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Patients with resectable non–small-cell lung cancer had a greater response and longer event-free survival with preoperative durvalumab plus chemotherapy and adjuvant durvalumab than with chemotherapy alone.

In this preliminary study, videos of gastric bypass operations submitted by 20 bariatric surgeons were rated by peer surgeons. Surgical-skill ratings were highly correlated with complication rates (14.5% for surgeons in the bottom quartile vs. 5.2% in the top quartile). A considerable body of research suggests that some surgeons have better results than others. Early studies of coronary-artery bypass surgery showed wide variation in risk-adjusted patient mortality across surgeons; studies of other procedures and other outcomes have shown similar variation among surgeons. 1 – 3 Efforts to reduce such variation have focused primarily on improving perioperative care. For example, the Surgical Care Improvement Project and related pay-for-performance programs have provided financial incentives to increase surgeons' compliance with evidence-based practices related to prophylaxis against surgical-site infection and venous thromboembolism. As of this writing, however, there is little evidence that such initiatives have improved . . .

Diversity in surgery has been shown to improve mentorship and patient care. Diversity has improved among general surgery (GS) trainees but is not the case for departmental leadership. We analyzed the race and gender distributions across leadership positions at academic GS programs. Academic GS programs (n = 118) listed by the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database Access system were included. Leadership positions were ascertained from department websites. Gender and race were determined through publicly provided data. Ninety-two (79.3%) department chairs were white and 99 (85.3%) were men. Additionally, 88 (74.6%) program directors and 34 (77.3%) vice-chairs of education were men. A higher proportion of associate program directors were women (38.5%). Of 787 division-chiefs, 73.4% were white. Only trauma had >10% representation from minority surgeons. Women represented >10% of division chiefs in colorectal, thoracic, pediatric, and plastic/burn surgery. Diversity among GS trainees is not yet reflected in departmental leadership. Effort is needed to improve disparities in representation across leadership roles. [Display omitted] •Improvement in diversity is not reflected in departmental leadership.•More women serve as associate program directors than other leadership positions.•Only 4 specialties had >10% representation from women as division-chiefs.•Only trauma/ACS had >10% representation from minorities.•Highlights lack of diversity and need for increased representation in leadership. Brief Summary: While general surgery trainees have become increasingly diverse, this improvement is not yet reflected in departmental leadership. Currently, more women serve as associate program directors than other leadership positions. However, only 4 specialties have >10% representation from women as division chiefs and only trauma/ACS had >10% representation from any underrepresented minorities. This highlights the lack of diversity and the need for increased representation in general surgery leadership.

Objective This study was designed to propose a classification scheme for platforms of surgical delivery in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to review the literature documenting their effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and role in training. Approximately 28 % of the global burden of disease is surgical. In LMICs, much of this burden is borne by a rapidly growing international charitable sector, in fragmented platforms ranging from short-term trips to specialized hospitals. Systematic reviews of these platforms, across regions and across disease conditions, have not been performed. Methods A systematic review of MEDLINE and EMBASE databases was performed from 1960 to 2013. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined a priori . Bibliographies of retrieved studies were searched by hand. Of the 8,854 publications retrieved, 104 were included. Results Surgery by international charitable organizations is delivered under two, specialized hospitals and temporary platforms. Among the latter, short-term surgical missions were the most common and appeared beneficial when no other option was available. Compared to other platforms, however, worse results and a lack of cost-effectiveness curtailed their role. Self-contained temporary platforms that did not rely on local infrastructure showed promise, based on very few studies. Specialized hospitals provided effective treatment and appeared sustainable; cost-effectiveness evidence was limited. Conclusions Because the charitable sector delivers surgery in vastly divergent ways, systematic review of these platforms has been difficult. This paper provides a framework from which to study these platforms for surgery in LMICs. Given the available evidence, self-contained temporary platforms and specialized surgical centers appear to provide more effective and cost-effective care than short-term surgical mission trips, except when no other delivery platform exists.

Background In December 2019, a novel coronavirus was identified as the cause of many pneumonia cases in China and eventually declared as a pandemic as the virus spread globally. Few reports were published on the outcome of surgical procedures in diagnosed COVID-19 patients and even fewer on the surgical outcomes of asymptomatic undiagnosed COVID-19 surgical patients. We aimed to review all published data regarding surgical outcomes of preoperatively asymptomatic untested coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Methods This report is a review on the perioperative period in COVID-19 patients who were preoperatively asymptomatic and not tested for COVID-19. Searches were conducted in PubMed April 4th, 2020. All publications, of any design, were considered for inclusion. Results Four reports were identified through our literature search, comprising 64 COVID-19 carriers, of them 51 were diagnosed only in the postoperative period. Synthesis of these reports, concerning the postoperative outcomes of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 during the perioperative period, suggested a 14/51 (27.5%) postoperative mortality rate and severe mostly pulmonic complications, as well as medical staff exposure and transmission. Conclusions COVID-19 may have potential hazardous implications on the perioperative course. Our review presents results of unacceptable mortality rate and a high rate of severe complications. These observations warrant further well-designed studies, yet we believe it is time for a global consideration of sampling all asymptomatic patients before surgical treatment.

