Correction to: Quality Improvement and Personalization for Statins: the QUIPS Quality Improvement Randomized Trial of Veterans' Primary Care Statin Use.

Dr. Sussman's name displayed incorrectly in the html of this paper.

Prospective analysis of psychosocial outcomes after breast reconstruction: cross-cultural comparisons of 1-year postoperative results.

Breast reconstruction has been shown to improve quality of life in women following mastectomy for breast cancer. To date, there have been no published prospective reports looking at the effect nationality has on patient quality of life following breast reconstruction. Women from the USA, Sweden and Canada were recruited prior to reconstruction and followed prospectively for 1 year postoperatively. Thirteen centres with 24 plastic surgeons were involved. Preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively, women completed the Short Form-36 questionnaire. Data were analysed using t-tests and analysis of variance. A total of 313 women were followed up. American women who had immediate expander/implant surgery were compared with Swedish patients, whilst Americans who had undergone transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap reconstructions were compared with Canadians. Women benefited from having breast reconstruction, but this improvement was not dependent upon country of origin. Swedish women reported less improvement in one subscale, that of general health, compared with American women (P=0.01). There were no cultural differences detected between Americans and Canadians.

Nutritional status classification in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Nutrition Status Classification scheme uses clinical data that are routinely collected on admission or shortly thereafter for quick inpatient nutrition screening. In this scheme, patients are assigned to 1 of 4 classification levels according to 7 individual indicators. The indicators include nutrition history, unintentional weight loss as a percent of usual body weight, percent of ideal body weight, diet, diagnosis, albumin, and total lymphocyte count. After ratings (1 to 4) are assigned to each of the 7 indicators, overall nutritional status for each patient is determined by an algorithm. The VA classification system includes many of the same criteria used in other nutritional status classifications. Where it differs is in the greater emphasis on the use of objective criteria and in the rigorous evaluation of reliability and validity that went into its development. Because of these extra measures, the VA classification can be used for prioritizing workload, as well as for determining staff requirements and for comparing workload and productivity across health care facilities. So that others might benefit from using this system, this article provides information on how the classification scheme was developed and explains how it is used.

Prospective analysis of psychosocial outcomes in breast reconstruction: one-year postoperative results from the Michigan Breast Reconstruction Outcome Study.

In the past decade, changing attitudes toward breast reconstruction among both patients and providers have led a growing number of women to seek breast reconstruction after mastectomy. Although investigators have documented the psychological, social, emotional, and functional benefits of breast reconstruction, little research has evaluated the effects of procedure choice on these outcomes. The current study prospectively evaluated and compared psychosocial outcomes for three common options for mastectomy reconstruction: tissue expander/implant, pedicle TRAM, and free TRAM techniques. In a prospective cohort design, patients undergoing postmastectomy reconstruction for the first time with expander/implant, pedicle TRAM, or free TRAM procedures were recruited from 12 centers and 23 plastic surgeons in the United States and Canada. Before reconstruction and at 1 year after reconstruction, patients were evaluated by a battery of questionnaires consisting of both generic and condition-specific surveys. Outcomes assessed included emotional well-being, vitality, general mental health, social functioning, functional well-being, social well-being, and body image. Baseline (preoperative) scores and the change in scores (the difference between postoperative and preoperative scores) were compared across procedure types using t tests and analysis of covariance. Preoperative and 1-year postoperative surveys were obtained from 273 patients. Procedure type was reported in 250 patients, of whom 56 received implant reconstructions, 128 pedicle TRAM flaps, and 66 free TRAM flaps. A total of 161 immediate and 89 delayed reconstructions were performed. Among women receiving immediate reconstruction, significant improvements were observed in all psychosocial variables except body image. However, no significant effects of procedure type on these changes over time existed. Similarly, delayed reconstruction patients had significant increases in emotional well-being, vitality, general mental health, functional well-being, and body image. Although the choice of reconstructive technique did not significantly impact most of these outcomes, significant differences existed among procedure types for three psychosocial subscales. Patients undergoing delayed expander/implant reconstructions reported greater improvements in vitality and social well-being relative to women receiving delayed TRAM procedures. By contrast, delayed TRAM patients noted significantly greater gains in body image compared with women choosing delayed expander-implant reconstruction. The authors conclude that both immediate and delayed breast reconstructions provide substantial psychosocial benefits for mastectomy patients. Although the choice of reconstructive procedure does not seem to significantly affect improvements in psychosocial status with immediate reconstruction, our data suggest that procedure type does have a significant effect on gains in vitality and body image for women undergoing delayed reconstruction.

