40 research outputs found
Assessment of surgeon communication skills from the patient perspective: A national evaluation using the Communication Assessment Tool
Objective: The Communication Assessment Tool (CAT) has previously been translated and adapted to the Italian context. This national study aimed to validate the CAT and evaluate communication skills of practicing surgeons from the patient perspective. Methods: CAT consists of 14 items associated with a 5-point scale (5 = excellent); results are reported as the percent of ââexcellentââ scores. It was administered to 920 consenting outpatients aged 18â84 in 26 Italian surgical departments. Results: The largest age group was 45â64 (43.8%); 52.2% of the sample was male. Scores ranged from 44.6% to 66.6% excellent. The highest-scoring items were âTreated me with respectâ (66.6%), âGave me as much information as I wantedâ (66.3%) and âTalked in terms I could understandâ (66.0%); the lowest was âEncouraged me to ask questionsâ (44.6%). Significant differences were associated with age (18â24 year old patients exhibited the lowest scores) and geographical location (Northern Italy had the highest scores). Conclusion: CAT is a valid tool for measuring communication in surgical settings. Practice Implications: Results suggest that expectations of young people for communication in surgical settings are not being met. While there is room to improve communication skills of surgeons across Italy, patients highlighted the greatest need in the Central and Southern regions
Three-row versus two-row circular staplers for left-sided colorectal anastomosis: a propensity score-matched analysis of the iCral 2 and 3 prospective cohorts
Background: Since most anastomoses after left-sided colorectal resections are performed with a circular stapler, any technological change in stapling devices may influence the incidence of anastomotic adverse events. The aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of a three-row circular stapler on anastomotic leakage and related morbidity after left-sided colorectal resections. Materials and methods: A circular stapled anastomosis was performed in 4255 (50.9%) out of 8359 patients enrolled in two prospective multicenter studies in Italy, and, after exclusion criteria to reduce heterogeneity, 2799 (65.8%) cases were retrospectively analyzed through a 1:1 propensity score-matching model including 20 covariates relative to patient characteristics, to surgery and to perioperative management. Two well-balanced groups of 425 patients each were obtained: group (A) â true population of interest, anastomosis performed with a three-row circular stapler; group (B) â control population, anastomosis performed with a two-row circular stapler. The target of inferences was the average treatment effect in the treated (ATT). The primary endpoints were overall and major anastomotic leakage and overall anastomotic bleeding; the secondary endpoints were overall and major morbidity and mortality rates. The results of multiple logistic regression analyses for the outcomes, including the 20 covariates selected for matching, were presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: Group A versus group B showed a significantly lower risk of overall anastomotic leakage (2.1 vs. 6.1%; OR 0.33; 95% CI 0.15â0.73; P = 0.006), major anastomotic leakage (2.1 vs. 5.2%; OR 0.39; 95% CI 0.17â0.87; P = 0.022), and major morbidity (3.5 vs. 6.6% events; OR 0.47; 95% CI 0.24â0.91; P = 0.026). Conclusion: The use of three-row circular staplers independently reduced the risk of anastomotic leakage and related morbidity after left-sided colorectal resection. Twenty-five patients were required to avoid one leakage
Appendectomy during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: a multicenter ambispective cohort study by the Italian Society of Endoscopic Surgery and new technologies (the CRAC study)
Major surgical societies advised using non-operative management of appendicitis and suggested against laparoscopy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hypothesis is that a significant reduction in the number of emergent appendectomies was observed during the pandemic, restricted to complex cases. The study aimed to analyse emergent surgical appendectomies during pandemic on a national basis and compare it to the same period of the previous year. This is a multicentre, retrospective, observational study investigating the outcomes of patients undergoing emergent appendectomy in March-April 2019 vs March-April 2020. The primary outcome was the number of appendectomies performed, classified according to the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) score. Secondary outcomes were the type of surgical technique employed (laparoscopic vs open) and the complication rates. One thousand five hundred forty one patients with acute appendicitis underwent surgery during the two study periods. 1337 (86.8%) patients met the inclusion criteria: 546 (40.8%) patients underwent surgery for acute appendicitis in 2020 and 791 (59.2%) in 2019. According to AAST, patients with complicated appendicitis operated in 2019 were 30.3% vs 39.9% in 2020 (p = 0.001). We observed an increase in the number of post-operative complications in 2020 (15.9%) compared to 2019 (9.6%) (p < 0.001). The following determinants increased the likelihood of complication occurrence: undergoing surgery during 2020 (+ 67%), the increase of a unit in the AAST score (+ 26%), surgery performed > 24 h after admission (+ 58%), open surgery (+ 112%) and conversion to open surgery (+ 166%). In Italian hospitals, in March and April 2020, the number of appendectomies has drastically dropped. During the first pandemic wave, patients undergoing surgery were more frequently affected by more severe appendicitis than the previous year's timeframe and experienced a higher number of complications. Trial registration number and date: Research Registry ID 5789, May 7th, 202
The weekend effect on the provision of Emergency Surgery before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: caseâcontrol analysis of a retrospective multicentre database
