Comparison of injury mortality risk in motor vehicle crash versus other etiologies.

The mortality risk ratio (MRR), a measure of the proportion of people who died that sustained a given injury, is reported to be among the most powerful discriminators of mortality following trauma. The primary aim was to determine whether mechanistic differences exist and are quantifiable when comparing MRR-based injury severity across two broadly defined etiologies (motor vehicle crash (MVC) versus non-MVC) for the clarification of important injury types that have some room for improvement by emergency treatment and vehicle design. All International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision (ICD-9) coded injuries in the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) database were stratified into MVC and non-MVC groups and the MRR for each injury was computed within each group. Injuries were classified as 11 different types for MRR comparison between etiologies. Overall, MRRs for specific injuries were 10-18% lower for MVC compared to non-MVC etiologies. MVCs however produced much higher mean MRRs for crushing injuries (0.184 versus 0.072) and internal injuries to the thorax, abdomen, and pelvis (0.200 versus 0.169). Non-MVCs produced much higher MRRs for intracranial injuries (0.199 versus 0.250). Analysis of the top 95% most frequent MVC injuries revealed higher MVC MRR values for 78% of the injuries with MRR ratios indicating an average 50% increase in a given injury's MRR when MVC was the etiology. Addressing the large differences in MRR in between etiologies for identical injuries could provide a reduction in fatalities and may be important to patient triage and vehicle safety design.

Designing an ethics curriculum to support global health experiences in surgery.

BACKGROUND: The field of global health is rapidly expanding in many medical centers across the US. As a result, medical students have increasing opportunities to incorporate global health experiences (GHEs) into their medical education. Ethics is a critical component of global health curricula, yet little literature exists to direct the further development of didactic training. Therefore, we sought to define ethical encounters experienced by medical students participating in short-term surgical GHEs and create a framework for the design of ethics curriculum specific to global surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Emory University Departments of Surgery, Urology, and Anesthesia, in partnership with the non-profit organization Project Medishare, have taken annual humanitarian surgical trips to Hinche, Haiti. All medical students returning from the trips in 2011 and 2012 received a 35-question survey to assess demographic data, extent of prior ethics education, frequency of exposure and situational confidence to ethical subject matter, as well as ethical conflicts involved in surgical GHEs. The same comparative data were also collected for domestic clinical clerkships. RESULTS: Seventeen out of 21 medical students completed the survey. Nearly all (88.3%) students had previous formal ethics training as an undergraduate or in medical school. Ethical issues were commonly encountered during domestic clinical encounters and volunteerism. However, students reported enhanced exposure to the professional obligation of surgeons (P = 0.025) and truth-telling/surgeon-patient relationships (P = 0.044) during surgical volunteerism. Despite increased exposure, situational confidence did not change. CONCLUSIONS: Ethical issues are commonly confronted during GHEs in surgery and differ from domestic clinical encounters. Healthcare ethics curriculum should be designed to meet the needs of medical students involved in global health.

Definitive surgical treatment of enterocutaneous fistula: outcomes of a 23-year experience.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze postoperative outcomes, morbidity, and mortality following enterocutaneous fistula (ECF) takedown. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: Retrospective review of the complete medical records of patients who presented to a single tertiary care referral center from December 24, 1987, to June 18, 2010, and subsequently underwent definitive surgical treatment for ECF originating from the stomach, small bowel, colon, or rectum. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Postoperative fistula recurrence and mortality. RESULTS: A total of 153 patients received operative intervention for ECF. Most ECFs were referred to us from outside institutions (75.2%), high output (52.3%), originating from the small bowel (88.2%), and iatrogenic in cause (66.7%). Successful ECF closure was ultimately achieved in 128 patients (83.7%). Six patients (3.9%) died within 30 days of surgery, and overall 1-year mortality was 15.0%. Postoperative complications occurred in 134 patients, for an overall morbidity rate of 87.6%. Significant risk factors for fistula recurrence were numerous, but postoperative ventilation for longer than 48 hours, organ space surgical site infection, and blood transfusion within 72 hours of surgery carried the most considerable impact (relative risks, 4.87, 4.07, and 3.91, respectively; P < .05). Risk of 1-year mortality was also associated with multiple risk factors, the most substantial of which were postoperative pulmonary and infectious complications. Closure of abdominal fascia was protective against both recurrent ECF and mortality (relative risks, 0.47 and 0.38, respectively; P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Understanding risk factors both associated with and protective against ECF recurrence and postoperative morbidity and mortality is imperative for appropriate ECF management. Closure of abdominal fascia is of utmost importance, and preventing postoperative complications must be prioritized to optimize patient outcomes.