Determinants of patient satisfaction in postmastectomy breast reconstruction.

In today's increasingly competitive health care marketplace, consumer satisfaction has become an important measure of quality. Furthermore, measures of satisfaction with treatment inteerventions are influential factors in determining patients' and payers' choices of health care. This study sought to evaluate satisfaction with postmastectomy breast reconstruction and to assess the effects of procedure type and timing on patient satisfaction. As part of the Michigan Breast Reconstruction Outcome Study, patients undergoing first-time mastectomy reconstruction were prospectively evaluated, including cohorts of women choosing expander/implant, pedicle TRFAM flap, and free TRAM flap procedures. Preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively, participants completed a questionnaire that collected a variety of health status information. The postoperative questionnaire had an additional seven items assessing both general satisfaction with reconstruction (five items) and aesthetic satisfaction (two items) as separate subscales. Patients were asked to respond to each item using a five-point Likert scale. Item responses ranged from 1, indicating high satisfaction, to 5, reflecting low satisfaction. In the data analysis, only patients responding with a 1 or 2 for all of the items within a subscale were classified as "satisfied" for the subscale. To assess the effects of procedure type (implant, pedicle TRAM flap, and free TRAM flap) and timing (immediate versus delayed) on satisfaction and to control for possible confounding effects from other independent variables, multiple logistic regression was employed. In our analysis, odds ratios and associated 95 percent confidence intervals were calculated for each independent variable in the regression. Statistical significance was designated at the p < or = 0.05 level. A total of 212 patients were followed during the period of 1994 to 1997, including 141 immediate and 71 delayed reconstructions. The study population consisted of 49 expander/implant, 102 pedicle TRAM flap, and 61 free TRAM flap reconstruction patients. The analysis showed a significant association between procedure type and patient satisfaction. TRAM flap patients (both free and pedicle) appeared to have significantly greater general and aesthetic satisfaction compared with expander/implant patients (p = 0.03 and 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, pedicle TRAM flap patients were more aesthetically satisfied than those with free TRAM flaps (p = 0.072). The other independent variables of age and procedure timing did not appear to significantly affect either general or aesthetic satisfaction. However, preoperative physical activity was positively correlated with general satisfaction at the p = 0.034 level. The choice of procedure seems to have a significant effect on both aesthetic and general patient satisfaction with breast reconstruction. In this study, autogenous tissue reconstructions produced higher levels of patient aesthetic and general satisfaction compared with implant techniques. Pedicle and free TRAM flap patients do not seem to differ significantly in general satisfaction. However, women receiving pedicle TRAM flaps reported greater aesthetic satisfaction compared with patients undergoing free TRAM flaps. Furthermore, patient age and procedure timing may not have an effect on patient satisfaction with breast reconstruction.

Implementation and evaluation of a clinical pathway for TRAM breast reconstruction.

