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IMPORTANCE: Several studies have demonstrated a decrease in the occurrence of child abuse in the US since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This finding has generated concern for missed cases due to the initial lockdowns and lack of childcare resources. Determining the association of the pandemic on hospitalizations for severe forms of abuse is essential to focus preventive efforts. OBJECTIVE: To examine trends in abusive head trauma (AHT) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective, multicenter, repeated cross-sectional study, conducted January 1, 2016, through April 30, 2022, with data from tertiary care children’s hospitals and contributors to the Pediatric Health Information System. Data were obtained for 2380 hospitalizations of children younger than 5 years with International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification codes for both abuse and head trauma. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Monthly hospitalizations were analyzed using interrupted time-series analysis. Hospitalization severity (eg, intensive care unit stay) and clinical characteristics (subdural hemorrhages and retinal hemorrhages) were compared before and after the start of the pandemic. RESULTS: We identified 2380 hospitalizations due to AHT (median age, 140 [IQR, 75.0-325.5] days) from 45 hospitals. The mean (SD) monthly incidence of AHT was 34.3 (5.8) before the COVID-19 pandemic compared with 25.6 (4.2) during COVID-19 (a 25.4% decrease). When the pre–COVID-19 and during COVID-19 periods were compared, there were no significant differences in severity or clinical characteristics. On interrupted time-series analysis, there was a significant decrease in the number of monthly hospitalizations (−8.1; 95% CI, −12.41 to −3.72; P < .001) in the first month of the pandemic. In the subgroup of children younger than 1 year, there was a significant decrease in monthly hospitalizations at the onset of the pandemic (−8.2; 95% CI, −12.02 to −4.43; P < .001) followed by a significant temporal increase across the COVID-19 period (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest there was a significant decrease in monthly hospitalizations for AHT following the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Although there was no corresponding increase in hospitalization severity, the decrease during the pandemic may have been transient, as monthly hospitalizations for children younger than 1 year increased significantly over time during COVID-19, after the initial decrease.

•61% of surgical departments lack reimbursement mechanisms for academic work•Surgeons agree several tasks merit a reciprocal reduction in clinical expectations•There was uniform agreement, independent of demographics or academic title

Prophylactic anticoagulation is routinely used in the inpatient setting; however, the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains elevated after discharge. Extensive evidence and clinical guidelines suggest post-discharge VTE prophylaxis is critical in at-risk populations, but it remains severely underused in practice.

Regionalizing surgical care to high-volume centers has improved outcomes for endocrine surgery. This shift is associated with increased travel time, costs, and morbidity within certain patient populations. We examined travel time–related differences in demographics, health-care utilization, thyroid-specific disease, and cost for patients undergoing thyroid surgery at a single high-volume center. Data were extracted from the 2005 to 2014 ACS-NSQIP and clinical data repository for patients undergoing thyroid surgery. Travel times between patients’ home address and the hospital were calculated using Google Earth under assumptions of standard road conditions and speed restrictions. Travel time was divided into <2 hours versus=2 hours. Primary outcomes were hospital cost and 30-day morbidity. Factors associated with travel time and primary outcomes were analyzed using appropriate bivariate tests and multivariable regression modeling. A total of 1046 thyroid procedures were included, with median (IQR) travel time of 68.8 (40.1–107.2) minutes. Eight hundred forty-seven (80.9%) patients traveled <2 hours compared with 199 (19.1%) traveled =2 hours. Patients traveling =2 hours were more likely to have complex thyroid disease (37.7% vs27.6%, P= 0.005), uninsured status (31.1% vs11.8%, P< 0.001), lower preoperative morbidity risk (2.3% vs2.7%, P= 0.02), and longer length of stay (1.21 vs1.07 days, P= 0.04), but similar median operative times (163 vs165 minutes, P= 0.89). Average cost was higher for patients traveling =2 hours ($7300 vs$6846 [2014 USD], P= 0.05). Despite observed patient differences, hospital costs and postoperative morbidity did not differ after adjustment. Existing management practices and the nature of the disease process may be protective against the potential negative effects of regionalization.

