Background Recent humanitarian crises have led to a call for professionalization of the humanitarian field, but core competencies for the delivery of surgical care have yet to be established. The ...objective of this study was to survey surgeons with experience in disaster response to identify surgical competencies required to be effective in these settings. Methods An online survey elucidating demographic information, scope of practice, and previous experience in global health and disaster response was transmitted to surgeons from a variety of surgical societies and nongovernmental organizations. Participants were provided with a list of 111 operative procedures and were asked to identify those deemed essential to the toolset of a frontline surgeon in disaster response via a Likert scale. Responses from personnel with experience in disaster response were contrasted with those from nonexperienced participants. Results A total of 147 surgeons completed the survey. Participants held citizenship in 22 countries, were licensed in 30 countries, and practiced in >20 countries. Most respondents (56%) had previous experience in humanitarian response. The majority agreed or strongly agreed that formal training (54%), past humanitarian response (94%), and past global health experiences (80%) provided adequate preparation. The most commonly deemed important procedures included control of intraabdominal hemorrhage (99%), abdominal packing for trauma (99%), and wound debridement (99%). Procedures deemed important by experienced personnel spanned multiple specialties. Conclusion This study addressed specifically surgical competencies in disaster response. We provide a list of operative procedures that should set the stage for further structured education programs.
Abstract Background As the implementation of exclusive acute care surgery (ACS) services thrives, prognostication for mortality and morbidity will be important to complement clinical management of ...these diverse and complex patients. Our objective is to investigate prognostic risk factors from patient level characteristics and clinical presentation to predict outcomes including mortality, postoperative complications, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and prolonged duration of hospital stay. Methods Retrospective review of all emergency general surgery admissions over a 1-year period at a large teaching hospital was conducted. Factors collected included history of present illness, physical exam and laboratory parameters at presentation. Univariate analysis was performed to examine the relationship between each variable and our outcomes with chi-square for categorical variables and the Wilcoxon rank-sum statistic for continuous variables. Multivariate analysis was performed using backward stepwise logistic regression to evaluate for independent predictors. Results A total of 527 ACS admissions were identified with 8.1% requiring ICU stay and an overall crude mortality rate of 3.04%. Operative management was required in 258 patients with 22% having postoperative complications. Use of anti-coagulants, systolic blood pressure <90, hypothermia and leukopenia were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. Leukopenia, smoking and tachycardia at presentation were also prognostic for the development of postoperative complications. For ICU admission, use of anti-coagulants, leukopenia, leukocytosis and tachypnea at presentation were all independent predictive factors. A prolonged length of stay was associated with increasing age, higher American Society of Anesthesiologists class, tachycardia and presence of complications on multivariate analysis. Conclusions Factors present at initial presentation can be used to predict morbidity and mortality in ACS patients.
Background Ongoing gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) following endoscopic therapy and deciding between mesenteric angiography and surgery often challenge surgeons. We sought to identify predictors of ...positive angiographic study (active contrast medium extravasation) and characterize outcomes of embolization for acute GIB. Methods We retrospectively analyzed angiographies for GIB at 2 teaching hospitals from January 2005 to December 2008. The χ2 , Wilcoxon rank sum and t tests determined significance. A Cox proportional hazards model was used for multivariate analyses. Results Eighteen of 83 (22%) patients had active extravasation on initial angiography and 25 (30%) were embolized. Patients with active extravasation had more packed red blood cell (PRBC; 5.3 v. 2.8 units, p < 0.001) and fresh frozen plasma (4.8 v. 1.7 units, p = 0.005) transfusions 24 hours preangiography and were more likely to be hemodynamically unstable at the time of the procedure (67% v. 28%, p = 0.001) than patients without active extravasation. Each unit of PRBC transfused increased the risk of a positive study by 30% (hazard ratio HR 1.3, 95% confidence interval CI 1.2–1.6 per unit). Embolization did not decrease recurrent bleeding (53% v. 52%) or length of stay in hospital (28.1 v. 27.5 d, p = 0.95), but was associated with a trend toward fewer emergency surgical interventions (13% v. 26%, p = 0.31) and greater 30-day mortality (33% v. 7%, p = 0.006) than nonembolization. Blind embolization was performed in 10 of 83 (12%) patients and was found to be an independent predictor of death in patients without active extravasation (HR 9.2, 95% CI 1.5–55.9). Conclusion The number of PRBC units transfused correlates with greater likelihood of a positive study. There was a significant increase in mortality in patients who underwent angioembolization. Large prospective studies are needed to further characterize the indications for angiography and blind embolization.
SUMMARY With surgical conditions being significant contributors to the global burden of disease, efforts aimed at increasing future practitioners’ understanding, interest and participation in global ...surgery must be expanded. Unfortunately, despite the increasing popularity of global health among medical students, possibilities for exposure and involvement during medical school remain limited. By evaluating student participation in the 2011 Bethune Round Table, we explored the role that global surgery conferences can play in enhancing this neglected component of undergraduate medical education. Study results indicate high rates of student dissatisfaction with current global health teaching and opportunities, along with high indices of conference satisfaction and knowledge gain, suggesting that global health conferences can serve as important adjuncts to undergraduate medical education.
Summary The burden of surgical disease in low-income countries remains significant, in part owing to continued surgical workforce shortages. We describe a successful paradigm to expand Rwandan ...surgical capacity through the implementation of a surgical education partnership between the National University of Rwanda and the Centre for Global Surgery at the McGill University Health Centre. Key considerations for such a program are highlighted.
Background With various types of complex patients being treated in a mixed medical–surgical–trauma intensive care unit (ICU), we hypothesized that there should be no difference in patient mortality ...with respect to the core training of the intensivist. Methods We reviewed the cases of all patients admitted to a mixed medical–surgical–trauma ICU at a Canadian university teaching hospital in 2007. Patients were assigned to 1 of 2 treatment groups (internal medicine, surgery/anesthesiology) based on the treating intensivist’s training. Our primary outcome was to compare patient mortality in the ICU between the groups. We used generalized estimating equations to determine 10-day mortality after admission to the ICU. A multivariate Cox hazard model was used to determine statistical significance and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for 11- to 60-day mortality in the ICU. Results A total of 961 patients were admitted from January to December, 2007. We found no significant difference between the groups in 10-day mortality (odds ratio 0.73, 95% CI 0.46–1.18, p = 0.20) and 11- to 60-day mortality (hazard ratio 1.43, 95% CI 0.62–3.30, p = 0.40) after admission to the ICU. Conclusion In a large university trauma centre that operates a mixed medicine–surgical–trauma ICU, there was no significant difference in mortality between patients managed by intensivists with core training in internal medicine and those managed by intensivists with training in surgery/anesthesiology.
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