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Background: Current literature suggests that medical students may have negative misconceptions of a surgical career partly due to the traditional hierarchical structure of the surgical clerkship. We hypothesized that a novel medical student apprenticeship would result in positive changes in perceptions of both surgeons and surgical careers. Study Design: In the 2011 academic year, third-year medical students were offered a 2-week apprenticeship elective, in addition to the standard 8-week surgical clerkship. Unlike a traditional service, students apprenticed directly with participating faculty on a one-on-one basis. At the clerkship's end, students received a structured questionnaire assessing perceptions and attitudes toward surgeons and a career in surgery. Subjects responded anonymously using a 5-point Likert scale. A Wilcoxon Rank-Sum was performed comparing students who participated vs those who did not participate in the apprenticeship. Results: There was a 99% survey response (105 of 106). Of those, 50 (48%) participated in the apprenticeship. Apprenticeship students were more likely to view surgeons as content (p < 0.001), well-balanced (p < 0.01), respectful (p = 0.01), and as role models (p < 0.005). Apprenticeship students were also more likely to participate in the operating room (p < 0.05) and in patient management (p < 0.05). There was no difference in an interest to pursue a surgical career between groups both before and on completion of the clerkship. Conclusions: Students participating in a surgical apprenticeship had a more positive view of surgeons and the field of surgery compared with students not participating. An apprenticeship model enhances the surgical clerkship experience and improves medical student perceptions of surgery as a career. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Long bone fractures are cited as an etiology for significant blood loss; however, there is scant supporting literature. We examined the relationship between long bone fractures, blood transfusions, and solid organ injuries. We hypothesize that transfusions are rare with long bone fractures in the absence of a liver or splenic injury. We performed a retrospective analysis of patients admitted with femur, tibia, and humerus fractures. Outcomes included transfusion requirements and mortality. A total of 1837 patients were included. There were 182 patients with at least one solid organ injury. A greater portion of patients with femur fractures and a lower proportion of patients with tibia fractures required transfusion. Adjusting for solid organ injuries, there was no difference in transfusions for any patient with these fractures compared with the group, or when grouped by organ injury severity. A solid organ injury significantly increases the risk of death among patients with long bone fractures. Blood loss requiring transfusion in patients with orthopedic and solid organ injuries should not be attributed to the presence of fractures alone. The need for transfusions in these patients should lower the threshold for reimaging or intervention for the solid organ injury. Further study is warranted to quantify blood loss by fracture type with or without solid organ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We sought to determine the impact of the indication for shunt placement on shunt-related outcomes after major arterial injuries. We hypothesized that a shunt placed for damage control indications would be associated with an increase in shunt-related complications including shunt dislodgement, thrombosis, or distal ischemia.Patients& Methods: A prospective, multicenter study (eleven level one US trauma centers) of all adult trauma patients undergoing temporary intravascular shunts (TIVS) after arterial injury was undertaken (January 2017-May 2019). Exclusion criteria included age <15years, shunt placement distal to popliteal/brachial arteries, isolated venous shunts, and death before shunt removal. Clinical variables were compared by indication and shunt-related complications. The primary endpoint was TIVS complications (thrombosis, migration, distal ischemia).Results: The 66 patients who underwent TIVS were primarily young (30years [IQR 22-36]) men (85%), severely injured (ISS 17 [10-25]) by penetrating mechanisms (59%), and had their shunts placed for damage control (41%). After a median SDT of 198min [89-622], 9% experienced shunt-related complications. Compared by shunt placement indication (damage control shunts [n=27] compared to non-damage control shunts [n=39]), there were no differences in gender, mechanism, extremity AIS, MESS score, fractures, or surgeon specialty between the two groups (all p>0.05). Patients with shunts placed for damage control indications had more severe injuries (ISS 23.5 compared to 13; SBP 100 compared to 129; GCS 11 compared to 15; lactate 11.5 compared to 3.6; all p<0.05), and had more frequent shunt complication predictors, but damage control shunts did not have significantly more TIVS complications (11.1% compared to 7.7%, p=0.658). Shunt complication patients were discharged home less often (33% vs 65%; p<0.05) but all survived.Conclusion: Shunts placed for damage control indications were not associated with shunt complications in this prospective, multicenter study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Electric scooters are popular in Southern California due to their ease of use, affordability, and availability. The objective of this study was to characterize how hospital admissions and outcomes varied due to electric scooter injury among Southern California trauma centers.Study Design: Trauma registry data from 9 urban trauma centers were queried for patients sustaining injury while operating an electric scooter from January to December 2018. Data collection included patient demographics, diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes.Results: During the 1-year study period, 87 patients required trauma surgeon care due to scooter-related injury, with a mean age of 35.1 years; 71.3% were male with 20.7% and 17.2% of patients requiring ICU admission and a surgical intervention, respectively. One (1.1%) patient died. The head and face were most commonly injured, followed by the extremities. Helmet use was uncommon (71.3%). High variability in patient