Among strategies recently proposed to reduce practice variation, promote quality, and control costs in health care delivery, the concept of the clinical pathway has received considerable attention. Because transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) breast reconstruction is a common and often costly intervention, this institution sought to evaluate cost and quality outcomes of a clinical pathways program for this procedure. The TRAM reconstruction clinical pathway was implemented in April of 1996 to standardize postoperative care in this patient population. Outcomes of consecutive pathway cases for the first 14 months of the program were assessed in a retrospective cohort design, by using all nonpathway TRAM cases from the 18 months immediately before pathway implementation as controls. Outcomes assessed included length of hospital stay, postoperative complications, total postoperative charges, and total postoperative costs in relative value units. Data on these dependent variables were collected from hospital charts and billing records. The effects of pathway implementation on the outcomes of interest were analyzed by using analysis of covariance to control for potential confounding by other independent variables, including surgical site (unilateral versus bilateral reconstructions), technique (pedicle versus free TRAMs), timing (immediate versus delayed reconstructions), and patient age. Finally, a comparison of variances in the outcomes of interest between the two groups was analyzed by using an Ftest. For all statistical tests, p values of < or = 0.05 were considered significant. Twenty-nine patients were treated in the TRAM pathway group, whereas the control population included 40 nonpathway patients. After implementation of the TRAM pathway, length of stay decreased from 6.0 to 5.2 days; total postoperative charges were reduced from $8587 to $7744; and total postoperative relative value unit utilization declined from 1686 to 1104. Analysis of covariance showed that the decreases in length of hospital stay and relative value units in the TRAM pathway were statistically significant (p = 0.05 and p = 0.007, respectively). By contrast, no significant increase in complications was observed after pathway implementation. Variability in the TRAM pathway group, as measured by SD, decreased significantly for both length of hospital stay (p = 0.039) and relative value units (p = 0.023). Implementation of the TRAM reconstruction clinical pathway resulted in significant declines in length of hospital stay and total costs. These decreases in resource utilization had no significant effect on postoperative complication rates. Although additional research is needed to further assess the impact of clinical pathways, this approach offers considerable promise for improving the cost-effectiveness of health care.

Comparison of professional judgment versus an algorithm for nutrition status classification.

OBJECTIVES: The classification of a patient's nutrition status is important for identifying patients who require nutrition care, for designing effective nutrition interventions, and for measuring severity of illness. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of two variants of the Department of Veterans Affairs' nutrition status classification: professional judgment versus an algorithm. METHODS: The study consisted of two phases, both of which included providing a sample of approximately 60 registered dietitians and 60 clinical dietetic technicians with data on 16 (phase I) and 20 (phase II) patients, to which they assigned nutrition statuses using both professional judgment and the algorithm. Improvements in instructions and training were implemented between the two phases. Interrater reliability of the responses was calculated, and content validity was measured by comparing the staff's responses with those of an expert panel. RESULTS: Reliability improved significantly between phases for both professional judgment and the algorithm. Greater reliability and validity were observed with use of the algorithm, by both dietitians and technicians, during both phases. CONCLUSION: Classification of a patient's nutrition status is important in the delivery of cost-effective health care. The Department of Veterans Affairs' nutrition status classification is a good one for assessing nutrition status quickly and reliably, especially when an algorithm is used. The results underscore the advantages of a classification system based on an algorithm when the system is designed to be used by many different staff across multiple facilities.

Outcomes research: a primer for plastic surgeons.

The growing emphasis on cost-effectiveness in the United States health care industry has highlighted the need for comprehensive outcomes research in a variety of medical specialties. Currently, there is a relative paucity of reliable data characterizing the long-term results of many medical and surgical treatments. This shortage of outcomes research is particularly acute within plastic surgery where the benefits of treatment are often intangible and notoriously difficult to measure. In evaluating the effectiveness of medical treatment, conventional clinical research has focused primarily on morbidity and mortality as the outcomes of interest. In contrast, current outcome studies assess the results of interventions from the patient's perspective, measuring the impact of medical care on physical functioning, well-being, and quality of life. The resulting data can assist consumers, providers, and payers in making more appropriate health care decisions. As the outcomes movement has matured, it has evolved into two major areas of study: effectiveness research that evaluates the relationships between specific medical interventions and outcomes of care, and quality assessment that seeks to provide the best outcomes at the most reasonable costs. This review details the origins and trends of current outcomes research, examining the implications of this movement for plastic surgery. The growing impact of outcomes data on treatment guideline formulation in both the public and private sectors is also described. Finally, a brief review of outcomes study design, including definition of variables and selection of instruments, is presented.

