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Background In January of 2019, Washington State (WA) passed Initiative 1639 making it illegal for persons <21 years-old to buy assault weapons (AWs). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of WA-1639 on firearm-related incidents involving AWs by those <21 years-old in WA, hypothesizing a decrease in incidents after WA-1639.Methods Retrospective (2016-2021) data on firearm violence (FV) events were gathered from the Gun Violence Archive. The rate of FV was weighted per 100,000 people. Total monthly incidents, injuries, and deaths were compared pre-law (January 2016-December 2018) vs post-law (January 2019-December 2021) implementation. Mann-Whitney U tests and Poisson’s regression were used for analysis.Results From 4091 FV incidents (2210 (54.02%) pre-law vs 1881 (45.98%) post-law), 50 involved AWs pre- (2.3%) and 15 (.8%) post-law. Of these, 11 were committed by subjects <21 years-old pre-law and only one occurred post-law. Total incidents of FV (z = −3.80, P< .001), AW incidents (z = −4.28, P< .001), and AW incidents involving someone <21 years-old (z = −3.01, P< .01) decreased post-law. Additionally, regression analysis demonstrated the incident rate ratio (IRR) of all FV (1.23, 95% CI [1.10-1.38], P< .001), all AW FV incidents (3.42, 95% CI [1.70-6.89], P= .001), and AW incidents by subjects <21 years-old (11.53, 95% CI [1.52-87.26], P= .02) were greater pre-law vs post-law.Discussion Following implementation of WA-1639, there was a significant decrease in FV incidents and those involving AWs by individuals <21 years-old. This suggests targeted firearm legislation may help curtail FV. Further studies evaluating FV after legislation implementation in other states is needed to confirm these findings.

Background The need to reverse the coagulation impairment caused by chronic antiplatelet agents in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients with acute traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (TICH) remains controversial. We sought to determine whether emergent platelet transfusion reduces the incidence of hemorrhage expansion, mortality, or need for neurosurgical intervention such as intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring, burr holes, or craniotomy.Methods All adult blunt TICH patients (age ≥16 years) over a 4-year period were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with penetrating TBI, blunt TBI without TICH on admission computed tomography (CT), receiving warfarin, not on antiplatelet agents, or requiring immediate operative intervention were excluded. Patients were divided into 2 groups depending on whether they received a platelet transfusion: reversal group (RV) versus no reversal group (NR). Patient outcomes were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U and Fisher’s exact tests.Results 169 blunt TBI patients on chronic antiplatelet therapy were studied (102 RV group, 67 NR group). The groups were well matched with regard to age, Injury Severity Score, Abbreviated Injury Scale-head, Glasgow Coma Score, mechanism of injury, need for intubation, time to initial CT scan, and hospital length of stay. Immediate platelet transfusion did not alter the occurrence of TICH extension on follow-up CT (26% vs 21%, P= .71), TBI-specific mortality (9% vs 13%, P= .45), need for ICP monitor (2% vs 3%, P= 1.0), burr hole (1% vs 3%, P= .56), or craniotomy (1% vs 3%, P= .56).Discussion Immediate platelet transfusion is unnecessary in blunt TBI patients on chronic antiplatelet therapy who do not require immediate craniotomy.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on mortality after traumatic injury. The records of patients from 2012 to 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were stratified into the following groups based on admission BMI (kg/m2): underweight (UW) (BMI <19), ideal weight (IW) (BMI = 19–24.9), overweight (OW) (BMI = 25–29.9), obese (OB) (BMI = 30–39.9), and morbid obese (MO) (BMI >40). The groups were well matched with no significant differences in demographics and Injury Severity Score. Morality for the IW group was compared with the remaining BMI groups. A total of 6049 patients were identified. In comparison with IW group, the UW mortality was significantly higher (IW vs UW, 4.1% vs 8.8%, P = 0.001); however, the there was no significant difference with remaining groups. There was also no significant difference in mortality between IW and the remaining groups for patients that went directly to the operating room or for patients that had penetrating trauma (stab wounds and gunshot wounds). However, for blunt trauma, the mortality was significantly higher for UW (IW vs UW, 4.3% vs 9.4%, P = 0.001), no different for IW vs OW (4.3% vs 3.7%, P = 0.3), and significantly lower for IW vs OB (4.3% vs 2.8%, P = 0.04) and for IW vs MO (4.3% vs 1.0%, P = 0.03). After traumatic injuries, it is the underweight patients (BMI <19) and not the obese, that are at a significantly higher risk for overall mortality; this difference is especially evident after blunt trauma where obesity may actually confer a protective role.