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IMPORTANCE: There has been an increased interest in measuring parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels as an early predictive marker for the development of hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy. However, significant variation exists in the timing, type of assay, and thresholds of PTH in the literature. OBJECTIVE: We performed a systematic review to examine the utility of PTH levels in predicting temporary postthyroidectomy hypocalcemia. EVIDENCE REVIEW: A systematic literature review of studies published prior to May 25, 2016 was performed within PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, and Cochrane databases using the following terms and keywords: “thyroidectomy,” “parathyroid hormone,” and “hypocalcaemia,” “calcium,” or “calcitriol.” Each candidate full-text publication was reviewed by 2 independent reviewers and selected for data extraction if the study examined the prognostic significance of PTH obtained within 24 hours after thyroidectomy to predict hypocalcaemia. Studies were excluded if calcium supplementation was used routinely or based on a PTH level. Study characteristics, PTH parameters used to predict hypocalcemia, and their respective accuracies were summarized. FINDINGS: The initial search yielded 2417 abstracts. Sixty-nine studies, comprising 9163 patients, were included. Overall, for an absolute PTH threshold, the median accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 86%, 85%, and 86%, respectively. For a percentage change over time the median accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 89%, 88%, and 90%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The existing literature regarding PTH levels to predict postthyroidectomy hypocalcemia is extremely heterogeneous. A single PTH threshold is not a reliable measure of hypocalcemia. Additional prospective studies controlled for timing of laboratory draws and a priori defined PTH thresholds need to be performed to ascertain the true prognostic significance of PTH in predicting postthyroidectomy hypocalcaemia.

IMPORTANCE: The Institute of Medicine and The Joint Commission recommend routine documentation of patients’ sexual orientation in health care settings. Currently, very few health care systems collect these data since patient preferences and health care professionals’ support regarding collection of data about patient sexual orientation are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To identify the optimal patient-centered approach to collect sexual orientation data in the emergency department (ED) in the Emergency Department Query for Patient-Centered Approaches to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity study. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: An exploratory, sequential, mixed-methods design was used first to evaluate qualitative interviews conducted in the Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, DC, areas. Fifty-three patients and 26 health care professionals participated in the qualitative interviews. Interviews were followed by a national online survey, in which 1516 (potential) patients (244 lesbian, 289 gay, 179 bisexual, and 804 straight) and 429 ED health care professionals (209 physicians and 220 nurses) participated. Survey participants were recruited using random digit dialing and address-based sampling techniques. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Qualitative interviews were used to obtain the perspectives of patients and health care professionals on sexual orientation data collection, and a quantitative survey was used to gauge patients' and health care professionals' willingness to provide or obtain sexual orientation information. RESULTS: Mean (SD) age of patient and clinician participants was 49 (16.4) and 51 (9.4) years, respectively. Qualitative interviews suggested that patients were less likely to refuse to provide sexual orientation than providers expected. Nationally, 154 patients (10.3%) reported that they would refuse to provide sexual orientation; however, 333 (77.8%) of all clinicians thought patients would refuse to provide sexual orientation. After adjustment for demographic characteristics, only bisexual patients had increased odds of refusing to provide sexual orientation compared with heterosexual patients (odds ratio, 2.40; 95% CI, 1.26-4.56). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Patients and health care professionals have discordant views on routine collection of data on sexual orientation. A minority of patients would refuse to provide sexual orientation. Implementation of a standardized, patient-centered approach for routine collection of sexual orientation data is required on a national scale to help to identify and address health disparities among lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations.

IMPORTANCE: Ocular trauma can lead to lifelong sequelae, and sports-related ocular injuries have been shown to disproportionately affect the young. Studies quantifying and characterizing the incidence and type of injuries seen with sports-related ocular trauma may be useful for resource utilization, training, and prevention efforts. OBJECTIVE: To examine the emergency department (ED) burden of sports-related ocular trauma in the United States. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective, cross-sectional study examined the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, containing data from approximately 30 million ED visits annually at more than 900 hospitals nationwide, from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2013, to determine factors associated with sports-related ocular trauma. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Annual incidence of sports-related ocular trauma, broken down by age, sex, mechanism of injury, and related activity, as well as factors associated with short-term impaired vision. RESULTS: During the study period, 120 847 individuals (mean age, 22.3 years [95% CI, 21.9-22.7]; 96 872 males, 23 963 females, and 12 with missing data) presented with sports-related ocular trauma, which was the primary diagnosis in 85 961 patients. Injuries occurred most commonly among males (69 849 [81.3%]; 95% CI, 80.6%-81.9%) and occurred most frequently as a result of playing basketball (22.6%; 95% CI, 21.7%-23.6%), playing baseball or softball (14.3%; 95% CI, 13.7%-14.9%), and shooting an air gun (11.8%; 95% CI, 10.8%-12.8%). Odds of presentation to the ED with impaired vision were greatest for paintball and air gun injuries relative to football-related injuries (odds ratio, 4.75; 95% CI, 2.21-10.19 and 3.71; 95% CI, 2.34-5.88, respectively; P &lt; .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In our study, approximately 30 000 individuals presented annually to EDs in the United States with sports-related eye injuries; in more than 70% of these cases, eye injuries were the primary diagnosis. Activities involving projectiles pose the greatest risk for visual impairment in the short term, although long-term outcomes were unavailable.