Evaluations of aesthetic results in breast reconstruction: an analysis of reliability.

This study evaluated the reliability of three commonly used measures of aesthetic outcomes of breast surgery: a four-point ordinal scale of overall aesthetics, five four-point subscales, and a visual analogue scale. Fifty patients were randomly selected from women who underwent breast reconstruction surgery at University of Michigan hospitals between July 1989 and May 1993. Postoperative photographs of these patients were provided to three plastic surgeons, who were asked to rate the photographs using the three methods. The same process was repeated 4 weeks later. Intrarater and interrater reliability ranged from poor to good for the three methods, with the subscales showing the highest reliability. The lowest reliability occurred for those scales with the least-explicit rating criteria. Without explicit criteria, raters must develop and use their own criteria, which are likely to differ for each rater. Separating the various components of the aesthetic results of breast surgery into different subscales helps make the rating criteria more explicit. Scales with demonstrated reliability are critical for ensuring comparability of results across studies.

Design and validation of a critical care simulation model.

The high costs of building, equipping, and staffing critical care beds, coupled with more restrictive reimbursement policies, are forcing hospital administrators to seek ways for determining accurately the number of critical care beds needed. Existing critical care bedsizing models do not capture the complexity of today's critical care environment, nor have they been formally validated using actual hospital performance data. The study described herein was designed to address these needs. A GPSS/H simulation model was developed and validated, and includes the flow of patients through the study hospital's operating rooms, post-anesthesia recovery unit, three intensive care units, and two intermediate care (stepdown) units.

Evaluation of healthcare software from a usability perspective.

This paper provides a framework for evaluating healthcare software from a usability perspective. The framework is based on a review of both the healthcare software literature and the general literature on software usability and evaluation. The need for such a framework arises from the proliferation of software packages in the healthcare field, and from an historical focus on the technical and functional aspects, rather than on the usability, of these packages. Healthcare managers are generally unfamiliar with usability concepts, even though usability differences among software can play a significant role in the acceptance and effectiveness of systems. Six major areas of usability are described, and specific criteria which can be used in the software evaluation process are also presented.

Evaluation of an advance surgical scheduling system.

Utilization of the surgical suite is of significant concern to administrators because of the high costs associated with this facility. Scheduling systems, which control the flow of patients into the surgical arena, are frequently cited as a primary means of improving resource utilization. The objective of the research reported herein was to test the hypothesis that the implementation of a centralized advance surgical scheduling system is associated with a significant improvement in operating room (OR) team utilization rate. Data were collected at a test hospital and at a control hospital for three months prior to implementation of a scheduling system at the test hospital, and for an additional three months starting nine months after implementation. The mean OR team utilization rate at the test hospital rose 12% from 0.68 prior to implementation to 0.77 postimplementation. The mean OR team utilization rate at the control hospital fell 8%, from 0.78 preimplementation to 0.73 postimplementation. The research hypothesis was supported using multiple regression, which controlled for various intervening variables that could affect utilization rate independently of the scheduling system. A literature review showed that experimental designs such as the one used in this study have not previously been used to evaluate scheduling systems in hospital settings, despite the increasing need to justify the purchase and implementation of such systems.

Decreased tear production associated with general anesthesia in the dog.

Schirmer I tear tests were done on 20 dogs before and during general anesthesia. Atropine sulfate reduced tear production from a mean base-line value of 20.35 +/- 3.33 mm/minute to 14.10 +/- 6.13 mm/minute, 10 minutes after its subcutaneous administration. The combination of subcutaneous atropine, intravenous thiamylal sodium, and inhalation anesthesia reduced tear production to a mean value of 0.53 +/- 1.12 mm/minute at 60 minutes after induction.