volume was noted, with 2 centers considered high-incidence and the remaining low-incidence.Conclusions: Injuries from electric scooter crashes are primarily to the head, face, and extremities, with approximately 1 in 5 patients requiring ICU admission and/or a surgical intervention. There is significant variation in patient volume among Southern California trauma centers that could affect the delivery of care with the abrupt introduction of this technology. Targeted public health interventions and policies might better address community use of the electric scooter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presently, there are no standardized guidelines regarding the necessity or timing of repeat head imaging in patients on antithrombotics (antiplatelet agents, warfarin, or novel oral anticoagulants) with suspected traumatic brain injury. This is a two-year single institutional retrospective analysis of patients with suspected traumatic brain injury on antithrombotic medications. Patients with a stable or negative repeat head CT were compared with patients who developed a new bleed or demonstrated progression of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). Of 110 patients, 55 patients (50%) had a positive initial CT, two patients (1.8%) developed a new bleed after initially normal head CT, and 21 patients (19.1%) demonstrated worsening ICH. Patients with worsening or delayed ICH had a higher median Injury Severity Score (14 vs 5, P < 0.001), higher head/neck and face Abbreviated Injury Severity scores (both P < 0.05), and were more likely to be receiving combination therapy with warfarin and clopidogrel (4.3% vs 0%, P = 0.05). On multivariate analysis, lower face and head/neck Abbreviated Injury Severity scores were associated with a decreased risk for delayed or worsening hemorrhage (odds ratio = 0.21 and 0.46, respectively, P < 0.05). Repeat head CT in patients on a preinjury antithrombotic has a low yield. The use of combination therapy may result in an increased risk for delayed hemorrhage or hemorrhage progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formal communication of end-of-life preferences is crucial among patients with metastatic cancer. Our objective is to describe the prevalence of advance directives (AD) and do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders among stage IV cancer patients with acute care surgery consultations, and the associated outcomes. This is a single institution retrospective review over an eight-year period. Two hundred and three patients were identified; mean age was 55.3 ± 11.4 years and 48.8 per cent were male. Fifty (24.6%) patients underwent exploratory surgery. Nineteen (10.6%) patients had another type of surgery. Twenty-one (10.3%) patients had a DNR order, and none had an AD on-admission. Fifty-four (26.6%) patients had a DNR order placed and four (2%) patients completed an AD postadmission. DNR postadmission was associated with the highest mortality at 42.6 per cent compared with 14.3 per cent for DNR on-admission and 1.56 per cent for full-code patients (P < 0.001). Compared with patients that remained full-code and those with DNR on-admission, DNR postadmission was associated with longer length of stay (19.6 days; P < 0.001) and ICU length of stay (7.72 days; P < 0.001). The prevalence of AD and DNR orders among stage IV cancer patients is low. The higher in-hospital mortality of patients with DNR postadmission reflects the use of DNR orders during clinical decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consensus is lacking for ideal management of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). Patients are often monitored in the intensive care unit (ICU) without additional interventions. We sought to identify admission variables associated with a favorable outcome (ICU admission for 24 hours, no neurosurgical interventions, no complications or mortality) to divert these patients to a non-ICU setting in the future. We reviewed all patients with mTBI [Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) = 13-15] and concomitant ICH between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2015. Variables collected included demographics, vital signs, neurologic examination, imaging results, ICU course, mortality, and disposition. Of 201 patients, 78 (39%) had a favorable outcome. On univariate analysis, these patients were younger, more often had an isolated subarachnoid hemorrhage, and were more likely to have a GCS of 15 at admission. On multivariate regression analysis, after controlling for admission blood pressure, time to CT scan, and Marshall Score, age <55, GCS of 15 on arrival to the ICU, and isolated subarachnoid hemorrhage remained independent predictors of a favorable outcome. Patients meeting these criteria after mTBI with ICH likely do not require ICU-level care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preoperative diagnosis of ischemic bowel in patients with small bowel obstruction (SBO) is a clinical challenge. The aim of this study was to identify preoperative variables associated with ischemic bowel found at operative exploration. We performed a 5-year retrospective review of patients admitted to a university affiliated, county funded hospital who underwent exploratory laparoscopy or laparotomy for SBO. Patients were excluded if they had a known preoperative malignancy or hernia on physical examination. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine factors independently associated with bowel ischemia or ischemic perforation. One hundred and sixteen patients underwent exploratory surgery for SBO. Mean age was 52 ± 14 years and most were male [64 (55.2%)]. Adhesions [92 (79.3%)] were the most common etiology of obstruction. Leukocytosis (P = 0.304) and acidosis (P = 0.151) were not significantly associated with ischemia or ischemic perforation. In addition, history of prior SBO (P = 0.618), tachycardia (P = 0.111), fever (P = 0.859), and time from admission to operation (P = 0.383) were not predictive of ischemic bowel. However, hyponatremia (≤134 mmol/L) and CT scan findings of wall thickening or a suspected closed loop were independently associated with bowel ischemia. Awareness of these predictors should heighten the concern for ischemic bowel in patients presenting with SBO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]