Computed tomography angiography-based evaluation of great saphenous vein conduit for lower extremity bypass.

OBJECTIVE: Lower extremity computed tomography angiography (CTA) is frequently used for anatomic assessment of lower extremity peripheral arterial disease. When lower extremity bypass is planned, duplex ultrasound (DUS) is routinely obtained to evaluate the great saphenous vein (GSV) for use as conduit. Although GSV can be visualized on CTA images, diameter assessment is not routinely included in formal study interpretation. We hypothesized that CTA images could be used to measure GSV diameters and that CTA-based diameters would correlate with measurements obtained using DUS. METHODS: Consecutive patients undergoing lower extremity arterial bypass who were evaluated preoperatively with both CTA and DUS vein mapping were identified at a single hospital. Minimum above- and below-knee GSV diameters were measured from electronically archived CTA images by two independent observers. CTAs were performed using standard arterial phase protocol without additional venous phase imaging. Between-observer reproducibility of CTA-based diameter measurements was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients. Correlation between CTA and DUS-based GSV diameters was evaluated with Spearman correlation coefficients. CTA diameter cut-points for identification of adequate GSV bypass conduit, defined as DUS-based minimum GSV diameter≥3 mm, were determined using receiver-operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: Sixty-three lower extremities were evaluated in 36 patients. In the absence of previous surgical removal, GSV was visible on all CTAs reviewed. No instances of GSV thrombosis were identified on DUS. Minimum DUS-based above-knee GSV diameter was 2.9±0.1 mm (range, 1.4-4.6 mm), and mean below-knee diameter was 2.6±0.1 mm (range, 1.3-4.0 mm). When GSV was visible and exceeded the minimum diameter threshold for CTA measurement, correlation between CTA- and DUS-based diameters was both positive and highly significant (ρ=0.595; P<.0001). CTA-based diameters also had excellent reliability between observers (r [95% CI]: 0.88 [0.85-0.91]). For identification of adequate bypass conduit using CTA, above-knee GSV diameter≥3.9 mm was 67% sensitive and 73% specific; below-knee GSV diameter≥3.0 mm was 75% sensitive and 84% specific. CONCLUSIONS: CTA-based GSV diameter measurements have good reproducibility and highly significant correlation with DUS-based diameters. CTA-based GSV diameter is a specific but relatively insensitive indicator of adequate bypass conduit. When CTA-based diameters indicate inadequate GSV bypass conduit, confirmatory DUS vein mapping is warranted. Confirmatory DUS vein mapping may be unnecessary when adequate vein diameter is identified on CTA.

Is it possible to train surgeons for rural Africa? A report of a successful international program.

BACKGROUND: The critical shortage of surgeons and access to surgical care in Africa is increasingly being recognized as a global health crisis. Across Africa, there is only one surgeon for every 250,000 people and only one for every 2.5 million of those living in rural areas. Surgical diseases are responsible for approximately 11.2% of the total global burden of disease. Even as the importance of treating surgical disease is being recognized, surgeons in sub-Saharan Africa are leaving rural areas and their countries altogether to practice in more desirable locations. METHODS: The Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) was formed in 1997 as a strategic response to this profound need for surgical manpower. It is training surgical residents through a 5-year American competency-based model. Trainees are required to be of African origin and a graduate of a recognized medical school. RESULTS: To date, PAACS has established six training programs in four countries. During the 2009-2010 academic year, there were 35 residents in training. A total of 18 general surgeons and one pediatric surgeon have been trained. Two more general surgeons are scheduled to finish training in 2011. Four graduates have gone on to subspecialty training, and the remaining graduates are practicing general surgery in rural and underserved urban centers in Angola, Guinea-Conakry, Ghana, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. CONCLUSIONS: The PAACS has provided rigorous training for 18 African general surgeons, one of whom has also completed pediatric surgery training. To our knowledge, this is the only international rural-based surgical training program in Africa.

Management of regional lymph node basins in melanoma.

Of all malignancies, melanoma has the most rapid increase in incidence; in 2009 it was estimated to have had the fifth highest number of new cases overall. Surgical therapy remains the primary and most effective intervention for this disease. Over the past 20 years there has been a significant paradigm shift in the management of the regional nodal basin, driven predominantly by the introduction of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). This new technique has drastically altered the method of detecting nodal disease and has become a routine component of melanoma treatment. In addition to SLNB, a better understanding of ultrasound, fine-needle biopsy, and the considerable efforts to minimize the morbidity of surgical intervention has led to innovations in the management of patients with regional metastases. An overview of the current therapeutic options for managing patients with nodal disease follows.