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Introduction Enteroatmospheric fistulas (EAF) present significant challenges in surgical management due to their complex nature and high mortality rate. Traditional approaches often rely on prolonged parenteral nutrition, but emerging evidence suggests the potential benefits of enteral nutrition via fistuloclysis, an underappreciated enteral nutrition route. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of nutritional therapy, specifically fistuloclysis, in patients with EAF managed at the Trauma Unit of Santo Tomás Hospital, Panama. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on nine male patients diagnosed with EAF between January 2016 and December 2020. Data on demographics, fistula characteristics, and nutritional management were collected through chart review. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. Results We analyzed nine patients, all of whom received enteral nutrition (EN) via fistuloclysis in a median of 5.5 days from the diagnosis of EAF. Seven patients required parenteral nutrition (PN) at the beginning. The use of specialized enteral formulas, supplemented with hydrolyzed proteins and medium-chain triglycerides, facilitated discontinuation of PN once 80% of nutritional requirements were met via the enteral route, and EN was continued until definitive surgery. The median duration of PN was 34 days. No adverse effects related to EN were observed, whereas complications such as central venous catheter infections were reported in all cases requiring PN. Conclusion Fistuloclysis is a viable and effective alternative to traditional PN in patients with EAF. Specialized nutritional strategies, including the use of semi-elemental formulas, contribute to improved outcomes and reduced complications. Early initiation and gradual increase in enteral nutrition via fistuloclysis demonstrate safety and efficacy, underscoring the importance of tailored nutritional approaches in optimizing patient care for complex surgical conditions.
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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002102.].
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Academic global surgery is a rapidly growing field that aims to improve access to safe surgical care worldwide. However, no universally accepted competencies exist to inform this developing field. A consensus-based approach, with input from a diverse group of experts, is needed to identify essential competencies that will lead to standardization in this field. A task force was set up using snowball sampling to recruit a broad group of content and context experts in global surgical and perioperative care. A draft set of competencies was revised through the modified Delphi process with two rounds of anonymous input. A threshold of 80% consensus was used to determine whether a competency or sub-competency learning objective was relevant to the skillset needed within academic global surgery and perioperative care. A diverse task force recruited experts from 22 countries to participate in both rounds of the Delphi process. Of the n = 59 respondents completing both rounds of iterative polling, 63% were from low- or middle-income countries. After two rounds of anonymous feedback, participants reached consensus on nine core competencies and 31 sub-competency objectives. The greatest consensus pertained to competency in ethics and professionalism in global surgery (100%) with emphasis on justice, equity, and decolonization across multiple competencies. This Delphi process, with input from experts worldwide, identified nine competencies which can be used to develop standardized academic global surgery and perioperative care curricula worldwide. Further work needs to be done to validate these competencies and establish assessments to ensure that they are taught effectively.