More than 235 million patients undergo surgery every year worldwide, but less than 1% are enrolled in surgical clinical trials—few of which are international collaborations. Several levels of action are needed to improve this situation. International research collaborations in surgery between developed and developing countries could encourage capacity building and quality improvement, and mutually enhance care for patients with surgical disorders. Low-income and middle-income countries increasingly report much the same range of surgical diseases as do high-income countries (eg, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and the surgical sequelae of metabolic syndrome); collaboration is therefore of mutual interest. Large multinational trials that cross cultures and levels of socioeconomic development might have faster results and wider applicability than do single-country trials. Surgeons educated in research methods, and aided by research networks and trial centres, are needed to foster these international collaborations. Barriers to collaboration could be overcome by adoption of global strategies for regulation, health insurance, ethical approval, and indemnity coverage for doctors.

Background Proper documentation is an essential part of patient safety and quality of care in the surgical field. Surgical procedures are traditionally documented in narrative operative reports which are subjective by nature and often lack essential information. This systematic review will analyze the added value of the newly emerged synoptic reporting technique in the surgical setting. Methods A systematic review was conducted to compare the completeness and the user-friendliness of the synoptic operative report to the narrative operative report. A literature search was performed in EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Google Scholar for studies published up to April 6, 2018. The Newcastle–Ottawa Scale was utilized for the risk of bias assessment of the included articles. PROSPERO registration number was: CRD42018093770. Results Overall and subsection completion of the operative report was higher in the synoptic operative report. The time until completion of the operative report and the data extraction time were shorter in the synoptic report. One exception was the specific details section concerning the operative procedure, as this was generally reported more frequently in the narrative report. The use of mandatory fields in the synoptic report resulted in more completely reported operative outcomes with completion percentages close to 100%. Conclusions The synoptic operative report generally demonstrated a higher completion rate and a much lower time until completion compared to the traditional narrative operative report. A hybrid approach to the synoptic operative report will potentially yield better completion rates and higher physician satisfaction.

Background Adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) is a common surgical emergency, causing high morbidity and even some mortality. The adhesions causing such bowel obstructions are typically the footprints of previous abdominal surgical procedures. The present paper presents a revised version of the Bologna guidelines to evidence-based diagnosis and treatment of ASBO. The working group has added paragraphs on prevention of ASBO and special patient groups. Methods The guideline was written under the auspices of the World Society of Emergency Surgery by the ASBO working group. A systematic literature search was performed prior to the update of the guidelines to identify relevant new papers on epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of ASBO. Literature was critically appraised according to an evidence-based guideline development method. Final recommendations were approved by the workgroup, taking into account the level of evidence of the conclusion. Recommendations Adhesion formation might be reduced by minimally invasive surgical techniques and the use of adhesion barriers. Non-operative treatment is effective in most patients with ASBO. Contraindications for non-operative treatment include peritonitis, strangulation, and ischemia. When the adhesive etiology of obstruction is unsure, or when contraindications for non-operative management might be present, CT is the diagnostic technique of choice. The principles of non-operative treatment are nil per os, naso-gastric, or long-tube decompression, and intravenous supplementation with fluids and electrolytes. When operative treatment is required, a laparoscopic approach may be beneficial for selected cases of simple ASBO. Younger patients have a higher lifetime risk for recurrent ASBO and might therefore benefit from application of adhesion barriers as both primary and secondary prevention. Discussion This guideline presents recommendations that can be used by surgeons who treat patients with ASBO. Scientific evidence for some aspects of ASBO management is scarce, in particular aspects relating to special patient groups. Results of a randomized trial of laparoscopic versus open surgery for ASBO are awaited.

On an operating table at Boston Children's Hospital in Massachusetts, researchers are showing how it can navigate to a patient's leaking heart valve better than some surgeons can with years of training. Instruments such as the Da Vinci by Intuitive Surgical in Sunnyvale, California, and the Senhance by TransEnterix in Morrisville, North Carolina, allow surgeons to take control of multiple robotic arms through a hand-operated console, and give them greater dexterity and vision when operating in hard-to-reach areas. Heart-valve repair also tests the mettle of even experienced surgeons, owing in part to the challenge of positioning surgical instruments correctly in a confined space. In addition to well-established robotic assistants such as Da Vinci, Krieger points out that robots are also being used for procedures such as bone cuts and radiation delivery for cancer treatment.

Background Surgical conditions represent a significant proportion of the global burden of disease, and therefore, surgery is an essential component of health systems. Achieving universal health coverage requires effective monitoring of access to surgery. However, there is no widely accepted standard for the required capabilities of a first-level hospital. We aimed to determine whether a group of operations could be used to describe the delivery of essential surgical care. Methods We convened an expert panel to identify procedures that might indicate the presence of resources needed to treat an appropriate range of surgical conditions at first-level hospitals. Using data from the World Health Organization Emergency and Essential Surgical Care Global database, collected using the WHO Situational Analysis Tool (SAT), we analysed whether the ability to perform each of these procedures—which we term “bellwether procedures”—was associated with performing a full range of essential surgical procedures. Findings The ability to perform caesarean delivery, laparotomy, and treatment of open fracture was closely associated with performing all obstetric, general, basic, emergency, and orthopaedic procedures ( p  < 0.001) in the population that responded to the WHO SAT Survey. Procedures including cleft lip, cataract, and neonatal surgery did not correlate with performing the bellwether procedures. Interpretation Caesarean delivery, laparotomy, and treatment of open fractures should be standard procedures performed at first-level hospitals. With further validation in other populations, local managers and health ministries may find this useful as a benchmark for what first-level hospitals can and should be able to perform on a 24/7 basis in order to ensure delivery of emergency and essential surgical care to their population. Those procedures which did not correlate with the bellwether procedures can be referred to a specialized centre or collected for treatment by a visiting specialist team.