Reliability of surgeon-specific reporting of complications after colectomy.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the reliability of surgeon-specific postoperative complication rates after colectomy. BACKGROUND: Conventional measures of surgeon-specific performance fail to acknowledge variation attributed to statistical noise, risking unreliable assessment of quality. METHODS: We examined all patients who underwent segmental colectomy with anastomosis from 2008 through 2010 participating in the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative Colectomy Project. Surgeon-specific complication rates were risk-adjusted according to patient characteristics with multiple logistic regression. Hierarchical modeling techniques were used to determine the reliability of surgeon-specific risk-adjusted complication rates. We then adjusted these rates for reliability. To evaluate the extent to which surgeon-level variation was reduced, surgeons were placed into quartiles based on performance and complication rates were compared before and after reliability adjustment. RESULTS: A total of 5033 patients (n = 345 surgeons) undergoing partial colectomy reported a risk-adjusted complication rate of 24.5%. Approximately 86% of the variability of complication rates across surgeons was explained by measurement noise, whereas the remaining 14% represented true signal. Risk-adjusted complication rates varied from 0% to 55.1% across quartiles before adjusting for reliability. Reliability adjustment greatly diminished this variation, generating a 1.2-fold difference (21.4%-25.6%). A caseload of 168 colectomies across 3 years was required to achieve a reliability of more than 0.7, which is considered a proficient level. Only 1 surgeon surpassed this volume threshold. CONCLUSIONS: The vast majority of surgeons do not perform enough colectomies to generate a reliable surgeon-specific complication rate. Risk-adjusted complication rates should be viewed with caution when evaluating surgeons with low operative volume, as statistical noise is a large determinant in estimating their surgeon-specific complication rates.

Severe lactation ketoacidosis presenting as a respiratory complaint.

Ketoacidosis, a type of high anion gap metabolic acidosis, results from 1 of 3 etiologies: diabetic ketoacidosis, alcoholic ketoacidosis, or starvation ketoacidosis (SKA). In rare instances, young and otherwise healthy lactating women have been found to develop lactation ketoacidosis, a form of SKA, when the high energy requirements of breastfeeding are not met with adequate carbohydrate intake. We present the case of a 29-year-old woman who presented to our emergency department with respiratory distress and headache and was found to have severe lactation ketoacidosis. The patient was treated with infusions of dextrose and bicarbonate in the emergency department and medical intensive care unit. She was discharged without complication 3 days later, after nutrition and lactation consultation. This case highlights both the importance of maintaining a broad differential diagnosis that includes lactation ketoacidosis and performing a careful interview to identify patient populations at risk for this pathology.

Massive Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding.

Audience: This case is targeted to emergency medicine residents of all levels. Introduction: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a common chief complaint encountered in the emergency department, resulting in over 500,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 deaths annually in the United States.1 The diagnosis and management of UGIB in stable patients is typically fairly straightforward. However, there are a number of circumstances where the treatment of UGIB is much more challenging, and emergency medicine (EM) physicians should be familiar with, and have experience managing, these difficult presentations. Massive UGIB can necessitate the need for management of a difficult airway in the setting of airway contamination, as well as placement of a gastroesophageal balloon tamponade device. The appropriate use and indications for performing this high-risk/low-frequency procedure requires dedicated practice. Furthermore, the management of gastrointestinal hemorrhage in a patient with a religious objection to the administration of blood products, including Jehovah's Witnesses, can be especially challenging and requires knowledge of alternative therapies to support blood pressure, oxygen carrying capacity, and decrease coagulopathy.2,3. Educational Objectives: By the end of this simulation, learners will be able to: 1) manage a hypotensive patient with syncope and hematemesis, 2) pharmacologically manage an acute UGIB addressing the various causes, 3) recognize worsening clinical status and intervene by performing difficult airway management, 4) place a gastroesophageal balloon tamponade device. Educational Methods: This simulation was conducted with a high-fidelity mannequin with a separate medium-fidelity intubating mannequin that was modified to allow rapid filling of the oropharynx with simulated blood. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a total of six EM residents in various levels of training participated in the simulated patient encounter while the rest of the learners watched the simulation and participated in the debrief via video conference. Research Methods: Following the simulation and debrief session, all the residents, including those who participated in-person and via video conference, were sent a survey via surveymonkey.com to assess the educational quality of the simulation. Results: Overall residents expressed positive feedback on the scenario, noting that the case was realistic, appropriately complex, and improved their medical knowledge and procedural skills. Discussion: This case has a mixture of high-fidelity and medium-fidelity components which can be easily reproduced. The case was extremely useful in teaching EM residents of all levels not only how to manage large volume UGIB in a patient who is also a Jehovah's Witness, but also how to manage the airway and place a gastroesophageal balloon tamponade device. The case starts with a patient presenting with syncope and as the case unfolds, the patient's clinical status deteriorates, requiring learners to resuscitate, intubate, and obtain a gastroesophageal balloon tamponade.Residents commented that managing this case of an UGIB was extremely challenging because it exposed and filled important gaps in both their knowledge and procedural skills. Residents struggled most with identifying alternative therapies to blood products in patients with religious objections, and the step-by-step process of placing a Blakemore tube. Topics: Upper gastrointestinal bleed, hemorrhagic shock, Jehovah's Witness, difficult airway.

