareness about PROMs was generally limited. The general psycho-physical well-being score (GPP) was suggested and discussed, and then a survey was conducted in which more than 2/3 of voters agreed that GPP covers the most important aspects in PROMs. Conclusion. Despite the limitations of this exploratory study, it offered a new method to conduct clinical research with opportunity to engage patients. The general psycho-physical well-being score suggested as simple, applicable PROMs to be eventually combined procedure-specific, disease-specific, or symptom-specific PROMs if needed.
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Cirugía Colorrectal , Humanos , Medición de Resultados Informados por el Paciente , Calidad de Vida , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
Enrolling patients for epidemiologic studies represents a challenge for researchers. Those who use traditional approaches, including in-person interviews and telephone or mail surveys, obtain increasingly lower participations. In the study by Martín-Fernández et al., the authors obtained 44 responses via mail and forums, and then 376 responses in just five days via Facebook. Online social networks (OSN) provide a unique opportunity to obtain epidemiologic data with resource savings and presumably collecting higher-quality information. However, disadvantages include loss of anonimity, selection and sampling biases, social acceptance bias, behavior changes, and lack of representativity.
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Enfermedades Inflamatorias del Intestino , Internet , Red Social , Información de Salud al Consumidor/métodos , Diseño de Investigaciones Epidemiológicas , Promoción de la Salud/métodos , Humanos , Enfermedades Inflamatorias del Intestino/diagnóstico , Enfermedades Inflamatorias del Intestino/terapia , Difusión de la Información/métodosRESUMEN
Colorectal surgeons have lagged behind other professionals in the use of social media. Currently, Twitter is the most widely utilized social platform for professional purposes among them. Connection and contagion are the two key actions that, together with immediate feedback and quantifiable impact, favor the use of Twitter over other social networks. In early 2016, a group of colorectal surgeons launched the #colorectalsurgery hashtag and, in less than 1 year, the ecosystem has incorporated over 2,600 users that generated over 24,000 tweets and 100 million impressions. "Live-Tweeting" surgical conferences by attendees including institutional or society accounts have greatly contributed to the success of the initiative. However, there are some barriers to a more wide adoption of social media, such as misrepresentation of non-peer-reviewed data, challenges to intellectual property protection, or even damage to the professional image. Active engagement with the #colorectalsurgery community may result in benefits for the global surgery community through information sharing, social interactions, personal branding, and research.
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COVID-19/prevención & control , Medicina Basada en la Evidencia , Servicio de Oncología en Hospital/organización & administración , Servicio de Oncología en Hospital/normas , COVID-19/epidemiología , COVID-19/transmisión , Humanos , Pandemias , Guías de Práctica Clínica como Asunto , SARS-CoV-2 , Medios de Comunicación Sociales , IncertidumbreRESUMEN
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a change in healthcare models. The aim of this study was to evaluate patient acceptance of telehealth as an alternative to physical consultations, and to identify factors predicting higher satisfaction. This was an observational, cross-sectional, multi-center, international study. All consecutive patients for whom telehealth was used in consultations between April and July 2020 were considered for inclusion. The validated Telehealth Usability Questionnaire (TUQ) was used as a model to measure patient acceptance. Overall, 747 patients were observed, of whom 721 agreed to participate (96·5%). The TUQ showed that 86·9% of patients agreed that telehealth was useful; 85·2% supported the interface quality and 81·4% endorsed the interaction quality. Patients aged > 60 y were less likely to agree with the use of telehealth (p < 0·05). A web-based prediction tool was generated to calculate global satisfaction and to identify patients more likely to feel comfortable with telehealth. Telehealth is feasible and allows consultations that are satisfactory for patients. Technological advancements could ease safe implementation of telehealth into everyday practice. Adequate patient selection can be useful to ensure that the ideal strategy is used for each individual during and after the pandemic.
