Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Tracking road edges in the panospheric image plane

This paper presents a technique for tracking road edges in a panoramic image sequence. The major contribution is that instead of unwarping the image to find parallel lines representing the road edges, we choose to warp the parallel groundplane lines into the image plane of the equiangular panospheric camera. Updating the parameters of the line thus involves searching a very small number of pixels in the panoramic image, requiring considerably less computation than unwarping. Results using real-world images, including shadows, intersections and curves, are presented

Intra-operative assessment of toric intra-ocular lens implantation

We report a new procedure for intra-operative toric intra-ocular lens (IOL) axis assessment in order to achieve optimal implantation. IOL implantation procedure was directly recorded. An assessor estimated the angle formed by the marked 0-180 axis and the toric IOL axis after implantation with the use of the appropriate software. If IOL implantation was assessed to be inaccurate, the surgeon was advised to correct IOL positioning by rotating the IOL clockwise. The assessment procedure was repeated until accurate IOL positioning was achieved

Intra-operative assessment of toric intra-ocular lens implantation

We report a new procedure for intra-operative toric intra-ocular lens (IOL) axis assessment in order to achieve optimal implantation. IOL implantation procedure was directly recorded. An assessor estimated the angle formed by the marked 0–180 axis and the toric IOL axis after implantation with the use of the appropriate software. If IOL implantation was assessed to be inaccurate, the surgeon was advised to correct IOL positioning by rotating the IOL clockwise. The assessment procedure was repeated until accurate IOL positioning was achieved

Fournier’s Gangrene: Lessons Learned from Multimodal and Multidisciplinary Management of Perineal Necrotizing Fasciitis

BackgroundFournier’s gangrene (FG) is a rapidly evolving necrotizing fasciitis of the perineum and the genital area, the scrotum as it most commonly affects man in the vast majority of cases. It is polymicrobial in origin, due to the synergistic action of anaerobes and aerobes and has a very high mortality. There are many predisposing factors including diabetes mellitus, alcoholism, immunosuppression, renal, and hepatic disease. The prognosis of the disease depends on a lot of factors including but not limited to patient age, disease extent, and comorbidities. The purpose of the study is to describe the experience of a general surgery department in the management of FG, to present the multimodal and multidisciplinary treatment of the disease, to identify predictors of mortality, and to make general surgeons familiar with the disease.MethodsThe current retrospective study is presenting the experience of our general surgery department in the management of FG during the last 20 years. The clinical presentation and demographics of the patients were recorded. Also we recorded the laboratory data, the comorbidities, the etiology, and microbiology and the therapeutic interventions performed, and we calculated the various severity indexes. Patients were divided to survivors and non-survivors, and all the collected data were statistically analyzed to assess mortality factors using univariate and then multivariate analysis.ResultsIn our series, we treated a total of 24 patients with a mean age 58.9 years including 20 males (83.4%) and 4 females (16.6%). In most patients, a delay between disease onset and seeking of medical help was noted. Comorbidities were present in almost all patients (87.5%). All patients were submitted to extensive surgical debridements and received broad-spectrum antibiotics until microbiological culture results were received. Regarding all the collected data, there was no statistically significant difference between survivors and non-survivors except the presence of malignancy in non-survivors (p = 0.036) and the lower hemoglobin (p < 0.001) and hematocrit (p = 0.002) in non-survivors. However, multivariate analysis did not reveal any predictor of mortality.ConclusionEarly diagnosis, aggressive thorough surgical treatment, and administration of the proper antibiotic treatment comprise the cornerstone for the outcome of this disease. In small populations like in the present study, it is difficult to recognize any predictors of mortality and even the severity indexes, which take into account a lot of data cannot predict mortality

A scoring system for predicting malignancy in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas: a multicenter EUROPEAN validation

A preoperative estimate of the risk of malignancy for intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) is important. The present study carries out an external validation of the Shin score in a European multicenter cohort.Methods An observational multicenter European study from 2010 to 2015. All consecutive patients undergoing surgery for IPMN at 35 hospitals with histological-confirmed IPMN were included.Results A total of 567 patients were included. The score was significantly associated with the presence of malignancy (p < 0.001). In all, 64% of the patients with benign IPMN had a Shin score < 3 and 57% of those with a diagnosis of malignancy had a score >= 3. The relative risk (RR) with a Shin score of 3 was 1.37 (95% CI: 1.07-1.77), with a sensitivity of 57.1% and specificity of 64.4%.Conclusion Patients with a Shin score <= 1 should undergo surveillance, while patients with a score = 4 should undergo surgery. Treatment of patients with Shin scores of 2 or 3 should be individualized because these scores cannot accurately predict malignancy of IPMNs. This score should not be the only criterion and should be applied in accordance with agreed clinical guidelines