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Biomedical subjects

R S Rhodes

Publications and source records attributed to R S Rhodes.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Basic science curriculum in vascular surgery residency.

Recognizing the importance of basic science teaching in surgical education, the leadership of the Association of Program Directors in Vascular Surgery (APDVS) appointed a panel to gather information and to present its findings at the 1999 annual fall meeting of the Apdvs. A questionnaire was distributed to the program directors present. In addition, information was gathered from the American Board of Surgery regarding the basic science content in the vascular surgery item pool on the vascular surgery qualifying examination (VQE). The vascular surgery unit of the surgical resident curriculum was also analyzed. Fifty-three program directors (64%) completed the questionnaire. Although only two program directors felt that their residents were better prepared to answer basic science questions, the results of the Vqe showed that the examinees do not, as a group, perform differently on basic science items than on clinical management questions. In addition, only a minority of program directors (15%) use a specific method to monitor the learning process of their residents. The majority of the program directors responding (75%) felt that they were capable of teaching basic science to residents. Interestingly, almost half the 53 respondents (47%) said that a basic science curriculum should be comprehensive, not exclusively relevant to the clinical setting. Vqe content outline and the vascular surgery unit of the surgical resident curriculum revealed great emphasis on clinically relevant basic science information. The Apdvs panel recommends that a basic science curriculum should be comprehensive, yet clinically pertinent, and completely integrated with the clinical curriculum. In terms of how to teach basic science in vascular residencies, the panel supports teaching conferences that are problem-based with a faculty member acting as the "resource person" and with specific goals set for the conferences. The panel also suggested establishing a Web site that provides a series of questions, the answers of which could be readily available to trainees and program directors. such immediate feedback could be of great help to program directors to focus the learning process of their residents and monitor its progress.

Curriculum↗
PubMed2001

Topical phenytoin treatment of stage II decubitus ulcers in the elderly.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the healing of stage II decubitus ulcers with topically applied phenytoin sodium with two other standard topical treatment procedures in a long-term care setting; and to assess the extent of systemic absorption after topical application in the phenytoin group. METHODS: Forty-seven nursing home patients with stage II decubitus ulcers were chosen for this study. The patients were matched for age, gender, and size and severity of wounds, and randomly assigned to each treatment group. Clinical assessment of decubitus ulcers was performed at the beginning of treatment and at each dressing change. Ulcers were examined for the presence of healthy granulation tissue, reduction in surface dimensions, and time to healing. Two phenytoin sodium plasma concentrations were to be obtained on all patients in the phenytoin group. RESULTS: Topical phenytoin therapy resulted in a shorter time to complete healing and formation of granulation tissue when compared with DuoDerm dressings or triple antibiotic ointment applications (p < or = 0.05). The mean +/- SD time to healing in the phenytoin group was 35.3 +/- 14.3 days compared with 51.8 +/- 19.6 and 53.8 +/- 8.5 days for the DuoDerm and triple antibiotic ointment groups, respectively. Healthy granulation tissue in the phenytoin group appeared within two to seven days in all subjects. Patients in the standard treatment groups required six to 21 days to produce new granulation tissue. Serum phenytoin sodium concentrations were nondetectable. No patient withdrew from the study secondary to adverse treatment effects. CONCLUSIONS: Both the phenytoin and standard treatment groups showed progress over the study period. However, the phenytoin group demonstrated more rapid results in all aspects of ulcer healing.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1999

Work loads and practice patterns of general surgeons in the United States, 1995-1997: a report from the American Board of Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the work loads and practice patterns of general surgeons in the United States over a 3-year period (1995 to 1997). METHODS: The surgical operative logs of 2434 "generalist" general surgeons recertifying in surgery form the basis of this report. Selected demographics of the group are as follows: location: 50% Northeast and Southeast, 21 % Midwest, 29% West and Southwest; practice type: 45% solo, 40% group, 9% academics; size of practice community: 46% highly urban, 19% rural. Parameters evaluated were the average number of procedures and their distribution by category related to geographic area, practice type, community size, and other parameters. Statistical analysis was accomplished using analysis of variance. RESULTS: No significant year-to-year differences were observed between cohorts. The average numbers of procedures per surgeon per year was 398, distributed as follows: abdomen 102, alimentary tract 63, breast 54, endoscopic 51, vascular 39, trauma 6, endocrine 4, and head and neck, 3. Eleven percent of the 398 procedures were performed laparoscopically. Major index cases were largely concentrated with small groups of surgeons representing 5% to 10% of the total. Significant differences were as follows: surgeons in the Northeast and West performed far fewer procedures than those elsewhere. Urban surgeons performed a few more tertiary-type procedures than did rural ones; however, rural surgeons performed many more total procedures, especially in endoscopy, laparoscopy, gynecology, genitourinary, and orthopedics. Academic surgeons performed substantially fewer total procedures as a group than did nonacademic ones and in all categories except liver, transplant, and pancreas. Male surgeons performed more procedures than did female surgeons, except those involving the breast. More procedures were done by surgeons in group practice than by those in solo practice. U.S. medical graduates and international medical graduates had similar work loads but with a different distribution. CONCLUSIONS: This unique database will be useful in tracking trends over time. More importantly, it demonstrates that general surgery practice in the United States is extremely heterogeneous, a fact that must be acknowledged in any future workforce deliberations.

