New Perspectives for Pancreatic Cancer Treatment. Will We Be Able to Ensure Equity to Care?

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Experimental abdominal sepsis: Sticking to an awkward but still useful translational model

Animal models are widely used to replicate human intra-abdominal infections. Different methodologies have been described and proposed in the scientific literature, including injection and surgical models. The aim of this review is to recapitulate the advantages and disadvantages of each method to help choose the most appropriate model for individual experimental purposes

One size does not fit all - Translating knowledge to bridge the gaps to diversity and inclusion of surgical teams

Diverse teams have proven their ability to reach superior performance and improve patients' outcomes. Nevertheless, differences in race, gender, age, nationality, skills, education, and experience act as powerful barriers to diversity and inclusion, which negatively impacts multiple healthcare organizations and limit the potential outcome of diverse teams. Knowledge Translation (KT) can help to bridge the gaps among all the various individuals involved, whether they be members of the surgical team or surgical patients

Editorial: New Frontiers for Artificial Intelligence in Surgical Decision Making and its Organizational Impacts

The purpose of the research topic call “New Frontiers for Artificial Intelligence in Surgical Decision Making and its Organizational Impacts “ was to collect the recent developments and undergoing studies in AI in surgery and surgical oncology. More in detail, the aim was to gather contributions on the advancement, deployment, use, and implementation of AI-based applications in surgical practice, understanding their potential contribution to clinical decision making. Moreover, the idea was to assess the potential impacts of such a technology on surgeons, other clinicians, patients, medical institutions, developers, and policy-makers, with an eye open to the organizational and educational consequences and opportunities

Experimental determination of the frequency and field dependence of Specific Loss Power in Magnetic Fluid Hyperthermia

Magnetic nanoparticles are promising systems for biomedical applications and in particular for Magnetic Fluid Hyperthermia, a promising therapy that utilizes the heat released by such systems to damage tumor cells. We present an experimental study of the physical properties that influences the capability of heat release, i.e. the Specific Loss Power, SLP, of three biocompatible ferrofluid samples having a magnetic core of maghemite with different core diameter d= 10.2, 14.6 and 19.7 nm. The SLP was measured as a function of frequency f and intensity of the applied alternating magnetic field H, and it turned out to depend on the core diameter, as expected. The results allowed us to highlight experimentally that the physical mechanism responsible for the heating is size-dependent and to establish, at applied constant frequency, the phenomenological functional relationship SLP=cH^x, with 2<x<3 for all samples. The x-value depends on sample size and field frequency/ intensity, here chosen in the typical range of operating magnetic hyperthermia devices. For the smallest sample, the effective relaxation time Teff=19.5 ns obtained from SLP data is in agreement with the value estimated from magnetization data, thus confirming the validity of the Linear Response Theory model for this system at properly chosen field intensity and frequency

The impact of Covid-19 healthcare emergency on the psychological well-being of health professionals: a review of literature

Introduction. The Coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) was first identified in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan, China, and later caused a severe health crisis, causing massive disruptions to most healthcare systems worldwide. The Covid-19 health emergency has seen healthcare workers in the front line facing all the difficulties related to the care burden. One of the most significant and probably underinvestigated aspects is the psychological stress of the healthcare staff managing the emergency. The aim of the paper is to analyze the literature on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the psychological well-being of health professionals. Methodology. We conducted a systematic review of articles published on this topic during the months from January 2020 to December 2020, searching on Pub Med, Scopus and Web of Science databases. Results. Most of the issues can be summarized into five conceptual categories: Stress, Depression and Infection Anxiety, Anguish, Insomnia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Suicide. The literature identifies many factors contributing to the onset of anxiety, depression, and stress, like the fear of contracting the disease and transmitting it to family members and friends, stressful shifts, and little rest among several others. The literature highlights the needs for adequate measures, including proper psychological support. Conclusion. The conducted review suggests that the behaviours of healthcare professionals during the emergency phase of the Covid-19 pandemic show psychological disorders that can compromise mental health. Therefore, there is a call for those in chief like hospital managers and policymakers to take action, promoting measures like surveillance, monitoring, and psychological support among others, to increase the resilience of healthcare workers, limiting stress and anxiety and allowing them to keep their performance at work