IMPORTANCE: Determining the national epidemiologic trends of chemical ocular burns can assist physicians and policy makers in appropriate allocation of resources for treatment and prevention. OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiologic trends and risk factors for chemical burns of the eye. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Between August 1, 2015, and April 25, 2016, data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample were analyzed from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2013. A sample of 900 emergency departments (EDs) across the United States was used. Patients presenting to EDs with a diagnosis of alkali or acid ocular burn, chemical conjunctivitis, or a combination of nonspecific ocular chemical burn and chemical poisoning or toxic effects were eligible for inclusion. Injured patients’ age, sex, primary health care insurance, income quartile, and other demographics were described. A subset consisting of those injuries identified as alkaline or acidic burns was further characterized. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Age-specific rates of ED presentation for chemical ocular burn injuries, independent factors associated with all, alkali, and acid injuries, and total ED-associated charges. RESULTS: From January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2013, a total of 144 149 chemical ocular burns were diagnosed at EDs nationwide. Men represented 56.6% of all cases (n = 81 496). Median age was 32 years, with female patients presenting at a younger age than male patients (median of 32 vs 34 years; P &lt; .001). Injury rates were highest among children aged 1 to 2 years (28.61 and 23.49 injuries per 100 000 population, respectively). Adults aged between 18 and 64 years also have these injuries at an increased rate, although this rate was half that of infants (mean, 13.28 per 100 000 population). Alkali injuries were more common than acid injuries (53.6% [n = 9137; 95% CI, 51.6%-56.0%] vs 46.4% [n = 7909; 95% CI, 44.0%-48.9%]), and all chemical eye injuries most commonly occur in residential locations (10.3% [n = 14 772]; 95% CI, 9.6%-10.9%) and among individuals in the first and second (lowest and second-lowest) income quartiles (≤$48 749) (56.0% [n = 80 691]; 95% CI, 54.4%-57.7%). Injuries most commonly occurred among those who had private health care insurance (31.9% [n = 45 900]; 95% CI, 30.9%-32.9%), and occurred more in the South (36.8% [n = 53 008]; 95% CI, 34.6%-39.1%). Emergency department charges due to these injuries totaled $106.7 million. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Young children represent the single highest-risk group for ocular chemical injuries. Education and other interventions concerned with preventing these injuries will be most effective if used accordingly.

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IMPORTANCE: Diagnostic molecular testing is used in the workup of thyroid nodules. While these tests appear to be promising in more definitively assigning a risk of malignancy, their effect on surgical decision making has yet to be demonstrated. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of diagnostic molecular profiling of thyroid nodules on the surgical decision-making process. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A surgical management algorithm was developed and published after peer review that incorporated individual Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology classifications with clinical, laboratory, and radiological results. This algorithm was created to formalize the decision-making process selected herein in managing patients with thyroid nodules. Between April 1, 2014, and March 31, 2015, a prospective study of patients who had undergone diagnostic molecular testing of a thyroid nodule before being seen for surgical consultation was performed. The recommended management undertaken by the surgeon was then prospectively compared with the corresponding one in the algorithm. Patients with thyroid nodules who did not undergo molecular testing and were seen for surgical consultation during the same period served as a control group. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: All pertinent treatment options were presented to each patient, and any deviation from the algorithm was recorded prospectively. To evaluate the appropriateness of any change (deviation) in management, the surgical histopathology diagnosis was correlated with the surgery performed. RESULTS: The study cohort comprised 140 patients who underwent molecular testing. Their mean (SD) age was 50.3 (14.6) years, and 75.0% (105 of 140) were female. Over a 1-year period, 20.3% (140 of 688) had undergone diagnostic molecular testing before surgical consultation, and 79.7% (548 of 688) had not undergone molecular testing. The surgical management deviated from the treatment algorithm in 12.9% (18 of 140) with molecular testing and in 10.2% (56 of 548) without molecular testing (P = .37). In the group with molecular testing, the surgical management plan of only 7.9% (11 of 140) was altered as a result of the molecular test. All but 1 of those patients were found to be overtreated relative to the surgical histopathology analysis. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Molecular testing did not significantly affect the surgical decision-making process in this study. Among patients whose treatment was altered based on these markers, there was evidence of overtreatment.