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Different hemostatic methods are available for mild to moderate intraoperative bleeding during open and laparoscopic abdomino-pelvic surgery, but topical hemostats have gained popularity. We sought to review evidence on the use of a gelatin-thrombin matrix (FloSeal®) in elective abdominal and pelvic surgery. A systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases was conducted. The primary endpoints were intraoperative bleeding and number of transfusions. Secondary endpoints included operative time, postoperative complications, re-operation for bleeding, mortality, and duration of hospitalization. Of five controlled trials, only three were prospective, randomized-controlled studies. The first, in open myomectomy, showed that hemostatic matrix dramatically reduced intraoperative bleeding and transfusion rates compared with conventional hemostatic measures. Hemostatic matrix also reduced postoperative stay. Similar results were obtained in a trial comparing FloSeal versus infrared-sapphire coagulator during open renal tumor enucleation. In the third, FloSeal was equally as effective as conventional suture methods in preventing staple-line bleeding after sleeve gastrectomy. Data were not pooled because of the heterogeneity in design. There is insufficient evidence that FloSeal provides better results than conventional hemostasis in abdominal and pelvic surgery, except for open myomectomy. Well-designed randomized trials are needed to evaluate the use of gelatin-thrombin matrix in elective abdomino-pelvic surgery outcomes.
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Abdomen/cirugía , Medicina Basada en la Evidencia , Esponja de Gelatina Absorbible/uso terapéutico , Hemostasis Quirúrgica/estadística & datos numéricos , Pelvis/cirugía , Hemorragia Posoperatoria/epidemiología , Hemorragia Posoperatoria/prevención & control , Causalidad , Hemostáticos/uso terapéutico , Humanos , Métodos , Prevalencia , Factores de Riesgo , Resultado del TratamientoRESUMEN
Social media has become increasingly relevant for surgeons, trainees, surgical journals, and professional organizations. This article explores the importance of advanced social media analytics, including social media metrics, social graph metrics, and altmetrics, in enhancing information exchange and promoting content in digital surgical communities. Different social media platforms give users access to free analytics, such as Twitter Analytics, Facebook Page Insights, Instagram Insights, LinkedIn Analytics, and YouTube Analytics, and various commercial applications offer advanced metrics and data visualization. Social graph metrics provide insights into a social surgical network's structure and dynamics, helping identify key influencers, communities, trends, or behavior patterns within the network. Altmetrics allow alternative ways to measure the social impact of research beyond traditional citations, including mentions, downloads, and shares on social media platforms. However, ethical issues related to privacy, accuracy, transparency, accountability, and impact on patient care must be considered when using social media analytics.
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Medios de Comunicación Sociales , Cirujanos , HumanosRESUMEN
Digitalization is the conversion of analog data and information to a digital format based on bits. Digitalization allows information to be managed in a simple and standardized way. Digital health solutions are technologies that use the digitalization of data and information to improve the health sector in various aspects, such as prevention, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, research, innovation, training, management and evaluation of health services. These technologies range from mobile applications and telemedicine to artificial intelligence and blockchain, with advantages, barriers, and risks for their application in health care.
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Age-related changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, multimorbidity, frailty, and cognitive impairment represent challenges for drug treatments. Moreover, older adults are commonly exposed to polypharmacy, leading to increased risk of drug interactions and related adverse events, and higher costs for the healthcare systems. Thus, the complex task of prescribing medications to older polymedicated patients encourages the use of Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS). This paper evaluates the CDSS miniQ for identifying potentially inappropriate prescribing in poly-medicated older adults and assesses the usability and acceptability of the system in health care professionals, patients, and caregivers. The results of the study demonstrate that the miniQ system was useful for Primary Care physicians in significantly improving prescription, thereby reducing potentially inappropriate medication prescriptions for elderly patients. Additionally, the system was found to be beneficial for patients and their caregivers in understanding their medications, as well as usable and acceptable among healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers, highlighting the potential to improve the prescription process and reduce errors, and enhancing the quality of care for elderly patients with polypharmacy, reducing adverse drug events, and improving medication management.