Female↗
PubMed1997

Criteria for selective utilization of the intensive care unit following carotid endarterectomy.

The common practice of admitting all patients to an intensive care unit (ICU) following carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is based upon concern for adverse events that may be properly cared for only in the ICU. We developed restrictive criteria for postoperative nursing unit admission based on analysis of adverse outcomes and risk factors. 365 CEAs over 15 years were reviewed. In the first 24 hours after CEA, 38 patients experienced 46 events that may have been best managed in an ICU. Preoperative factors associated with significant risk for complications were indications of cardiac disease within 6 months (n = 62, p < 0.05), emergent CEA (n = 2, p = 0.01), and need for postoperative anticoagulation (n = 2, p = 0.01). Only 56 (15%) of patients had indications for ICU admission, 57 (16%) would have been admitted to an EKG-monitored nursing unit, and 252 (69%) would have been admitted to a standard nursing unit. Immediate admission to the ICU after CEA is indicated for patients undergoing emergent CEA, those requiring anticoagulation postoperatively, those with intraoperative stroke or major cardiac complication, and possibly those with chronic renal failure. All other patients should be admitted to the RR. Patients experiencing stroke, major cardiac events, significant wound hemorrhage, or reintubation in the RR, and those requiring vasoactive medication more than 3 hours after surgery should be transferred to the ICU. Patients with indications of cardiac disease within 6 months prior to CEA but no indications for ICU admission may be discharged from the RR to an EKG monitored unit. All others may be discharged to a standard nursing unit.

Endarterectomy, Carotid↗
PubMed1997

Is carotid endarterectomy justified in patients with severe chronic renal insufficiency?

We evaluated the effect of chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) and commonly associated co-morbid conditions on the risk of adverse events (stroke, cardiac events, and death) within 30 days after carotid endarterectomy (CEA). Renal function of patients undergoing CEA from 1980 to 1994 was categorized as normal (creatinine < 1.5 mg/dl), mild CRI (creatinine 1.5-2.9 mg/dl), or severe CRI (creatinine > 2.9 mg/dl). Renal function, age, gender, indications for surgery, cardiac disease, chronic preoperative hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking history, severe perioperative hypertension or hypotension, intraoperative shunting, and patch closure of the carotid artery were evaluated for their influence on the incidence of adverse events within 30 days after surgery. The timing of postoperative stroke and mechanism of stroke was determined when possible. A total of 237 patients underwent 285 CEAs. No significant differences were found in demographic or clinical characteristics between patients with normal or abnormal renal function. Postoperative stroke and death occurred following three (43%) of seven CEAs in six patients with severe CRI, significantly greater than the 6% incidence of stroke and 1% mortality following 264 CEAs in 221 patients with normal renal function (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). Of three patients with severe CRI suffering postoperative stroke, two had severe, difficult to control perioperative hypertension. Two patients with severe CRI who survived 30 days after operation suffered strokes 3 and 4 months postoperatively with one stroke-related death and another death not directly related to the stroke. One patient with severe CRI who survived CEA without stroke was alive 6 months after surgery. The 0% incidence of stroke and death following 14 CEAs in 10 patients with mild CRI was not significantly different from that in patients with normal renal function. Postoperative stroke was not associated with age, gender, history of cardiac disease, chronic preoperative hypertension, diabetes, smoking, or use of intraoperative shunts or patch closure. All three cardiac events occurred in diabetic patients, although they constituted only 26% of operations (p = 0.003). Other clinical characteristics were not associated with the occurrence of cardiac events. Patients with severe CRI are at significantly greater risk than others for postoperative stroke and death following CEA, possibly related to difficulty controlling severe perioperative hypertension. Age, gender, smoking, preoperative hypertension, diabetes, and known cardiac disease are not associated with an increased risk of postoperative stroke in any patient group. CEA can be justified only for carefully selected patients with severe CRI who have symptomatic carotid disease, acceptable operative risk factors, and a good long-term life expectancy. CEA in patients with mild CRI is associated with low risk, and these patients may be treated with the same consideration as patients with normal renal function.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Trauma in pregnancy: the role of interpersonal violence.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine what role interpersonal violence as intentional injury plays in the pregnant trauma victim. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a retrospective review of medical records. RESULTS: During a 9-year period in a single university medical and trauma center, 203 pregnant women were treated for a physically traumatic event. Sixty-four women (31.5%) were victims of intentional injury, in most cases by the husband or boyfriend. Although the mean Injury Severity Score was higher in women with fetal death than in women with successful pregnancy outcomes (7.25 vs 1.74, respectively; p < 0.01), 5 of the 8 women with fetal losses incurred these despite an apparent absence of physical injury (maternal Injury Severity Score = 0). CONCLUSIONS: Interpersonal violence during pregnancy is a frequent and increasingly common cause of maternal injury. The inconsistent relationship between Injury Severity Score and serious fetal injury or death is underscored by the loss of 5 fetuses despite an Injury Severity Score of 0.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1995