As surgery residents graduate and begin their careers as junior attending surgeons, the question of whether a surgeon can complete a case alone still lingers. Allowing autonomy during residency answers this question. The purpose of this study was to gather input from general surgery residency program directors on how they achieve autonomy for residents in their programs. An online survey of 18 questions was sent to all general surgery residency program directors in the United States between April and June of 2013 via e-mail. Questions were asked regarding classification of autonomy, percentage of case completed by the resident independently, and in what area a resident worked with minimal supervision. Of the 202 delivered, 85 program directors were responded (42%). Seventy-eight per cent of programs classified a resident as surgeon junior whether the resident completed more than 50 per cent of the case. Most classified autonomy as either the resident completing >75 per cent of a case (41%) or completing the critical steps of a surgery (41%). Eighty-eight per cent stated that chief residents completed the majority of cases under supervision, whereas only 12 per cent stated the chief had autonomy in the operating room and also acted as teaching assistant. While, 60 per cent stated their chief residents did not work in any area of the hospital independently. Despite differences in how autonomy is defined among programs, most program directors feel that their chief residents do not achieve complete autonomy. Programs should allow their residents to work in a progressive responsibility as they progress into their fourth and fifth years of residency to achieve autonomy.

Management of a resilient diverticular abscess poses a big challenge. Currently there are no guidelines for the number of percutaneous drainages to be performed in resilient diverticular abscesses before attempting surgery. All patients (n = 117) who presented with a computed tomography scan-proven diverticular abscess from July 2008 to June 2011 were studied. They were divided into four groups based on the number of percutaneous drainages they underwent for their diverticular abscess: six patients underwent three or more drainages, nine patients underwent two drainages, 27 patients had one drainage, and 75 patients had no drainage. Readjustment, flushing, and upgrading size of the drain were not considered as separate drainage procedures. The size of abscess cavity was significantly higher for the patients who had three or more drainages (mean 8 cm, P< 0.001). A Hartmann's procedure was performed in the majority of patients in the three or more drainage group (83%) but in decreasing frequency as the number of drainages performed dropped: two drainage group (44%), one drainage group (15%), and no drainage group (19%). There was a significantly higher preoperative hospital stay for drainage and antibiotics in the patients from the three or more drainage group (P< 0.001). Patients with a resilient diverticular abscess are very likely to undergo a Hartmann's procedure after two attempted drainages. By performing additional percutaneous drainages in an attempt to avoid ostomy, patients are at an increased risk of sepsis and peritonitis with prolonged antibiotics and increased healthcare costs. We recommend limiting percutaneous drainage procedures to two attempts to cool down a resilient diverticular abscess before definitive surgery.

For the experienced surgeon, the average operative time for a laparoscopic cholecystectomy is less than 1 hour. There has been no study documenting the causes and results of prolonged (longer than 3 hours) surgery. A retrospective study was done of patients who underwent cholecystectomy between January 2003 and December 2007. A total of 3126 cholecystectomies were done. After excluding patients who had a planned open cholecystectomy and patients who had additional laparoscopic surgeries, we identified 70 patients who had a planned laparoscopic cholecystectomy with operative time exceeding 3 hours. Multivariate stepwise logistic regression was performed analyzing the various factors leading to prolonged surgery. Of the 70 patients, ranging in age from 21 to 92 years (mean, 57 years), most (n = 53) were female. Operative time ranged from 3 hours to 6 hours 40 minutes (mean, 3 hours 37 minutes). Emergency:elective admission ratio was 9:5 and acute cholecystitis (n = 40) was the most common indication. Common characteristics were obesity (n = 44, P= 0.031), intraabdominal adhesions (n = 43, P= 0.004), and previous abdominal surgeries (n = 40, P= 0.002). Intraoperative complications included spillage of stones (n = 6), bile duct injury (n = 3), and bleeding (n = 3). The possibility of prolonged laparoscopic cholecystectomy should be anticipated in patients with obesity and previous abdominal operations. Prolonged surgery increases the risk of complications (bile duct injury, bleeding) and prolongs the postoperative hospital stay.

