Neeraja Nagarajan

Shared Decision Making and Choice for Elective Surgical Care: A Systematic Review.

Objective Shared decision making (SDM), an integrative patient-provider communication process emphasizing discussion of scientific evidence and patient/family values, may improve quality care delivery, promote evidence-based practice, and reduce overuse of surgical care. Little is known, however, regarding SDM in elective surgical practice. The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesize findings of studies evaluating use and outcomes of SDM in elective surgery. Data Sources PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, EMBASE, CINAHL, and SCOPUS electronic databases. Review Methods We searched for English-language studies (January 1, 1990, to August 9, 2015) evaluating use of SDM in elective surgical care where choice for surgery could be ascertained. Identified studies were independently screened by 2 reviewers in stages of title/abstract and full-text review. We abstracted data related to population, study design, clinical dilemma, use of SDM, outcomes, treatment choice, and bias. Results Of 10,929 identified articles, 24 met inclusion criteria. The most common area studied was spine (7 of 24), followed by joint (5 of 24) and gynecologic surgery (4 of 24). Twenty studies used decision aids or support tools, including modalities that were multimedia/video (13 of 20), written (3 of 20), or personal coaching (4 of 20). Effect of SDM on preference for surgery was mixed across studies, showing a decrease in surgery (9 of 24), no difference (8 of 24), or an increase (1 of 24). SDM tended to improve decision quality (3 of 3) as well as knowledge or preparation (4 of 6) while decreasing decision conflict (4 of 6). Conclusion SDM reduces decision conflict and improves decision quality for patients making choices about elective surgery. While net findings show that SDM may influence patients to choose surgery less often, the impact of SDM on surgical utilization cannot be clearly ascertained.

Conditions, preventable deaths, procedures and validation of a countrywide survey of surgical care in Nepal

To determine a true denominator of worldwide surgical need, it is imperative to include estimations at a population‐based level, to capture those individuals unable to access surgical care. This study was designed to validate the Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical need (SOSAS) tool with the addition of a visual physical examination, and describe the prevalence of surgical conditions, deaths possibly averted with access to surgical care, and the number of surgical procedures performed annually, in Nepal.

Benefits of Bowel Preparation Beyond Surgical Site Infection: A Retrospective Study.

Objectives: To examine whether the administration of mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) plus oral antibiotic bowel preparation (OABP) was associated with reduced surgical site infections (SSIs), which in turn leads to a reduction of non–SSI-related postoperative complications. Background: Administration of MBP/OABP before elective colectomy reduces the incidence of SSI. We hypothesized that reduction of SSI is on causal pathway between the use of MBP/OABP and the reduction of other postoperative complications. Methods: The study population consisted of all colectomy cases in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Colectomy Targeted Participant Use Data File for 2012 and 2013. Postoperative outcomes were compared based on the type of bowel preparation: none, MBP only, OABP only, and MBP plus OABP adjusting for other covariates. Results: The cohort included 19,686 patients. Of these 5060 (25.7%) patients did not receive any form of bowel preparation, 8020 (40.7%) received MBP only, 641 (3.3%) received OABP only, and 5965 (30.3%) received MBP plus OABP. Patients who received MBP plus OABP had a lower incidence of superficial SSI, deep SSI, organ space SSI, any SSI, anastomotic leak, postoperative ileus, sepsis, readmission, and reoperation compared with patients who received neither (all P < 0.01). The reduction in SSI incidence was associated with a reduction in wound dehiscence, anastomotic leak, pneumonia, prolonged requirement of mechanical ventilator, sepsis, septic shock, readmission, and reoperation. Conclusions: Combined MBP plus OABP before elective colectomy was associated with reduced SSI, which ultimately was associated with a reduction in non–SSI-related complications.

The role of fiber supplementation in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder associated with a wide variety of clinical symptoms. The use of fiber in treatment of IBS is well established, but recent reviews have shown conflicting evidence. The aim of our review was to study the effects of fiber (soluble and insoluble) on the symptoms of IBS. Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Central, CINAHL, LILACS, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for appropriate studies. Two reviewers screened the title/abstract and full text against the inclusion criterion – that is, randomized control trials/crossover studies that compare fiber with placebo for its effect on IBS in an outpatient setting. Independent double data extraction was performed across multiple fields. An assessment of the risk of bias and tests for heterogeneity were carried out, along with a meta-analysis of the outcomes of interest. The search yielded 4199 unique records: 121 were selected after title/abstract screening and 22 after full screening. There was moderate clinical, methodological, and statistical heterogeneity across studies, with a moderate risk of bias. Overall, there was a significant improvement in global assessment of symptoms among those randomized to fiber [risk ratio: 1.27; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05–1.54]. Soluble fiber improved assessment of symptoms (risk ratio 1.49; 95% CI: 1.09–2.03), as well as the abdominal pain score (mean difference: −1.84; 95% CI: −2.72 to −0.97), with insoluble fiber not showing improvement in any outcome. Soluble fiber appears to improve symptoms of IBS, whereas there is no evidence for recommending insoluble fiber for IBS.

Long-term outcomes in treatment of retroperitoneal sarcomas: A 15 year single-institution evaluation of prognostic features.

Retroperitoneal sarcomas are connective tissue tumors arising in the retroperitoneum. Surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment. Debate has arisen over extent of resection, changes in histological classification/grading, and interest in incorporating radiotherapy. Therefore, we reviewed our institutions experience to evaluate prognostic factors.