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Background: The studies which address the impact of costs of robotic vs. laparoscopic approach on quality of life (cost-effectiveness studies) are scares in general surgery. Methods: The Spanish national study on cost-effectiveness differences among robotic and laparoscopic surgery (ROBOCOSTES) is designed as a prospective, multicentre, national, observational study. The aim is to determine in which procedures robotic surgery is more cost-effective than laparoscopic surgery. Several surgical operations and patient populations will be evaluated (distal pancreatectomy, gastrectomy, sleeve gastrectomy, inguinal hernioplasty, rectal resection for cancer, Heller cardiomiotomy and Nissen procedure). Discussion: The results of this study will demonstrate which treatment (laparoscopic or robotic) and in which population is more cost-effective. This study will also assess the impact of previous surgical experience on main outcomes.
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AIM: The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of the congresses of the American College of Surgeons (ACSCC2020) and the National Surgery Congress of the Spanish Association of Surgeons (CNC2020) in virtual format due to the SARS-CoV2 pandemic according to the fingerprint. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Twitter hashtags # ACSCC20 and # CNCirugia2020 were studied to determine tweets, retweets, users and impressions. The data on the accounts with the greatest influence and the historical evolution of the congresses between 2015 and 2020 were analyzed. We used the symplur software to collect and analyze the data. RESULTS: Between 2015 and 2017 there was a consistent increase in the number of tweets, participants and impressions. Between 2018 and 2020, the ACS maintains the number of impressions with the fewest number of tweets. However, the CNC continues to grow and achieves its best metrics in 2020. We found statistically significant differences between the most prolific accounts of the ACSCC versus the CNC (P < .002) but there are no differences between the 10 most influential accounts (P = ,19) or the accounts with the highest number of impressions (P = .450) CONCLUSIONS: Virtual congresses generate a global impact through the use of Twitter for the dissemination of knowledge. In the present 2020, the growth of the impact on social networks has been proportionally greater in the CNC than in the ACSCC. However, the ACS virtual congress generated the greatest impact on social networks measured by the number of users, tweets and impressions between 2015 and 2020.
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COVID-19 , Medios de Comunicación Sociales , Cirujanos , COVID-19/epidemiología , Humanos , ARN Viral , SARS-CoV-2 , Red Social , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic surgery has almost replaced open surgery in many areas of Gastro-Intestinal (GI) surgery. There is currently no published expert consensus statement on the principles of laparoscopic GI surgery. This may have affected the training of new surgeons. This exercise aimed to achieve an expert consensus on important principles of laparoscopic GI surgery. METHODS: A committee of 38 international experts in laparoscopic GI surgery proposed and voted on 149 statements in two rounds following a strict modified Delphi protocol. RESULTS: A consensus was achieved on 133 statements after two rounds of voting. All experts agreed on tailoring the first port site to the patient, whereas 84.2% advised avoiding the umbilical area for pneumoperitoneum in patients who had a prior midline laparotomy. Moreover, 86.8% agreed on closing all 15 mm ports irrespective of the patient's body mass index. There was a 100% consensus on using cartridges of appropriate height for stapling, checking the doughnuts after using circular staplers, and keeping the vibrating blade of the ultrasonic energy device in view and away from vascular structures. An 84.2% advised avoiding drain insertion through a ≥10 mm port site as it increases the risk of port-site hernia. There was 94.7% consensus on adding laparoscopic retrieval bags to the operating count and ensuring any surgical specimen left inside for later removal is added to the operating count. CONCLUSION: Thirty-eight experts achieved a consensus on 133 statements concerning various aspects of laparoscopic GI Surgery. Increased awareness of these could facilitate training and improve patient outcomes.
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Procedimientos Quirúrgicos del Sistema Digestivo , Laparoscopía , Cirujanos , Consenso , Técnica Delphi , HumanosRESUMEN
The positive impact of social media in surgery is ever increasing, although they present some challenging aspects, as preservation of medical professionalism. Physicians should respect patient privacy and integrity through their online presence. However, their personal expression also deserves respect, not being labeled "unprofessional" just for conveying private attitudes and beliefs.