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IMPORTANCE: Readmission is a target area of quality improvement in surgery. While variation in readmission is common, to our knowledge, no study has specifically examined the underlying etiology of this variation among a variety of surgical procedures performed in a large academic medical center. OBJECTIVE: To quantify the variability in 30-day readmission attributable to patient, surgeon, and surgical subspecialty levels in patients undergoing a major surgical procedure. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective analysis of administrative claims data of patients discharged following a major surgical procedure at a tertiary care center between January 1, 2009, and, December 31, 2013. A total of 22 559 patients were included in this study and underwent a major surgical procedure performed by 56 surgeons practicing in 8 surgical subspecialties. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: In-hospital morbidity, 30-day readmission, and proportional variation in 30-day readmission at patient, surgeon, and surgical subspecialty levels. RESULTS: Among the 22 559 patients in this study, patient age, race/ethnicity, and payer type differed across surgical subspecialties. Preoperative comorbidity was common and noted in 65.1% of patients. Postoperative complications were noted in 21.6% of patients varying from 2.1% following breast, melanoma or endocrine surgery to 37.0% following cardiac surgery. The overall 30-day readmission was 13.2% (n = 2975). Readmission varied considerably across the 8 different surgical subspecialties, ranging from 24.8% following transplant surgery (n = 557) to 2.1% following breast, melanoma, or endocrine surgery (n = 32). After adjusting for patient- and surgeon-level variables, factors associated with readmission included African American race/ethnicity (odds ratio, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.11-1.36; P &lt; .001), increasing comorbidity (Charlson Comorbidity Index score of 1: odds ratio, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.02-1.32; P = .02; and a Charlson Comorbidity Index score of ≥2 : odds ratio, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.24-1.53; P &lt; .001), postoperative complication (odds ratio, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.08-1.32; P = .001), and an extended length of stay (odds ratio, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.61-1.96; P &lt; .001). The majority of the variation in readmission was attributable to patient-related factors (82.8%) while surgical subspecialty accounted for 14.5% of the variability, and individual surgeon-level factors accounted for 2.8%. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Readmission occurred in more than 1 in 10 patients, with considerable variation across surgical subspecialties. Variation in readmission was overwhelmingly owing to patient-level factors while only a minority of the variation was attributable to factors at the surgical subspecialty and individual surgeon levels.

Reporting readmissions to index hospitals within 30 days of discharge may underestimate readmission. This study reports that more than one-third of readmissions among patients younger than 65 years occurred after 30 days of discharge, with approximately 20% of patients readmitted to non–index hospitals. Early and late readmissions are influenced by different factors.

Thyroid fine-needle aspiration has traditionally been prepared using conventional smears (CS). Liquid-based preparations (LBP) have grown in popularity and yet, there is a lack of consensus about which method is superior. This review compared CS and LBP as an intervention in the management of thyroid nodules.

It has been previously demonstrated that racial disparities in trauma survival are dependent on age. Here, we demonstrate that significantly more young black patients were treated at low-performing facilities compared with young white and older black patients. However, facility-based differences do not explain the age-based racial disparities observed in the older population.

Health care providers are increasingly focused on cost containment. One potential target for cost containment is in-hospital management of acute cholecystitis. Ensuring cholecystectomy within 24 hours for cholecystitis could mitigate costs associated with longer hospitalizations. We sought to determine the cost consequences of delaying operative management.