Effect of patient factors on hospital costs for major bowel surgery: implications for managed health care.

BACKGROUND: We examined the effects of patient factors on hospital resource consumption for patients who had undergone major bowel operation (diagnosis-related groups [DRGs] 148 and 149) at an urban, university hospital. METHODS: We performed cross-sectional analysis of computerized hospital discharge abstracts and charts of 491 consecutive discharges in these DRGs. Total hospital charges and length of stay were dependent variables. Independent variables included admission status, admission service, previous admissions, payer type, service type, diagnosis, reoperation, and death. RESULTS: Patient factors accounted for significant variability in resource consumption. By univariate analysis all of the above variables significantly affected total charges, and all but service type significantly affected length of stay. By multivariate analysis DRGs 148/149 alone explained 4.2% of the variance, whereas all the variables together increased R2 to 52.1%. Logistic regression of reoperation and of death as dependent variables suggested that patient factors also accounted for significant variance in these outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Because patient factors may not be directly controllable by hospitals or physicians, differences among hospitals in costs and in "quality" may relate more to differences in patient mix than to efficiency. DRGs alone are not a sufficient management tool, and additional measures are needed to adequately measure both efficiency and quality.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1995

Hand protection.

The traditional purpose of surgical gloves is to prevent transmission of pathogens (usually bacterial) from surgeon to patient. Yet the hand is also the most common site of injury and blood contamination among operating room personnel. Thus, gloves also can protect against transmission of pathogens from patient to surgeon. This article focuses on the value of gloves for hand protection. The current data on such protection derive exclusively from studies that use glove leak and contamination as outcome measures. There are no data that measure protection in terms of actual disease transmission.

Gloves, Protective↗
PubMed1995

Bloodborne pathogen transmission from healthcare worker to patients. Legal issues and provider perspectives.

Health-care providers have an obvious, primary obligation to patients. Yet providers also have obligations to the public health (society), their institutional or individual self-interests, and their employees (fellow health-care workers). These obligations contain inherent conflicts, and attempts to reconcile the conflicts often perpetuate contradictions. This article identifies and discusses some of the moral and legal bases of these conflicts.

Blood-Borne Pathogens↗
PubMed1995

Human immunodeficiency virus transmission and surgeons: update.

Concerns of patients and health care providers regarding disease transmission in the health care setting are not unique to the current human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. The data show that the risk to health care workers (HCWs) from patients is far greater than the risk to patients from HCWs. Despite the high frequency of contact with potentially infected fluids, surgeons appear to have a low occupational risk of acquiring HIV infection. Further, the actual risk of surgeon-to-patient transmission appears to be extremely small. Recommendations that HIV-infected surgeons restrict their practice or inform patients of their HIV status may have little, if any, value. Yet the federal government required states to adopt guidelines on this issue. Since these guidelines vary among the states, HCWs should be familiar with the legal guidelines and penalties in their state.

Blood-Borne Pathogens↗
PubMed1995

Hepatitis B virus, surgeons, and surgery.

Surgeons continue to be at high risk for occupationally acquired HBV infection. Immunization against HBV is safe and effectively prevents transmission of HBV from patients to surgeons. Such immunization is also the most effective way to reduce the risk of transmission of HBV from surgeons to patients. Postvaccination testing, although not required, should be strongly considered. Such testing will confirm the success of vaccination and can, in conjunction with testing for HBsAg, identify surgeons who are unknowingly carriers. State laws and guidelines regarding restrictions of HBeAg-positive surgeons vary and surgeons should be familiar with the laws and guidelines that apply in their state. Until all surgeons are successfully immunized, HBV is likely to remain a threat.

Hepatitis B↗