Diversity and ethics in trauma and acute care surgery teams: results from an international survey

Background: Investigating the context of trauma and acute care surgery, the article aims at understanding the factors that can enhance some ethical aspects, namely the importance of patient consent, the perceptiveness of the ethical role of the trauma leader, and the perceived importance of ethics as an educational subject. Methods: The article employs an international questionnaire promoted by the World Society of Emergency Surgery. Results: Through the analysis of 402 fully filled questionnaires by surgeons from 72 different countries, the three main ethical topics are investigated through the lens of gender, membership of an academic or non-academic institution, an official trauma team, and a diverse group. In general terms, results highlight greater attention paid by surgeons belonging to academic institutions, official trauma teams, and diverse groups. Conclusions: Our results underline that some organizational factors (e.g., the fact that the team belongs to a university context or is more diverse) might lead to the development of a higher sensibility on ethical matters. Embracing cultural diversity forces trauma teams to deal with different mindsets. Organizations should, therefore, consider those elements in defining their organizational procedures. Level of evidence: Trauma and acute care teams work under tremendous pressure and complex circumstances, with their members needing to make ethical decisions quickly. The international survey allowed to shed light on how team assembly decisions might represent an opportunity to coordinate team member actions and increase performance

Team dynamics in emergency surgery teams: results from a first international survey

Background: Emergency surgery represents a unique context. Trauma teams are often multidisciplinary and need to operate under extreme stress and time constraints, sometimes with no awareness of the trauma\u2019s causes or the patient\u2019s personal and clinical information. In this perspective, the dynamics of how trauma teams function is fundamental to ensuring the best performance and outcomes. Methods: An online survey was conducted among the World Society of Emergency Surgery members in early 2021. 402 fully filled questionnaires on the topics of knowledge translation dynamics and tools, non-technical skills, and difficulties in teamwork were collected. Data were analyzed using the software R, and reported following the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES). Results: Findings highlight how several surgeons are still unsure about the meaning and potential of knowledge translation and its mechanisms. Tools like training, clinical guidelines, and non-technical skills are recognized and used in clinical practice. Others, like patients\u2019 and stakeholders\u2019 engagement, are hardly implemented, despite their increasing importance in the modern healthcare scenario. Several difficulties in working as a team are described, including the lack of time, communication, training, trust, and ego. Discussion: Scientific societies should take the lead in offering training and support about the abovementioned topics. Dedicated educational initiatives, practical cases and experiences, workshops and symposia may allow mitigating the difficulties highlighted by the survey\u2019s participants, boosting the performance of emergency teams. Additional investigation of the survey results and its characteristics may lead to more further specific suggestions and potential solutions

Circadian Clocks as Modulators of Metabolic Comorbidity in Psychiatric Disorders

Psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder are often accompanied by metabolic dysfunction symptoms, including obesity and diabetes. Since the circadian system controls important brain systems that regulate affective, cognitive, and metabolic functions, and neuropsychiatric and metabolic diseases are often correlated with disturbances of circadian rhythms, we hypothesize that dysregulation of circadian clocks plays a central role in metabolic comorbidity in psychiatric disorders. In this review paper, we highlight the role of circadian clocks in glucocorticoid, dopamine, and orexin/melanin-concentrating hormone systems and describe how a dysfunction of these clocks may contribute to the simultaneous development of psychiatric and metabolic symptoms

A single dose of zoledronic acid reverses the deleterious effects of glucocorticoids on titanium implant osseointegration

