Validation of the World Health Organization Tool for Situational Analysis to Assess Emergency and Essential Surgical Care at District Hospitals in Ghana

The World Health Organization (WHO) Tool for Situational Analysis to Assess Emergency and Essential Surgical Care (hereafter called the WHO Tool) has been used in more than 25 countries and is the largest effort to assess surgical care in the world. However, it has not yet been independently validated. Test–retest reliability is one way to validate the degree to which tests instruments are free from random error. The aim of the present field study was to determine the test–retest reliability of the WHO Tool. The WHO Tool was mailed to 10 district hospitals in Ghana. Written instructions were provided along with a letter from the Ghana Health Services requesting the hospital administrator to complete the survey tool. After ensuring delivery and completion of the forms, the study team readministered the WHO Tool at the time of an on-site visit less than 1 month later. The results of the two tests were compared to calculate kappa statistics for each of the 152 questions in the WHO Tool. The kappa statistic is a statistical measure of the degree of agreement above what would be expected based on chance alone. Ten hospitals were surveyed twice over a short interval (i.e., less than 1 month). Weighted and unweighted kappa statistics were calculated for 152 questions. The median unweighted kappa for the entire survey was 0.43 (interquartile range 0–0.84). The infrastructure section (24 questions) had a median kappa of 0.81; the human resources section (13 questions) had a median kappa of 0.77; the surgical procedures section (67 questions) had a median kappa of 0.00; and the emergency surgical equipment section (48 questions) had a median kappa of 0.81. Hospital capacity survey questions related to infrastructure characteristics had high reliability. However, questions related to process of care had poor reliability and may benefit from supplemental data gathered by direct observation. Limitations to the study include the small sample size: 10 district hospitals in a single country. Consistent and high correlations calculated from the field testing within the present analysis suggest that the WHO Tool for Situational Analysis is a reliable tool where it measures structure and setting, but it should be revised for measuring process of care

Understanding the Operative Experience of the Practicing Pediatric Surgeon: Implications for Training and Maintaining Competency

Importance The number of practicing pediatric surgeons has increased rapidly in the past 4 decades, without a significant increase in the incidence of rare diseases specific to the field. Maintenance of competency in the index procedures for these rare diseases is essential to the future of the profession. Objective To describe the demographic characteristics and operative experiences of practicing pediatric surgeons using Pediatric Surgery Board recertification case log data. Design, Setting, and Participants We performed a retrospective review of 5 years of pediatric surgery certification renewal applications submitted to the Pediatric Surgery Board between 2009 and 2013. A surgeon’s location was defined by population as urban, large rural, small rural, or isolated. Case log data were examined to determine case volume by category and type of procedures. Surgeons were categorized according to recertification at 10, 20, or 30 years. Main Outcome and Measure Number of index cases during the preceding year. Results Of 308 recertifying pediatric surgeons, 249 (80.8%) were men, and 143 (46.4%) were 46 to 55 years of age. Most of the pediatric surgeons (304 of 308 [98.7%]) practiced in urban areas (ie, with a population >50 000 people). All recertifying applicants were clinically active. An appendectomy was the most commonly performed procedure (with a mean [SD] number of 49.3 [35.0] procedures per year), nonoperative trauma management came in second (with 20.0 [33.0] procedures per year), and inguinal hernia repair for children younger than 6 months of age came in third (with 14.7 [13.8] procedures per year). In 6 of 10 “rare” pediatric surgery cases, the mean number of procedures was less than 2. Of 308 surgeons, 193 (62.7%) had performed a neuroblastoma resection, 170 (55.2%) a kidney tumor resection, and 123 (39.9%) an operation to treat biliary atresia or choledochal cyst in the preceding year. Laparoscopy was more frequently performed in the 10-year recertification group for Nissen fundoplication, appendectomy, splenectomy, gastrostomy/jejunostomy, orchidopexy, and cholecystectomy (P < .05) but not lung resection (P = .70). It was more frequently used by surgeons recertifying in the 10-year group (used in 11 375 of 14 456 procedures [78.7%]) than by surgeons recertifying in the 20-year (used in 6214 of 8712 procedures [71.3%]) or 30-year group (used in 2022 of 3805 procedures [53.1%]). Conclusions and Relevance Practicing pediatric surgeons receive limited exposure to index cases after training. With regard to maintaining competency in an era in which health care outcomes have become increasingly important, these results are concerning