IMPORTANCE: From February 21, 2006, through September 24, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) required, via the National Coverage Determination manual, that bariatric surgery be performed only in hospitals that had been designated as a Center of Excellence (COE). The effect of this certification requirement on access to bariatric surgery has been reported only anecdotally. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the COE certification requirement proved to be a barrier to patients’ access to bariatric surgical procedures. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Using the National Inpatient Sample, we retrospectively identified patients who underwent bariatric surgery from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2011. EXPOSURE: Bariatric surgery. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Logistic regression and χ2 tests were used to examine differences in patients’ sociodemographic characteristics over time. RESULTS: A total of 134 227 bariatric surgical patients were identified. The proportion of the population who were older than 64 years increased from 2.9% in 2006 to 7.0% in 2011 (P &lt; .001) and there was a decrease in the proportion of patients who were 49 years and younger (P &lt; .001). The percentage of female patients who underwent bariatric surgery decreased from 80.4% to 78.1% (P &lt; .001) and the percentage of patients who were classified as black, Hispanic, or Asian or Pacific Islander increased from 12.3% to 15.1% (P &lt; .001), 9.7% to 12.5% (P &lt; .001), and 0.3% to 0.4% (P &lt; .001), respectively. The proportion of patients with Medicare increased from 8.5% to 16.3% (P &lt; .001) and those with Medicaid from 6.6% to 11.8% (P &lt; .001). The percentage of patients with private insurance declined from 72.4% to 63.3% (P &lt; .001). The proportion of patients in the lowest income quartile increased from 20.7% to 22.9% (P &lt; .001) while those in the highest income quartile decreased from 25.8% to 23.9% (P &lt; .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The COE certification requirement by CMS did not appear to limit access to bariatric surgery. Future studies should determine whether CMS’s recent (2013) change in policy (ie, removing the mandatory COE certification for bariatric surgical insurance coverage) might sacrifice patient safety without addressing the real cause of limited access to health care.

IMPORTANCE: Significant health inequities persist among minority and socially disadvantaged patients. Better understanding of how unconscious biases affect clinical decision making may help to illuminate clinicians’ roles in propagating disparities. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether clinicians’ unconscious race and/or social class biases correlate with patient management decisions. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We conducted a web-based survey among 230 physicians from surgery and related specialties at an academic, level I trauma center from December 1, 2011, through January 31, 2012. INTERVENTIONS: We administered clinical vignettes, each with 3 management questions. Eight vignettes assessed the relationship between unconscious bias and clinical decision making. We performed ordered logistic regression analysis on the Implicit Association Test (IAT) scores and used multivariable analysis to determine whether implicit bias was associated with the vignette responses. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Differential response times (D scores) on the IAT as a surrogate for unconscious bias. Patient management vignettes varied by patient race or social class. Resulting D scores were calculated for each management decision. RESULTS: In total, 215 clinicians were included and consisted of 74 attending surgeons, 32 fellows, 86 residents, 19 interns, and 4 physicians with an undetermined level of education. Specialties included surgery (32.1%), anesthesia (18.1%), emergency medicine (18.1%), orthopedics (7.9%), otolaryngology (7.0%), neurosurgery (7.0%), critical care (6.0%), and urology (2.8%); 1.9% did not report a departmental affiliation. Implicit race and social class biases were present in most respondents. Among all clinicians, mean IAT D scores for race and social class were 0.42 (95% CI, 0.37-0.48) and 0.71 (95% CI, 0.65-0.78), respectively. Race and class scores were similar across departments (general surgery, orthopedics, urology, etc), race, or age. Women demonstrated less bias concerning race (mean IAT D score, 0.39 [95% CI, 0.29-0.49]) and social class (mean IAT D score, 0.66 [95% CI, 0.57-0.75]) relative to men (mean IAT D scores, 0.44 [95% CI, 0.37-0.52] and 0.82 [95% CI, 0.75-0.89], respectively). In univariate analyses, we found an association between race/social class bias and 3 of 27 possible patient-care decisions. Multivariable analyses revealed no association between the IAT D scores and vignette-based clinical assessments. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Unconscious social class and race biases were not significantly associated with clinical decision making among acute care surgical clinicians. Further studies involving real physician-patient interactions may be warranted.

