American Surgeon最新文献

Background: While chest X-ray (CXR) is an efficient tool for expeditious detection of life-threatening injury, chest computed tomography (CCT) is more sensitive albeit with added time, cost, and radiation. Thus far, there is limited evidence and lack of consensus on the best imaging practices. We sought to determine the association between imaging modality and outcomes in isolated blunt thoracic trauma.

Methods: The 2017-2020 TQIP database was queried for adult patients who sustained isolated blunt chest trauma and underwent chest imaging within 24 hours of admission. Patients who underwent CCT were 2:1 propensity-score-matched to those who underwent CXR. The primary outcome was mortality, and the secondary outcomes were hospital and ICU length of stay (LOS), ICU admission, need for and days requiring mechanical ventilation, complications, and discharge location.

Results: Propensity score matching yielded 17 716 patients with CCT and 8861 with CXR. While bivariate analysis showed lower 24-hr (CCT .2% vs CXR .4%, P = .0015) and in-hospital mortality (CCT 1.2% vs CXR 1.5%, P = .0454) in the CCT group, there was no difference in survival probability between groups (P = .1045). A higher percentage of CCT patients were admitted to the ICU (CCT 26.9% vs CXR 21.9%, P < .0001) and discharged to rehab (CCT .8% vs CXR .5%, P = .0178).

Discussion: CT offers no survival benefit over CXR in isolated blunt thoracic trauma. While CCT should be considered if clinically unclear, CXR likely suffices as an initial screening tool. These findings facilitate optimal resource allocation in constrained environments.

Background: Anti-inflammatory effects of tranexamic acid (TXA) in reducing trauma endotheliopathy may protect from acute lung injury. Clinical data showing this benefit in trauma patients is lacking. We hypothesized that TXA administration mitigates pulmonary complications in penetrating trauma patients.

Materials and methods: This is a post-hoc analysis of a multicenter, prospective, observational study of adults (18+ years) with penetrating torso and/or proximal extremity injury presenting at 25 urban trauma centers. Tranexamic acid administration in the prehospital setting or within three hours of admission was examined. Participants were propensity matched to compare similarly injured patients. The primary outcome was development of pulmonary complication (ARDS and/or pneumonia).

Results: A total of 2382 patients were included, and 206 (8.6%) received TXA. Of the 206, 93 (45%) received TXA prehospital and 113 (55%) received it within three hours of hospital admission. Age, sex, and incidence of massive transfusion did not differ. The TXA group was more severely injured, more frequently presented in shock (SBP < 90 mmHg), developed more pulmonary complications, and had lower survival (P < 0.01 for all). After propensity matching, 410 patients remained (205 in each cohort) with no difference in age, sex, or rate of shock. On logistic regression, increased emergency department heart rate was associated with pulmonary complications. Tranexamic acid was not associated with different rate of pulmonary complications or survival on logistic regression. Survival was not different between the groups on logistic regression or propensity score-matched analysis.

Conclusions: Tranexamic acid administration is not protective against pulmonary complications in penetrating trauma patients.

Background: Serum albumin level is routinely screened during preoperative assessments as a biomarker for poor nutritional status and/or concurrent inflammation. In esophagectomy, while early postoperative hypoalbuminemia is associated with a higher risk of adverse surgical outcomes, the effects of preoperative hypoalbuminemia on esophagectomy outcomes were conflicting. This study aimed to examine the effect of preoperative hypoalbuminemia on 30-day outcomes following esophagectomy.

Methods: National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) esophagectomy targeted database from 2016 to 2022 was used. Patients with preoperative serum albumin <3.4 g/L were defined as having hypoalbuminemia. Patients with and without hypoalbuminemia were propensity-score matched (1:3 ratio) for demographics, baseline characteristics, neoadjuvant therapy, surgical approaches, tumor diagnosis, and pathologic staging of the malignancy. Thirty-day postoperative outcomes were examined.

Results: There were 803 (10.24%) and 7046 (89.76%) patients with and without preoperative hypoalbuminemia who underwent esophagectomy, respectively. After propensity-score matching, all patients with hypoalbuminemia were matched to 2170 controls. After propensity-matching, patients with hypoalbuminemia had higher risks of mortality (4.48% vs 3.00%, P = 0.04), sepsis (14.94% vs 10.92%, P < 0.01), and bleeding requiring transfusion (21.30% vs 13.50%, P < 0.01). Also, patients with hypoalbuminemia had a higher rate of discharge not to home (42.65% vs 34.81%, P < 0.01) and longer LOS (12.69 ± 9.09 vs 11.39 ± 8.16 days, P < 0.01).