Dysphagia Alone as a Unique Presentation of Wound Botulism in the Emergency Department: A Case Report.

INTRODUCTION: Wound botulism is a rare and potentially fatal infectious disease, often seen in patients who abuse injection drugs. It classically presents with dysfunction of bilateral cranial nerves followed by proximal and distal motor weakness, which can progress to respiratory failure. CASE REPORT: We report a case of a 31-year-old female who presented to the emergency department for the fifth time with an eight-day history of isolated dysphagia without any other neurologic symptoms. She reported a history of injection drug abuse via "skin popping," was admitted to the hospital, and ultimately diagnosed with wound botulism. CONCLUSION: This case exemplifies the diagnostic pitfalls of rare diseases such as wound botulism and provides insight regarding the diagnosis and treatment of this entity. This case also highlights the unique medical and social challenges emergency physicians face while trying to reliably evaluate patients who abuse controlled substances.

Patient Preferences for Diagnostic Testing in the Emergency Department: A Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Diagnostic testing is common during emergency department (ED) visits. Little is understood about patient preferences for such testing. We hypothesized that a patient's willingness to undergo diagnostic testing is influenced by the potential benefit, risk, and personal cost. METHODS: We conducted a cross sectional survey among ED patients for diagnostic testing in two hypothetical scenarios: chest pain (CP) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Each scenario defined specific risks, benefits, and costs of testing. The odds of a participant desiring diagnostic testing were calculated using a series of nested multivariable logistic regression models. RESULTS: Participants opted for diagnostic testing 68.2% of the time, including 69.7% of CP and 66.7% of all mTBI scenarios. In the CP scenario, 81% of participants desired free testing versus 59% when it was associated with a $100 copay (difference = 22%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 16% to 28%). Similarly, in the mTBI scenario, 73% of adult participants desired free testing versus 56% when charged a $100 copayment (difference = 17%, 95% CI = 11% to 24%). Benefit and risk had mixed effects across the scenarios. In fully adjusted models, the association between cost and desire for testing persisted in the CP (odds ratio [OR] = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.23 to 0.47) and adult mTBI (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.33 to 0.67) scenarios. CONCLUSIONS: In this ED-based study, patient preferences for diagnostic testing differed significantly across levels of risk, benefit, and cost of diagnostic testing. Cost was the strongest and most consistent factor associated with decreased desire for testing.

Pre-hospital midazolam for benzodiazepine-treated seizures before and after the Rapid Anticonvulsant Medication Prior to Arrival Trial: A national observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Implementation of evidence-based treatment for pre-hospital status epilepticus can improve outcomes. We hypothesized that publication of a pivotal pre-hospital clinical trial (RAMPART), demonstrating superiority of intramuscular midazolam over intravenous lorazepam, altered the national utilization rates of midazolam for pre-hospital benzodiazepine-treated seizures, while upholding its safety and efficacy outside the trial setting. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This is a retrospective, observational cohort study of pre-hospital patient encounters throughout the United States in the National Emergency Medicine Services Information System database, from January 2010 through December 2014. We compared the rates and odds of midazolam use as first-line treatment among all adult and pediatric benzodiazepine-treated seizures before and after RAMPART publication (February 2012). Secondary analyses were conducted for rates of airway interventions and rescue therapy, as proxies for safety and efficacy of seizure termination. 156,539 benzodiazepine-treated seizures were identified. Midazolam use increased from 26.1% in January 2010 to 61.7% in December 2014 (difference +35.6%, 95% CI, 32.7%-38.4%). The annual rate of midazolam adoption increased significantly from 5.9% per year to 8.9% per year after the publication of RAMPART (difference +3.0% per year; 95%CI, 1.6%-4.5% per year; adjusted OR 1.24; 95%CI, 1.17-1.32). Overall frequency of rescue therapy and airway interventions changed little after the publication of RAMPART. CONCLUSIONS: These data are consistent with effective, ongoing, but incomplete clinical translation of the RAMPART results. The effects of the trial, however, cannot be isolated. The study was limited by broad inclusion of all benzodiazepine-treated seizures as well as a lack of information on route of drug of administration. The safety and effectiveness of midazolam for benzodiazepine-treated seizures in prehospital clinical practice appear consistent with trial data, which should encourage continuing increases in utilization.