IMPORTANCE: Based on evidence of survival benefit when initiating hemodialysis (HD) via arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or arteriovenous graft (AVG) vs hemodialysis catheter (HC), the National Kidney Foundation–Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative published practice guidelines in 1997 recommending 50% or greater AVF rates in incident HD patients. A decade after, lapses exist and the impact on HD outcomes is uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To assess the achievement of the practice goals for incident vascular access and the effects on HD outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted using the US Renal Data System. All patients with end-stage renal disease in the United States without prior renal replacement therapy who had incident vascular access for HD created between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2010 (N = 510 000) were included. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Incident vascular access use rates and mortality. Relative mortality was quantified using multivariable Cox proportional hazard models. Coarsened exact matching and propensity score–matching techniques were used to better account for confounding by indication. RESULTS: Of 510 000 patients included in this study, 82.6% initiated HD via HC, 14.0% via AVF, and 3.4% via AVG. Arteriovenous fistula use increased only minimally, from 12.2% in 2006 to 15.0% in 2010. Patients initiating HD with AVF had 35% lower mortality than those with HC (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.64-0.66; P &lt; .001). Those initiating HD with AVF had 23% lower mortality than those initiating with an HC while awaiting maturation of an AVF (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.76-0.79; P &lt; .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Current incident AVF practice falls exceedingly short years after recommendations were made in 1997. The impact of this shortcoming on mortality for patients with end-stage renal disease is enormous. Functioning permanent access at initiation of HD confers lower mortality even compared with patients temporized with an HC while awaiting maturation of permanent access. A change of current policies and structured multidisciplinary efforts are required to establish matured fistulae prior to HD to ameliorate this deficit in delivering care.

The burden of injury among older patients continues to grow and accounts for a disproportionate number of trauma deaths. We wished to determine if older trauma patients have better outcomes at centers that manage a higher proportion of older trauma patients.

Identifying predictors of mortality and surgical complications has led to outcome improvements for a variety of surgical conditions. However, similar work has yet to be done for factors affecting outcomes of emergency general surgery (EGS). The objective of this study was to determine the predictors of in-hospital complications and mortality among EGS patients.

ABSTRACTThis paper discusses some of the criticisms recently raised by Rafael Dobado-González about our work on real wages in the Americas in the long run. Although addressing a series of issues, Dobado mainly questions our use of the welfare ratio methodology to assess standards of living in colonial Spanish America. In this article we explain how, despite its limitations, this methodology provides a solid, transparent metric to compare economic development across space and time. In particular, welfare ratios present more economically relevant information on living standards than the commodity wages that Dobado prefers (Dobado González and García Montero 2014). We argue that Dobado fails to offer convincing evidence against our findings; hence, we stand by these results, which suggest that the divergence between North and Latin America began early in the colonial period.

Previous analyses demonstrate teaching hospitals to have worse outcomes raising concerns for quality of care. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes between teaching and nonteaching hospitals for emergency surgical conditions in a national sample.

IMPORTANCE: Hospital readmission after colorectal surgery is common, with reported 30-day readmission rates ranging from 10% to 14%. Readmission has become a major hospital quality metric, but it is unclear whether there is much difference in readmission among hospitals after appropriate risk adjustment. OBJECTIVE: To assess the variability in risk-adjusted readmission rates among hospitals after colorectal surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We performed a hierarchical multivariable logistic regression analysis of observational data obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare linked database, a nationally representative cancer registry. We studied 44 822 patients who underwent colorectal resection for cancer at 1401 US hospitals from January 1, 1997, through December 31, 2002. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Variation in risk-adjusted 30-day readmission among hospitals. RESULTS: The median age of the study patients was 78 years (interquartile range [IQR], 72-83 years). The overall 30-day readmission rate was 12.3% (n = 5502). Looking at hospitals that performed at least 5 operations annually, we found marked variation in raw readmission rates, with a range of 0% to 41.2% (IQR, 9.5%-14.8%). However, after adjusting for patient characteristics, comorbidities, and operation types in a hierarchical model, no significant variability was found in readmission rates among hospitals, with a range of 11.3% to 13.2% (IQR, 12.1%-12.4%). Furthermore, the 95% CI for hospital-specific readmission overlapped the overall mean at every hospital. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Little risk-adjusted variation exists in hospital readmission rates after colorectal surgery. The use of readmission rates as a high-stakes quality measure for payment adjustment or public reporting across surgical specialties should proceed cautiously and must include appropriate risk adjustment.

Recent studies have found that unconscious biases may influence physicians’ clinical decision making. The objective of our study was to determine, using clinical vignettes, if unconscious race and class biases exist specifically among traumaacute care surgeons and, if so, whether those biases impact surgeons’ clinical decision making.

We sought to identify current US hospital practices for feeding tube placement in ischemic stroke.