The impact of Covid-19 healthcare emergency on the psychological well-being of health professionals: a review of literature

Introduction. The Coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) was first identified in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan, China, and later caused a severe health crisis, causing massive disruptions to most healthcare systems worldwide. The Covid-19 health emergency has seen healthcare workers in the front line facing all the difficulties related to the care burden. One of the most significant and probably underinvestigated aspects is the psychological stress of the healthcare staff managing the emergency. The aim of the paper is to analyze the literature on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the psychological well-being of health professionals.Methodology. We conducted a systematic review of articles published on this topic during the months from January 2020 to December 2020, searching on Pub Med, Scopus and Web of Science databases.Results. Most of the issues can be summarized into five conceptual categories: Stress, Depression and Infection Anxiety, Anguish, Insomnia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Suicide. The literature identifies many factors contributing to the onset of anxiety, depression, and stress, like the fear of contracting the disease and transmitting it to family members and friends, stressful shifts, and little rest among several others. The literature highlights the needs for adequate measures, including proper psychological support.Conclusion. The conducted review suggests that the behaviours of healthcare professionals during the emergency phase of the Covid-19 pandemic show psychological disorders that can compromise mental health. Therefore, there is a call for those in chief like hospital managers and policymakers to take action, promoting measures like surveillance, monitoring, and psychological support among others, to increase the resilience of healthcare workers, limiting stress and anxiety and allowing them to keep their performance at work

Knowledge in transition in healthcare

Organizations are challenged by the need to transform Dynamic Knowledge, embedded in each worker, into Static Knowledge, rooted in factual documental information. However, innovation and knowledge creation seem to be facilitated by the personal knowledge and life experiences of people, which appear to be dynamic. The tensions between Dynamic and Static Knowledge in facilitating the transfer and sharing of knowledge arise as compelling research as well as practical topic for organizations. Our paper aims to investigate such tensions by employing a case study. We decided to deepen such dynamics in the healthcare field, given its importance for business and society. In more detail, we analyzed one Emergency Room (ER) department through a series of interviews. Our findings highlight the importance of the right balance between Static and Dynamic Knowledge. On the one hand, the healthcare organization recognized the need to incorporate knowledge into practical and tangible instruments. On the other hand, the flows of Dynamic Knowledge must be fostered through a culture of knowledge translation and sharing, and the development of soft skills

Co-design, co-learning, and co-production of an app for pancreatic cancer patients—the “Pancreas Plus” study protocol

Background: Pancreatic cancer is a malignant and complex tumor that often leads to an adverse prognosis. Patients need to face a challenging treatment path, which involves highly-specialized multidisciplinary professionals. The complexity of the disease requires the development of dedicated tools to support patients in their care journey. Co-production stands as a valuable strategy in oncological care to engage patients in understanding their care journey and behaving accordingly to get the best possible clinical outcome. Methods: The non-profit association Unipancreas, active in promoting the latest advances in pancreatic cancer care and in supporting pancreatic cancer patients, has partnered with a multidisciplinary group of professionals to conceive the brand new program “Pancreas Plus” to employ a co-design, co-learning, and co-production path to design an app devoted to pancreatic cancer patients to assist them during their treatment and follow-up journey. The app, which is the outcome of a multi-stakeholder engagement project, offers health information and medical advice specifically tailored on the pancreatic cancer disease. The article reports the research protocol, which may be replicated for the design of other e-health tools focusing on different conditions. Discussion: The study’s output will be an app that sees the pancreatic cancer patient as the main beneficiary but which can gather and address the interests and needs of all meaningful stakeholders, including clinicians, researchers, healthcare and educational institutions, and

To a New Normal: Surgery and COVID-19 During the Transition Phase

Surgeons and surgery departments have shown resilience in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the situation stabilizes, it will be necessary to adopt new strategies to move into the transition phase and eventually the full recovery phase