This study evaluates the effect of zoledronic acid (ZOL) on the osseointegration of titanium implants in rabbits with glucocorticoid (GC)-induced bone loss, and our findings demonstrated that a single dose of ZOL is able to reverse the detrimental effects of GCs on the osseointegration of titanium implants. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of ZOL on the osseointegration of titanium implants in rabbits with GC-induced bone loss. Three groups of six NZW rabbits were treated for 18 weeks with saline (SALINE), GC (methylprednisolone, 0.35 mg/kg three times a week), or GC + ZOL (methylprednisolone + single dose of ZOL, 0.1 mg/kg). The animals received a titanium implant in the left tibia after 6 weeks and were killed at the 18th week. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at baseline, eighth week (W8), and 18th week (W18) after treatment to determine the change upon treatment (a dagger BMD). Histomorphometric and serum bone alkaline phosphatase analysis (BAP) were also performed. At W8, GC group had a significant reduction in lumbar spine and tibia BMD compared with SALINE (p = 0.003 and p = 0.000), as also observed for GC + ZOL group (p = 0.014 and p = 0.003) just 2 weeks after ZOL treatment. In contrast, at W18, the GC + ZOL had an evident BMD rescue with similar lumbar spine and tibia a dagger BMD compared with SALINE (0.043 +/- 0.006 vs. 0.055 +/- 0.009 g/cm(2), p = 0.457 and 0.027 +/- 0.003 vs. 0.041 +/- 0.011 g/cm(2), p = 0.232) and a significantly higher a dagger BMD compared with the GC (p = 0.024 and p = 0.001). Histomorphometry revealed that osseointegration was significantly reduced in GC (tibia cortical thickness and diameter, bone-implant contact, total and peri-implant bone area) whereas GC + ZOL had these parameters similar to SALINE (p > 0.05). Likewise, ZOL reversed the BAP alteration induced by GC. Our findings demonstrated that a single dose of ZOL is able to reverse the detrimental effects of glucocorticoids on the osseointegration of titanium implants, suggesting that ZOL therapy may improve the outcome of bone implants in patients with glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.Conexao Sistema de Protese LtdaFAPESP[06/57383-5]Conselho Nacional de Ciencia e Tecnologia (CNPQ)[305691/2006-6

Science with GRAVITY, the NIR interferometric imager

10-m class telescopes have brought a wealth of breakthroughs in Galactic Center science. They have allowed tantalizing results such as the measurement of orbits of stars coming close to relativistic velocities and energetic outbursts in the emission from Sgr A*. To get more details in the flaring activity of Sgr A* and trace truly relativistic orbits, a spatial resolution of a few milliarcseconds only is required. For this purpose, we are currently designing GRAVITY, a second generation instrument for the VLT Interferometer

Safety of primary anastomosis following emergency left sided colorectal resection: an international, multi-centre prospective audit.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: group, T. E. S. o. C. c. (2018). "Safety of primary anastomosis following emergency left sided colorectal resection: an international, multi-centre prospective audit." Colorectal Disease 20(S6): 47-57., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/codi.1437. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived VersionsINTRODUCTION: Some evidence suggests that primary anastomosis following left sided colorectal resection in the emergency setting may be safe in selected patients, and confer favourable outcomes to permanent enterostomy. The aim of this study was to compare the major postoperative complication rate in patients undergoing end stoma vs primary anastomosis following emergency left sided colorectal resection. METHODS: A pre-planned analysis of the European Society of Coloproctology 2017 audit. Adult patients (> 16 years) who underwent emergency (unplanned, within 24 h of hospital admission) left sided colonic or rectal resection were included. The primary endpoint was the 30-day major complication rate (Clavien-Dindo grade 3 to 5). RESULTS: From 591 patients, 455 (77%) received an end stoma, 103 a primary anastomosis (17%) and 33 primary anastomosis with defunctioning stoma (6%). In multivariable models, anastomosis was associated with a similar major complication rate to end stoma (adjusted odds ratio for end stoma 1.52, 95%CI 0.83-2.79, P = 0.173). Although a defunctioning stoma was not associated with reduced anastomotic leak (12% defunctioned [4/33] vs 13% not defunctioned [13/97], adjusted odds ratio 2.19, 95%CI 0.43-11.02, P = 0.343), it was associated with less severe complications (75% [3/4] with defunctioning stoma, 86.7% anastomosis only [13/15]), a lower mortality rate (0% [0/4] vs 20% [3/15]), and fewer reoperations (50% [2/4] vs 73% [11/15]) when a leak did occur. CONCLUSIONS: Primary anastomosis in selected patients appears safe after left sided emergency colorectal resection. A defunctioning stoma might mitigate against risk of subsequent complications