IMPORTANCE: Racial disparities in survival after trauma are well described for patients younger than 65 years. Similar information among older patients is lacking because existing trauma databases do not include important patient comorbidity information. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether racial disparities in trauma survival persist in patients 65 years or older. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Trauma patients were identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (January 1, 2003, through December 30, 2010) using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes. Injury severity was ascertained by applying the Trauma Mortality Prediction Model, and patient comorbidities were quantified using the Charlson Comorbidity Index. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: In-hospital mortality after trauma for blacks vs whites for younger (16-64 years of age) and older (≥65 years of age) patients was compared using 3 different statistical methods: univariable logistic regression, multivariable logistic regression with and without clustering for hospital effects, and coarsened exact matching. Model covariates included age, sex, insurance status, type and intent of injury, injury severity, head injury severity, and Charlson Comorbidity Index. RESULTS: A total of 1 073 195 patients were included (502 167 patients 16-64 years of age and 571 028 patients ≥65 years of age). Most older patients were white (547 325 [95.8%]), female (406 158 [71.1%]), and insured (567 361 [99.4%]) and had Charlson Comorbidity Index scores of 1 or higher (323 741 [56.7%]). The unadjusted odds ratios (ORs) for death in blacks vs whites were 1.35 (95% CI, 1.28-1.42) for patients 16 to 64 years of age and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.93-1.08) for patients 65 years or older. After risk adjustment, racial disparities in survival persisted in the younger black group (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.13-1.30) but were reversed in the older group (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.76-0.90). This finding was consistent across all 3 statistical methods. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Different racial disparities in survival after trauma exist between white and black patients depending on their age group. Although younger white patients have better outcomes after trauma than younger black patients, older black patients have better outcomes than older white patients. Exploration of this paradoxical finding may lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms that cause disparities in trauma outcomes.

Trauma centers are currently benchmarked on mortality outcomes alone. However, pay-for-performance measures may financially penalize centers based on complications. Our objective was to determine whether the results would be similar to the current standard method of mortality-based benchmarking if trauma centers were profiled on complications.

To evaluate the hypothesis that educational attainment, a marker of cognitive reserve, is a predictor of disability-free recovery (DFR) after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

The National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) is an invaluable resource to study trauma outcomes. Recent evidence suggests the existence of great variability in covariate handling and inclusion in multivariable analyses using NTDB, leading to differences in the quality of published studies and potentially in benchmarking trauma centers. Our objectives were to identify the best possible mortality risk adjustment model (RAM) and to define the minimum number of covariates required to adequately predict trauma mortality in the NTDB.

Computed tomographic angiography is often used for preoperative mapping. The authors aimed to systematically assess breast reconstruction outcomes after abdominally based free flaps planned with preoperative computed tomographic angiography versus Doppler ultrasonography.

Studies have demonstrated that relative value units (RVUs) do not appropriately reflect cognitive effort or time spent in patient care, but RVU continues to be used as a standardized system to track productivity. It is unknown how well RVU reflects the effort of acute care surgeons. Our objective was to determine if RVUs adequately reflect increased surgeon effort required to treat emergent versus elective patients receiving similar procedures.

IMPORTANCE No national standardized guidelines exist to date for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis after pediatric trauma. While the risk of VTE after trauma is generally lower for children than for adults, the precise age at which the risk of VTE increases is not clear. OBJECTIVE To identify the age at which the risk of VTE after trauma increases from the low rate seen in children toward the higher rate seen in adults. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between age and the odds of VTE when adjusting for other VTE risk factors. Participants included 402 329 patients 21 years or younger who were admitted following traumatic injury between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2010, at US trauma centers participating in the National Trauma Data Bank. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Diagnosis of VTE as a complication during hospital admission. RESULTS Venous thromboembolism was diagnosed in 1655 patients (0.4%). Those having VTE were more severely injured compared with those not having VTE and more frequently required critical care, blood transfusion, central line placement, mechanical ventilation, and surgery. The risk of VTE was low among younger patients, occurring in 0.1% of patients 12 years or younger, but increased to 0.3% in patients aged 13 to 15 years and to 0.8% in patients 16 years or older. These findings remained when adjusting for other factors, with patients aged 13 to 15 years (adjusted odds ratio, 1.96, 95% CI 1.53-2.52; P &lt; .001) and patients aged 16 to 21 years (adjusted odds ratio, 3.77; 95% CI, 3.00-4.75; P &lt; .001) having a significantly higher odds of being diagnosed as having VTE compared with patients aged 0 to 12 years. These findings were consistent across the level of injury severity and the type of trauma center. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The risk of VTE varies considerably across patient age and increases most dramatically at age 16 years, after a smaller increase at age 13 years. These findings can be used to guide future research into the development of standardized guidelines for VTE prophylaxis after pediatric trauma.