Introduction: The concept of âweekend effectâ, that is, substandard healthcare during weekends, has never been fully demonstrated, and the different outcomes of emergency surgical patients admitted during weekends may be due to different conditions at admission and/or different therapeutic approaches. Aim of this international audit was to identify any change of pattern of emergency surgical admissions and treatments during weekends. Furthermore, we aimed at investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the alleged âweekend effectâ. Methods: The database of the CovidICE-International Study was interrogated, and 6263 patients were selected for analysis. Non-trauma, 18+ yo patients admitted to 45 emergency surgery units in Europe in the months of MarchâApril 2019 and MarchâApril 2020 were included. Demographic and clinical data were anonymised by the referring centre and centrally collected and analysed with a statistical package. This study was endorsed by the Association of Italian Hospital Surgeons (ACOI) and the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES). Results: Three-quarters of patients have been admitted during workdays and only 25.7% during weekends. There was no difference in the distribution of gender, age, ASA class and diagnosis during weekends with respect to workdays. The first wave of the COVID pandemic caused a one-third reduction of emergency surgical admission both during workdays and weekends but did not change the relation between workdays and weekends. The treatment was more often surgical for patients admitted during weekends, with no difference between 2019 and 2020, and procedures were more often performed by open surgery. However, patients admitted during weekends had a threefold increased risk of laparoscopy-to-laparotomy conversion (1% vs. 3.4%). Hospital stay was longer in patients admitted during weekends, but those patients had a lower risk of readmission. There was no difference of the rate of rescue surgery between weekends and workdays. Subgroup analysis revealed that interventional procedures for hot gallbladder were less frequently performed on patients admitted during weekends. Conclusions: Our analysis revealed that demographic and clinical profiles of patients admitted during weekends do not differ significantly from workdays, but the therapeutic strategy may be different probably due to lack of availability of services and skillsets during weekends. The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic did not impact on this difference
Patient safety culture in care homes for older people: a scoping review
Background: In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the role of safety culture in preventing incidents such as medication errors and falls. However, research and developments in safety culture has predominantly taken place in hospital settings, with relatively less attention given to establishing a safety culture in care homes. Despite safety culture being accepted as an important quality indicator across all health and social care settings, the understanding of culture within social care settings remains far less developed than within hospitals. It is therefore important that the existing evidence base is gathered and reviewed in order to understand safety culture in care homes.
Methods: A scoping review was undertaken to describe the availability of evidence related to care homesâ patient safety culture, what these studies focused on, and identify any knowledge gaps within the existing literature. Included papers were each reviewed by two authors for eligibility and to draw out information relevant to the scoping review.
Results: Twenty-four empirical papers and one literature review were included within the scoping review. The collective evidence demonstrated that safety culture research is largely based in the USA, within Nursing Homes rather than Residential Home settings. Moreover, the scoping review revealed that empirical evidence has predominantly used quantitative measures, and therefore the deeper levels of culture have not been captured in the evidence base.
Conclusions: Safety culture in care homes is a topic that has not been extensively researched. The review highlights a number of key gaps in the evidence base, which future research into safety culture in care home should attempt to address
Global overview of the management of acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic (CHOLECOVID study)
Background: This study provides a global overview of the management of patients with acute cholecystitis during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: CHOLECOVID is an international, multicentre, observational comparative study of patients admitted to hospital with acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on management were collected for a 2-month study interval coincident with the WHO declaration of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and compared with an equivalent pre-pandemic time interval. Mediation analysis examined the influence of SARS-COV-2 infection on 30-day mortality. Results: This study collected data on 9783 patients with acute cholecystitis admitted to 247 hospitals across the world. The pandemic was associated with reduced availability of surgical workforce and operating facilities globally, a significant shift to worse severity of disease, and increased use of conservative management. There was a reduction (both absolute and proportionate) in the number of patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 3095 patients (56.2 per cent) pre-pandemic to 1998 patients (46.2 per cent) during the pandemic but there was no difference in 30-day all-cause mortality after cholecystectomy comparing the pre-pandemic interval with the pandemic (13 patients (0.4 per cent) pre-pandemic to 13 patients (0.6 per cent) pandemic; P = 0.355). In mediation analysis, an admission with acute cholecystitis during the pandemic was associated with a non-significant increased risk of death (OR 1.29, 95 per cent c.i. 0.93 to 1.79, P = 0.121). Conclusion: CHOLECOVID provides a unique overview of the treatment of patients with cholecystitis across the globe during the first months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The study highlights the need for system resilience in retention of elective surgical activity. Cholecystectomy was associated with a low risk of mortality and deferral of treatment results in an increase in avoidable morbidity that represents the non-COVID cost of this pandemic
TAILORING THE COUPLING FACTOR AND THE DEVICE LENGTH TO OPTIMIZE THE FREQUENCY RESPONSE OF A PHOTONIC CRYSTAL ADD/DROP MULTIPLEXER
OPTIMIZATION OF A 2D PHOTONIC CRYSTAL ADD/DROP MULTIPLEXER BASED ON CONTRA-DIRECTIONAL COUPLING
Management of pericardial diseases during pregnancy
Relatively few data have been published on the management of pericardial diseases during pregnancy. Pericardial involvement is sporadic during pregnancy, and pregnant women do not show any specific predisposition to pericardial diseases. The more common form of pericardial involvement is hydropericardium, usually as a benign mild effusion recorded in about 40% of pregnant women by the third trimester, followed by pericarditis as the more common disease requiring medical therapy. The general management of these conditions is not different from those of nonpregnant women, although specific precautions should be followed for specific diagnostic and therapeutic issues during pregnancy. If possible, pregnancy should be planned in a phase of disease quiescence. Nonselective cyclooxygenase inhibitors and aspirin can be used safely during the first and second trimester, but should be withdrawn later and in any case at gestational week 32, because of the possible effects on ductus arteriosus and renal function. Low-medium doses of prednisone are allowed during all pregnancy and breastfeeding. Colchicine is generally contraindicated during pregnancy, except in women with familial Mediterranean fever. These pregnancies should be followed by a dedicated multidisciplinary team