Diaphragmatic injuries (DIs) are difficult to diagnose and often go unrecognized after blunt trauma. We proposed that CT scan with coronal reconstruction (CTCR) improves the detection of small DIs missed by chest x-ray (CXR) and CT scan with axial views (CTAX). We performed a retrospective review at a Level I trauma center from 2001 to 2006 and identified 35 patients who underwent operative repair of DI after blunt trauma. The size of the DI and the radiographic test (CXR, CTAX, and CTCR) that identified the defect was compared. Results were analyzed using mean, Mann-Whitney Utest, and Fisher exact test. Of the 35 DI repairs, nine were performed after CXR alone and 12 after identification by both a CXR and CTAX. There was no significant difference between the mean DI size identified by CXR with and without CTAX (10.6 vs9.7, P= 0.88). The remaining 14 DIs were undetected by CXR and CTAX. Seven of these (before CTCR) were found during exploratory laparotomy and seven were identified by CTCR (4.6 cm vs3.5 cm, P =0.33). The mean DI size identified by CTCR was significantly smaller than that identified by CXR alone (4.6 cm vs9.7 cm, P <0.05) and by CXR and CTAX (4.6 cm vs10.6 cm, P <0.0005). CTCR improves the ability to detect smaller DI defects (4 to 8 cm) that were previously missed by CXR and CTAX. CTAX adds little to CXR alone for the diagnosis of large defects (greater than 8 cm).

Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) guidelines have a near 100 per cent negative predictive value for clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI) in children with mild head injury (Glasgow Coma Score [GCS] 14 or 15). Our goal was to retrospectively apply their criteria to our database to determine the potential impact on the rates of unnecessary head computed tomography (CT) and ciTBI detection. The records of pediatric patients with GCS 14 to 15 that had a head CT for suspected TBI after blunt trauma from 2008 to 2010 were reviewed. Of 493 children, CT was negative in 447 (91%), but findings were present in 46 (9%). Applying PECARN recommendations, 178 (36%) met all six criteria but still underwent head CT; all were negative. The remaining 315 (64%) missed one or more PECARN criteria and underwent CT; only 46 (15%) had findings, and two (0.6%) required surgery. There were no false-negatives. The negative predictive value for ciTBI was 100 per cent. Observance of PECARN guidelines identifies children who do not require CT, increasing the yield of finding a ciTBI among those who cannot satisfy all six criteria.

An increasing number of super geriatric (age older than 80 years) patients are being hospitalized with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although geriatric (age older than 65 years) patients have been reported to have a worse functional outcome compared with younger patients who present with the same or less severe degree of TBI; the mortality for the super geriatric (age older than 80 years) remains to be determined. Knowledge of their hospital mortality may help improve clinical decision-making protocols and resource use. A retrospective chart review of patients who sustained TBI after blunt trauma was performed over a 3-year period (June 2005 to June 2008) at a Level II trauma center. Mortality was calculated for various age groupings and data analyzed using analysis of variance test and ?2test. We hypothesized that mortality would increase significantly with increasing age from the geriatric to the super geriatric group. A total of 2369 patients were evaluated with 744 pediatric patients in Group I (age younger than 17 years), 1297 adult patients in Group II (age 17-64 years), 185 geriatric patients in Group III (age 65-80 years), and 143 super geriatric patients in Group IV (age older than 80 years). The respective mortalities for each group were as follows: Group I (6%), Group II (9%), Group III (21%), and Group IV (6%). There was no significant difference in the Injury Severity Score for the four groups. In comparing Group III with Groups I and II, we found a significant increase in mortality with increasing age as reported in the literature (21 vs6%, P= 0.01 and 21 vs9%, P= 0.04). However, in comparing Group IV with the other three groups, there was no significant difference in mortality. There was a trend toward decrease in mortality from age Group III to IV (21 vs6%, P= 0.09), which is of unclear etiology and warrants further study. In patients with blunt TBI, there is no significant difference in mortality between the super geriatric age group (age older than 80 years) and the younger pediatric, adult, and geriatric age groups. Resource use therefore should not be limited to patients older than 80 years with TBI.

Presented during Poster Grand Rounds at the Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course Program, Southeastern Surgical Congress, Savannah, GA, February 10–13, 2007.