IMPORTANCE It is not known whether hospital and surgeon volumes have an association with readmission among patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy. OBJECTIVE To evaluate patient-, surgeon-, and hospital-level factors associated with readmission. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Retrospective cohort study using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)–Medicare data with cases diagnosed from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2005, and followed up until December 2007. Population-based cancer registry data were linked to Medicare data for the corresponding patients. A total of 1488 unique individuals who underwent a pancreatoduodenectomy were identified. INTERVENTIONS Undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy at hospitals classified by volume of pancreatoduodenectomy procedures performed at the facility were either very-low, low, medium, or high volume. Undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy by surgeons classified by volume of pancreatoduodenectomy procedures performed by the surgeon were either very-low, low, medium, or high volume. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES In-hospital morbidity, mortality, and 30-day readmission were examined. RESULTS The median age was 74 years, and 1436 patients (96.5%) had a least 1 medical comorbidity. Patients were treated by 575 distinct surgeons at 298 distinct hospitals. Length of stay was longest (median, 17 days) and 90-day mortality highest (17.2%) at very-low-volume hospitals (P &lt; .001). Among all pancreatoduodenectomy patients, 292 (21.3%) were readmitted within 30 days of discharge. There was no effect of surgeon volume and a modest effect of hospital volume (odds ratio for highest- vs lowest-volume quartiles, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.22-2.80; P = .02). The presence of significant preoperative medical comorbidities was associated with an increased risk for hospital readmission after pancreatoduodenectomy. A comorbidity score greater than 13 had a pronounced effect on the chance of readmission following pancreatoduodenectomy (odds ratio, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.56-2.71; P &lt; .001). The source of variation in readmission was primarily attributable to patient-related factors (95.4%), while hospital factors accounted for 4.3% of the variability and physician factors for only 0.3%. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Nearly 1 in 5 patients are readmitted following pancreatoduodenectomy. While variation in readmission is, in part, attributable to differences among hospitals, the largest share of variation was found at the patient level.

To investigate predictors of outcome in patients with all-cause encephalitis receiving care in the intensive care unit.

Currently, trauma center quality benchmarking is based on risk adjusted observed-expected (OE) mortality ratios. However, failure to account for number of patients has been recently shown to produce unreliable mortality estimates, especially for low-volume centers. This study explores the effect of reliability adjustment (RA), a statistical technique developed to eliminate bias introduced by low volume on risk-adjusted trauma center benchmarking.

Compared with elective surgical procedures, emergency procedures are associated with higher cost, morbidity, and mortality. This study seeks to investigate potential state-by-state variations in the incidence of emergent versus elective colon resections.

Previous studies have demonstrated racial and ethnic disparities associated with the outcomes of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair, although little is known about the influence of race and ethnicity on the costs associated with these disparities. The current study was undertaken to examine the influence of race and ethnicity on the outcomes of endovascular (EVAR) and open repair (open AAA) of unruptured AAA and its effect on costs in contemporary practice.

The study of regional variations in costs of care has been used to identify areas of savings for several diseases and conditions. This study investigates similar potential regional differences in the cost of adult trauma care using an all-payer, nationally representative sample.

Previous studies have shown that high serum ceramides are associated with memory impairment and hippocampal volume loss, but have not examined dementia as an outcome. The aim of this study was to examine whether serum ceramides and sphingomyelins (SM) were associated with an increased risk of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer disease (AD).

Optimum quantification of injury severity remains an imprecise science with a need for improvement. The accuracy of the criterion standard Injury Severity Score (ISS) worsens as a patient’s injury severity increases, especially among patients with penetrating trauma. The objective of this study was to comprehensively compare the mortality prediction ability of three anatomic injury severity indices: the ISS, the New ISS (NISS), and the DRG International Classification of Diseases—9th Rev.—Trauma Mortality Prediction Model (TMPM-ICD-9), a recently developed contemporary injury assessment model.