Fingertip Blood Sensor May Save Valuable Time for Trauma Patients
CHICAGO (December 29, 2014): A tool that surgeons use for monitoring a patient’s blood level in physicians’ offices may also save valuable minutes in medical decision-making for critically injured trauma patients, according to study results published in the January 2015 issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS).
Malnutrition Is an Important Predictor of Long-Term Survival in Older Patients Undergoing the Whipple Procedure for Benign Pancreatic Diseases
CHICAGO (December 5, 2014): Malnutrition is an important factor predicting long-term survival in older patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure) to treat benign tumors and cysts of the pancreas as well as pancreatitis, according to new study results published in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
[ACS NSQIP® data study]
Geriatricians and Surgeons Develop Guideline for Prevention and Treatment of Postoperative Delirium in Older Patients
CHICAGO (November 26, 2014): A new guideline is available to help health care providers prevent and treat one of the most common postoperative complications in older patients, delirium, which is an episode of sudden confusion. The Clinical Practice Guideline for Postoperative Delirium in Older Adults was developed by the American Geriatrics Society, in collaboration with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and other organizations participating in the AGS Geriatrics-for-Specialists Initiative whose representatives participated in a multidisciplinary panel of experts.
[ACS Continuous Quality Improvement collaboration]
More Than Half of Obese Patients Opt Out of the Bariatric Surgical Procedure Process Despite Being in a Publicly Funded Health Care Program
CHICAGO (November 3, 2014): Studies have shown that bariatric operations can alleviate chronic health issues like diabetes and arthritis for extremely obese people. Now the University Health Network researchers are trying to determine why many patients who are referred for a bariatric operation do not ultimately have the procedure performed, despite being in a publicly funded health care program.
More High-Risk Surgical Patients Are Choosing Breast Reconstruction Procedures after Mastectomy
CHICAGO (September 30, 2014): Using National Cancer Data Base data, researchers have found that the number of breast cancer patients undergoing immediate breast reconstruction operations after mastectomy has grown steadily over the past 15 years, especially in women once considered high risk.
Bariatric Surgical Center Accreditation Linked to Improved Rates of Patient Survival and Fewer Postoperative Complications
CHICAGO (September 3, 2014): Patients who underwent weight loss operations in recent years, when most bariatric surgical centers were accredited, had fewer postoperative complications and better survival rates than patients who had bariatric procedures performed before a national movement toward facility accreditation. These findings suggest that accreditation of bariatric surgery centers contributes to improved safety for patients who undergo weight loss operations and saves lives.
Electronic Reminders Can Help Patients Prevent Surgical Site Infections
CHICAGO (August 1, 2014): Electronic reminders are highly effective at getting surgical patients to adhere to a preadmission antiseptic showering regimen known to help reduce the risk of SSIs.
Surgical Treatment for Metastatic Melanoma of the Liver Increases Overall Survival in a Select Group of Patients
CHICAGO (June 30, 2014): Surgical resection markedly improves survival among metastatic melanoma patients whose disease is isolated to a few areas in the liver, according to new study findings published in the July issue of the
Journal of the American College of Surgeons. These results mark a departure for melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer, that is most often considered fatal once it has spread to the liver and then, not amenable to surgical treatment.
Surgeons Report Fewer Postoperative Deep-Vein Blood Clots Using Risk-Based Preventive Measures
CHICAGO (June 2, 2014): Surgery patients are much less likely to get a blood clot in the lower extremities or lungs if they receive preventive treatment based on their individual clotting risk, in addition to walking soon after the operation. Results from a surgical quality improvement study, appearing in the June issue of the
Journal of the American College of Surgeons, indicate that the odds of this common and potentially life-threatening postoperative complication steadily declined after the implementation of a multicomponent prevention program in a hospital’s department of surgery.
[ACS NSQIP® data study]
Medicaid Expansion Increases Use of Specialty Operations in the State of New York
CHICAGO (May 7, 2014): Researchers in the department of surgery at the University of Michigan have found that expanding access to Medicaid in New York State increased beneficiaries’ use of subspecialty surgical services. The study, published in the May issue of the
Journal of the American College of Surgeons, presents a model at the state level that shows expanding access to Medicaid successfully provided patients who did not have previous access to certain surgical procedures with access to these operations.
Noncombat-Related Injury Top Reason for Pediatric Humanitarian Care Delivered by Military Surgeons in Afghanistan and Iraq
CHICAGO (May 1, 2014): Noncombat-related injury—caused by regular car accidents, falls and burns—is the most common reason for pediatric admissions to U.S. military combat hospitals in both Iraq and Afghanistan reveals new study findings published in the May issue of the
Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
New Study Shows Florida’s Participation in Innovative ACS NSQIP Surgical Collaborative Resulted in Statewide Improvement
CHICAGO (April 2, 2014): A surgical collaborative of hospitals across Florida resulted in broad improvement in the state, helping most hospitals significantly improve, according to a new study published in the April issue of the
Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP
®), the Florida Surgical Care Initiative (FSCI) was able to reduce complications by 14.5 percent. The study looks at a 15-month period from March 2011 to July 2012 in which it estimates that the program averted 165 complications, saved an estimated 89 lives, and avoided more than $6.6 million in health care expenses.
[ACS-NSQIP® data study]
Standards Developed for Children's U.S. Surgical Care
CHICAGO (March 3, 2014): The American College of Surgeons (ACS) has published new comprehensive guidelines that define the resources the nation’s surgical facilities need to perform operations effectively and safely in infants and children. The standards—published in the March issue of the
Journal of the American College of Surgeons—also have the approval of the American Pediatric Surgical Association and the Society of Pediatric Anesthesia. Representatives of these organizations as well as invited leaders in other pediatric medical specialties, known as the Task Force for Children’s Surgical Care, developed the consensus recommendations over the past three years.
[ACS quality initiative – pediatric surgery]
Police Training Begins to Control Bleeding at Mass-Casualty Shooting Events
CHICAGO (February 27, 2014): For almost a year now, surgeons and first responder organizations have been working to increase the number of survivors of an active shooter or mass casualty incident. An important part of this initiative requires all law enforcement officers to get medical training and equipment to control bleeding, a goal set forth by the Hartford Consensus, a collaborative group of trauma surgeons, federal law enforcement, and emergency responders, and driven by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Major Cities Chiefs Association and Prehospital Trauma Life Support program.
[ACS quality initiative – trauma care]
New Tool Shows Promise in Predicting Home Discharge
CHICAGO (February 3, 2014): Frequently predicted surgical outcomes primarily focus on adverse outcomes such as complications and death, but most patients also want to know about good outcomes, including whether they will return home after a surgical procedure, or, conversely, if they will need to prepare for a lengthy rehabilitation process at a care facility. Now, research published in the February issue of the
Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that a new type of surgical risk calculator can accurately predict postoperative home discharge.
[ACS NSQIP® data study]
South African Trauma Center Launches EHR iPad App
CHICAGO (January 2, 2014): Surgeons have developed a way for their peers at a Level I trauma center in South Africa to accurately collect and analyze trauma care data via an iPad app.