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

mob-1, a novel mediator of ARDS

Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a pulmonary inflammatory process triggered by a variety of stress conditions some remote from the lung, which leads to microvascular injury with subsequent respiratory failure and death. The present work aimed to implicate mob-1, a recently cloned member of the $\alpha$ chemokine family, in the pathogenesis of this grave syndrome using a rat model of ARDS-like lung injury produced by IL-2. To that end, differential display was utilized to identify pulmonary mob-1 and time course as well as cellular localization of mob-1 mRNA were established. Furthermore, to delineate mob-1 function, the protein was recombinantly produced using a bacterial expression system and tested for in vivo, in vitro, and ex vivo effects. Differential display of lungs harvested from IL-2-treated rats identified a highly-inducible band ($\sim$250 bp), termed B1, which presented 99.14% homology to the previously cloned mob-1. Pulmonary mob-1 mRNA was upregulated prior (1 hr) to the onset of lung injury (4 hrs), localized to pulmonary alveolar macrophages by in situ hybridization, and suppressed by TNF$\alpha$ inhibition (neutralizing anti-TNF$\alpha$ mAb or rolipram). Recombinant mob-1 was successfully expressed as a histidine-tagged fusion protein in E. coli and purified using nickel chromatography with subsequent enterokinase digestion. The purified recombinant protein was then subjected to SDS-PAGE and sized to $\sim$8kD by silver stain and Western Blot analysis. In vivo, intratracheal injection of mob-1 (50 $\mu$g/rat) induced leukocyte accumulation in lung tissue (MPO +93 $\pm$ 8% vs. control, p $\u3c$ 0.05) with preferential accumulation of neutrophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (36.0 $\pm$ 1.0% vs. 0.1 $\pm$ 0.1% in controls, p $\u3c$ 0.01). In contrast, mob-1 had no effect on pulmonary edema and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid protein concentration. In vitro, transwell migration studies demonstrated chemotactic activity of mob-1 towards human monocytes (+151 $\pm$ 34% vs. mob-1 vehicle, p $\u3c$ 0.01) and only weak chemotaxis for human neutrophils (+15 $\pm$ 0% vs. mob-1 vehicle, p $\u3c$ 0.01). In concert, these data suggest that mob-1 promotes lung injury by chemoattraction of leukocytes through an indirect effect. Since angiogenesis is a major component of the resolution process of ARDS and because IP-10, the human homologue of mob-1, is known to exert angiostatic properties, the ability of mob-1 to affect angiogenesis was tested in a rat aortic ring model ex vivo. Indeed, mob-1 (100 ng/ml) exerted a very potent inhibitory effect on bFGF-induced angiogenesis (21.3 $\pm$ 6.3%, p $\u3c$ 0.01). Taken together, these data support the involvement of mob-1 in the development of ARDS, conceivably through chemotactic actions on inflammatory cells and modulation of angiogenesis in the recovery phase of the syndrome. The clinical relevance of these findings awaits further investigation

Osteochondroma causing diaphragmatic rupture and bowel obstruction in a 14-year-old boy

Exostosis, also known as osteochondroma, results from a disorder of the growth-plate where bone grows away from the growth axis and forms an irregular projection. This abnormality most commonly occurs around the femur, scapula, humerus, and ribs. Although hemothorax and diaphragmatic rupture are known complications of exostosis growth, we present herein the first known report of an inward-facing exostosis in a 14-year-old boy with hereditary multiple exostosis causing diaphragmatic rupture and a bowel obstruction requiring operation. Most exostoses are asymptomatic and as such require no further treatment. However, when they are threatening to cause mass effects (such as frictional bursitis, local entrapment of vessels, and tendons or nerves) or symptomatic, surgical resection is the appropriate treatment

Improved Mortality of Patients with Gastroschisis: A Historical Literature Review of Advances in Surgery and Critical Care from 1960&ndash;2020

The improved survival of gastroschisis patients is a notable pediatric success story. Over the past 60 years, gastroschisis evolved from uniformly fatal to a treatable condition with over 95% survival. We explored the historical effect of four specific clinical innovations&mdash;mechanical ventilation, preformed silos, parenteral nutrition, and pulmonary surfactant&mdash;that contributed to mortality decline among gastroschisis infants. A literature review was performed to extract mortality rates from six decades of contemporary literature from 1960 to 2020. A total of 2417 publications were screened, and 162 published studies (98,090 patients with gastroschisis) were included. Mortality decreased over time and has largely been &lt;10% since 1993. Mechanical ventilation was introduced in 1965, preformed silo implementation in 1967, parenteral nutrition in 1968, and pulmonary surfactant therapy in 1980. Gastroschisis infants now carry a mortality rate of &lt;5% as a result of these interventions. Other factors, such as timing of delivery, complex gastroschisis, and management in low- and middle-income countries were also explored in relation to gastroschisis mortality. Overall, improved gastroschisis outcomes serve as an illustration of the benefits of clinical advances and multidisciplinary care, leading to a drastic decline in infant mortality among these patients

Terrorism-related trauma in Africa, an increasing problem

Global terrorist activities have increased significantly over the past decade. The impact of terrorism-related trauma on the health of individuals in low- and middle-income countries is under-reported. Trauma management in African countries in particular is uncoordinated, with little or no infrastructure to cater for emergency surgical needs. This article highlights the need for education, training and research to mitigate the problems related to terrorism and surgical public health

The occurrence of potential patient safety events among trauma patients: Are they random?

Objective: The Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality are validated measures of quality of care. The pattern of PSIs among adult trauma patients is unknown. Hypothesis: The occurrence of PSI events should be random and have no identifiable pattern across age, gender, and racial groups in trauma, because trauma services are designed to be an equal-access system. Design: : Retrospective analysis of a nationally representative dataset. Setting: Nationwide Inpatient Sample (representative 20% sample from 37 states) for 5 years (2000 through 2004). Patients: Patients aged \u3e or =18 admitted primarily for trauma. Outcomes: Occurrence of at least one of the applicable PSIs on multiple logistic regression analysis, with confirmation by sensitivity analysis. Results: A total of 1.35 million trauma patients were identified, with 19,338 patients (1.43%) experiencing at least one of the applicable PSIs. On multivariate analysis, controlling for injury severity and disease comorbidity, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for occurrence of at least 1 applicable PSI were noted to increase for patients who are 1) above age 35, 2) male gender (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.19-1.31), and 3) black (OR 1.20 vs. whites, 95% CI 1.10-1.30) but not for any other racial groups. These results did not change significantly on sensitivity analysis. Conclusions: Patients who are above age 35, male gender, and black are associated with increased likelihood of experiencing a patient safety event in trauma care. When all else is equal, black patients are approximately 20% more likely than any other racial groups to experience a patient safety event, even after controlling for injury severity and disease comorbidity. These findings can help institutions prioritize chart review-based investigations to determine potential targets of systems improvemen