How Do Liquid-Based Preparations of Thyroid Fine-Needle Aspiration Compare with Conventional Smears? An Analysis of 5475 Specimens

BACKGROUND Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) plays a pivotal role in the initial evaluation of patients with thyroid nodules. Traditionally, aspirated material is expelled directly onto the microscope slide to make a conventional smear (CS). Recently, liquid-based preparations (LBP) have gained in popularity. This study compares the accuracy of these two preparation techniques in diagnosing thyroid nodules. METHODS A clinical database containing 5475 thyroid cytology consults from 2009 to 2013 was queried to identify 5169 CS and 306 LBP cases. Cytological diagnostic frequency rendered before and after second review were compared between LBP and CS. Correlation with the histology diagnosis was also calculated for each preparatory technique. RESULTS Age, sex, and nodule size were comparable between patients who had FNA processed by LBP and CS. More LBP cases than CS cases were inadequate (17% vs. 10%; p<0.001). LBP cases had fewer benign diagnoses (39% vs. 47%; p=0.003) and tended to have more malignant diagnoses (16% vs. 12%; p=0.09) when compared to CS. Indeterminate and suspicious categories were comparable between LBP and CS. Correlation with histology was also comparable between both techniques. CONCLUSION LBP was associated with a significantly higher proportion of inadequate and a lower proportion of benign diagnoses. Thus, universal adoption of LBP may introduce more inadequate samples. Future investigations should explore the lack of on-site evaluation with LBP as a potential source for the high inadequate rate.

Epidemiology of pediatric surgical needs in low-income countries.

Objective According to recent estimates, at least 11% of the total global burden of disease is attributable to surgically-treatable diseases. In children, the burden is even more striking with up to 85% of children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC) having a surgically-treatable condition by age 15. Using population data from four countries, we estimated pediatric surgical needs amongst children residing in LMICs. Methods A cluster randomized cross-sectional countrywide household survey (Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Need) was done in four countries (Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Nepal and Uganda) and included demographics, a verbal head to toe examination, and questions on access to care. Global estimates regarding surgical need among children were derived from combined data, accounting for country-level clustering. Results A total of 13,806 participants were surveyed and 6,361 (46.1%) were children (0–18 years of age) with median age of 8 (Interquartile range [IQR]: 4–13) years. Overall, 19% (1,181/6,361) of children had a surgical need and 62% (738/1,181) of these children had at least one unmet need. Based on these estimates, the number of children living with a surgical need in these four LMICs is estimated at 3.7 million (95% CI: 3.4, 4.0 million). The highest percentage of unmet surgical conditions included head, face, and neck conditions, followed by conditions in the extremities. Over a third of the untreated conditions were masses while the overwhelming majority of treated conditions in all countries were wounds or burns. Conclusion Surgery has been elevated as an “indivisible, indispensable part of health care” in LMICs and the newly formed 2015 Sustainable Development Goals are noted as unachievable without the provision of surgical care. Given the large burden of pediatric surgical conditions in LMICs, scale-up of services for children is an essential component to improve pediatric health in LMICs.

Long-term outcomes in treatment of retroperitoneal sarcomas

Retroperitoneal sarcomas are connective tissue tumors arising in the retroperitoneum. Surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment. Debate has arisen over extent of resection, changes in histological classification/grading, and interest in incorporating radiotherapy. Therefore, we reviewed our institutions experience to evaluate prognostic factors.

Breast Cancer Screening and Social Media: a Content Analysis of Evidence Use and Guideline Opinions on Twitter.

There is ongoing debate regarding the best mammography screening practices. Twitter has become a powerful tool for disseminating medical news and fostering healthcare conversations; however, little work has been done examining these conversations in the context of how users are sharing evidence and discussing current guidelines for breast cancer screening. To characterize the Twitter conversation on mammography and assess the quality of evidence used as well as opinions regarding current screening guidelines, individual tweets using mammography-related hashtags were prospectively pulled from Twitter from 5 November 2015 to 11 December 2015. Content analysis was performed on the tweets by abstracting data related to user demographics, content, evidence use, and guideline opinions. Standard descriptive statistics were used to summarize the results. Comparisons were made by demographics, tweet type (testable claim, advice, personal experience, etc.), and user type (non-healthcare, physician, cancer specialist, etc.). The primary outcomes were how users are tweeting about breast cancer screening, the quality of evidence they are using, and their opinions regarding guidelines. The most frequent user type of the 1345 tweets was “non-healthcare” with 323 tweets (32.5%). Physicians had 1.87 times higher odds (95% CI, 0.69–5.07) of providing explicit support with a reference and 11.70 times higher odds (95% CI, 3.41–40.13) of posting a tweet likely to be supported by the scientific community compared to non-healthcare users. Only 2.9% of guideline tweets approved of the guidelines while 14.6% claimed to be confused by them. Non-healthcare users comprise a significant proportion of participants in mammography conversations, with tweets often containing claims that are false, not explicitly backed by scientific evidence, and in favor of alternative “natural” breast cancer prevention and treatment. Furthermore, users appear to have low approval and confusion regarding screening guidelines. These findings suggest that more efforts are needed to educate and disseminate accurate information to the general public regarding breast cancer prevention modalities, emphasizing the safety of mammography and the harms of replacing conventional prevention and treatment modalities with unsubstantiated alternatives.

Gastric and small intestine gastrointestinal stromal tumors: Do outcomes differ?

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. Previous literature has suggested that small intestine GISTs are more aggressive than gastric GISTs. Our primary objective was to compare the outcomes of gastric and small intestine GISTs in the decade after approval of imatinib for treatment.