Conclusion: Patients with preoperative hypoalbuminemia had increased risks of mortality and complications after esophagectomy. Thus, preoperative hypoalbuminemia could be a useful and cost-effective tool for preoperative risk stratification for patients undergoing esophagectomy, and correcting the underlying cause of hypoalbuminemia may help decrease the risk of adverse postoperative outcomes.

Objectives: In 2020, the public health crises of gun violence and novel coronavirus (COVID-19) collided and interventions to decrease COVID-19 transmission displaced millions of Americans from normal activity. We analyzed the effects of COVID-19 and its resultant shutdowns on gun violence in Buffalo, NY.

Methods: We queried the Gun Violence Archive (GVA) and the hospital databases from the 2 level 1 trauma centers which serve Buffalo firearm victims between March 15th and June 24th, 2020 ("COVID") and the same time period for years 2013 (hospital data)/2014 (GVA data) through 2019 ("pre-COVID") and 2021 through 2022 ("post-COVID"). Data points collected included number of daily victims, victim age, gender, and morbidity/mortality. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to compare gun violence in these 3 periods.

Results: There were 518 and 913 victims in the GVA and hospital data sets, respectively. Bivariate analyses showed fewer incidents on Saturdays during the pandemic in both data sets (P < 0.05). Multivariate analyses demonstrated no association between number of gun violence victims and time period in either data set (P > 0.05).

Conclusions: There was no change in number of gun violence victims during the COVID-19 shutdowns compared to pre-COVID and post-COVID periods in Buffalo, NY. However, there was a change in the weekly temporality of gun violence during the COVID pandemic. Multiple databases are needed to accurately capture gun violence from an epidemiologic perspective.

Background: The need for emergency general surgery (EGS) in geriatric patients is increasing with the aging population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of SHARP score to predict mortality rate and length of hospital and emergency service stay for EGS patients.

Methods: Patients aged ≥65 years who applied to the emergency service, required EGS, and underwent surgery between February 1, 2022, and January 31, 2023, were retrospectively analyzed from our hospital's information system. Demographic data (age, gender, and comorbidities), surgical diagnoses, and SHARP risk scores of the patients were evaluated. Also, 30-day mortality and length of stay in the emergency service and hospital were examined.

Results: A total of 386 patients were evaluated in this study. The mean age of these patients was 75 years (65-94). The most common cause of EGS was hernia. The cause with the highest mortality was intraabdominal perforations. The presence of malignancy and an increase in the number of comorbidities were associated with mortality. SHARP scores of 3, 4, and 5 were significantly associated with length of hospital stay and mortality.

Conclusion: We recommend considering the SHARP risk score to predict mortality and length of hospital stay in geriatric EGS patients.

Background: The traditional treatment of traumatic hemothorax (HTX) is large bore chest tubes (CT) ≥28Fr. Recent evidence shows 14Fr pigtail catheters are as effective in drainage of HTX as larger CT. However, this has not been shown in 14Fr Thal tubes, a straight chest tube placed utilizing Seldinger technique.

Methods: A single center, prospective randomized controlled trial was performed at an ACS verified Level 1 trauma center comparing 14Fr Thal CT (14CT) to 28Fr CT (28CT) between May 2017 and September 2021. The primary outcome was failure of drainage of hemothorax requiring additional intervention. Secondary outcomes included duration of chest tube placement, length of stay, tube-specific complications, and 90-day hospital readmission. Farrington-Manning approach was used for non-inferiority tests. Wilcoxon 2-samples test or t test was used for continuous variables, and Pearson chi-square or Fisher exact test was used for categorical variables.

Results: 109 patients were included in the randomized trial. There were 54 patients in the 14CT cohort, and 55 patients in the 28CT cohort. The primary outcome of drainage failure was similar between groups (8.3% 14CT vs 3.9% 28CT). Using a 15% non-inferiority margin 14CT is non-inferior to 28CT. No differences were identified in secondary outcomes.

Conclusion: 14Fr Thal tubes have similar efficacy in drainage of traumatic hemothorax when compared with 28Fr chest tubes with similar complication rates (NCT03167723).