The impact of conversion on the risk of major complication following laparoscopic colonic surgery: an international, multicentre prospective audit.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: The and E. S. o. C. c. groups (2018). "The impact of conversion on the risk of major complication following laparoscopic colonic surgery: an international, multicentre prospective audit." Colorectal Disease 20(S6): 69-89., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/codi.14371. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.BACKGROUND: Laparoscopy has now been implemented as a standard of care for elective colonic resection around the world. During the adoption period, studies showed that conversion may be detrimental to patients, with poorer outcomes than both laparoscopic completed or planned open surgery. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether laparoscopic conversion was associated with a higher major complication rate than planned open surgery in contemporary, international practice. METHODS: Combined analysis of the European Society of Coloproctology 2017 and 2015 audits. Patients were included if they underwent elective resection of a colonic segment from the caecum to the rectosigmoid junction with primary anastomosis. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day major complication rate, defined as Clavien-Dindo grade III-V. RESULTS: Of 3980 patients, 64% (2561/3980) underwent laparoscopic surgery and a laparoscopic conversion rate of 14% (359/2561). The major complication rate was highest after open surgery (laparoscopic 7.4%, converted 9.7%, open 11.6%, P < 0.001). After case mix adjustment in a multilevel model, only planned open (and not laparoscopic converted) surgery was associated with increased major complications in comparison to laparoscopic surgery (OR 1.64, 1.27-2.11, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Appropriate laparoscopic conversion should not be considered a treatment failure in modern practice. Conversion does not appear to place patients at increased risk of complications vs planned open surgery, supporting broadening of selection criteria for attempted laparoscopy in elective colonic resection

An international multicentre prospective audit of elective rectal cancer surgery; operative approach versus outcome, including transanal total mesorectal excision (TaTME)

IntroductionTransanal total mesorectal excision (TaTME) has rapidly emerged as a novel approach for rectal cancer surgery. Safety profiles are still emerging and more comparative data is urgently needed. This study aimed to compare indications and short-term outcomes of TaTME, open, laparoscopic, and robotic TME internationally.MethodsA pre-planned analysis of the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) 2017 audit was performed. Patients undergoing elective total mesorectal excision (TME) for malignancy between 1 January 2017 and 15 March 2017 by any operative approach were included. The primary outcome measure was anastomotic leak.ResultsOf 2579 included patients, 76.2% (1966/2579) underwent TME with restorative anastomosis of which 19.9% (312/1966) had a minimally invasive approach (laparoscopic or robotic) which included a transanal component (TaTME). Overall, 9.0% (175/1951, 15 missing outcome data) of patients suffered an anastomotic leak. On univariate analysis both laparoscopic TaTME (OR 1.61, 1.02-2.48, P=0.04) and robotic TaTME (OR 3.05, 1.10-7.34, P=0.02) were associated with a higher risk of anastomotic leak than non-transanal laparoscopic TME. However this association was lost in the mixed-effects model controlling for patient and disease factors (OR 1.23, 0.77-1.97, P=0.39 and OR 2.11, 0.79-5.62, P=0.14 respectively), whilst low rectal anastomosis (OR 2.72, 1.55-4.77, P<0.001) and male gender (OR 2.29, 1.52-3.44, P<0.001) remained strongly associated. The overall positive circumferential margin resection rate was 4.0%, which varied between operative approaches: laparoscopic 3.2%, transanal 3.8%, open 4.7%, robotic 1%.ConclusionThis contemporaneous international snapshot shows that uptake of the TaTME approach is widespread and is associated with surgically and pathologically acceptable results