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In the offer of health care services, errors may arise that are repeated, so when one has occurred, it is essential to reflect on the elements that could cause it and act on them; however, in general, there is a natural tendency to hide them, mainly due to fear of sanctions or lawsuits. The ethics of clinical safety finds it essential to reveal errors, including almost errors or those without significant consequences, betting on transparent management of them. No error should be filed, since its review in an honest and open manner is not only an ethical obligation, but it can also help to lessen its effects and improve the doctor-patient relationship. Achieving safe medical care requires continuous learning about how the different components of the system interact, this implies putting into practice the behaviors that have shown their effectiveness to reduce the probability of the appearance of faults and errors, increase their detection and reduce their consequences, as well as continuing to investigate the factors that contribute to improving patient safety and the quality of care. In this paper we analyze the incidents related to patient safety, through statistical information from the Comisión Nacional de Arbitraje Médico (CONAMED), referring to complaint files concluded by arbitral award in the 2012-2016 period., (Copyright: © 2020 Permanyer.)

Background: There are no open population epidemiological studies to determine the true prevalence of thyroid nodules in the Valley of Mexico. The aim of this investigation was to determine prevalence., Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional, observational, descriptive study in 2401 open population subjects in the Valley of Mexico. All subjects were at least 18 years of age with no clinical history of thyroid disease. Variables analyzed were age, gender, thyroid nodule identified by neck palpation or neck ultrasound, TSH levels, cytological diagnosis and histopathological diagnosis in case of clinical thyroid nodule detection. Percentages as a summary measure for qualitative variables and proportions and chi-square for independent variables were used for statistical analysis., Results: Included were 2401 subjects with a mean age of 39 years (82.4% female, 17.6% male). Thirty-four (1.4%) thyroid nodules were detected by palpation and 471 (19.6%) by ultrasound. The 34 palpable thyroid nodules corresponded to 16 (47.2%) colloid goiters, 8 (23.5%) follicular adenomas, 7 (20.5%) Hashimoto's thyroiditis, 2 (5.9%) papillary carcinomas and 1 (2.9%) oxiphilic cell adenoma. Nonpalpable thyroid nodules detected by ultrasound did not develop illness at 2-year follow-up. TSH was normal in 1620 (67.4%), high in 515 (21.5%) and low in 266 (11.1%) patients. There was no relationship between TSH levels and final diagnosis of the 34 palpable nodules (p >0.05)., Conclusions: Prevalence of palpable thyroid nodule in the Valley of Mexico is 1.4%; 5.9% of these are due to papillary thyroid cancer. TSH levels do not correlate with the presence or cause of the thyroid nodule.

Background: Surgical extension for treatment of patients with low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma is still controversial. We undertook this study to assess if there is a difference in recurrence between patients undergoing total thyroidectomy plus adjuvant therapy and patients treated with only partial thyroidectomy., Methods: We conducted a longitudinal, observational, analytical study in patients with histopathological diagnosis of low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma followed for at least 10 years. Patients were divided into two groups: Group 1: Patients treated with total thyroidectomy plus adjuvant therapy (TT) and Group 2: Patients treated with only partial thyroidectomy without adjuvant therapy (HT). Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used., Results: AMES: 184 patients, recurrence in 5/23 HT and 7/161 TT (p = 0.0016); MACIS: 170 patients, recurrence in 5/24 HT and 5/146 TT (p = 0.0008); DeGroot: 92 patients, recurrence in 3/19 HT and 2/73 TT (p = 0.0254); TNM: 150 patients, recurrence in 5/22 HT and 7/128 TT (p = 0.0058). The time interval for local recurrences was higher in comparison to regional recurrences (p <0.05). In all classifications, recurrences occur mainly with regional metastatic disease (60%). Multifocality, bilateral disease and extracapsular disease showed no statistical difference. There was one incidental injury to a recurrent laryngeal nerve and this was repaired during the same surgical procedure. There was no morbidity due to hypoparathyroidism., Conclusions: Patients classified as low risk according to any of the studied classifications have a higher risk for recurrence when treated with hemithyroidectomy than when treated with total thyroidectomy plus adjuvant therapy.

Background: Elective surgery for uncomplicated peptic ulcer has shown a significant decrease; however, complications such as perforation and obstruction persist and require urgent surgical management. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with early postoperative complications and mortality of patients admitted to the emergency department with perforated peptic ulcer., Methods: We performed a clinical, retrospective, cross-sectional and descriptive study of patients who were treated at the General Hospital of Mexico with a diagnosis of perforated peptic ulcer from January 2006 to December 2008. Thirty patients were included in the study. We studied several clinical findings upon admission to the emergency department and intraoperative patient findings in order to determine the association of those with early postoperative complications and mortality., Results: We studied 30 patients with an average age of 57.07 years (± 14.2 years). The male:female ratio was 2:1. We found that the risk of developing postoperative complications was 66.7% and is significantly influenced by time of onset of abdominal pain prior to admission, bloating, septic shock and blood type O positive. Mortality was 16.7% and was correlated with the presence of septic shock on admission. The surgical procedure performed was primary closure with Graham patch in 86.6%. Average hospital stay was 12.8 days., Conclusions: The presence of early postoperative complications is associated with time of onset of abdominal pain before admission, abdominal distension, blood type O positive and the presence of septic shock on admission.

Background: Amebiasis is a worldwide health problem that mainly affects developing countries. Invasive amebiasis tends to develop complications, and among these, perforation of the colon, although infrequent (1.9-9.1%), is the most lethal. Surgical treatment in these cases should be carried out in a timely fashion prior to the presentation of systemic repercussions or death. In the present study, we analyzed a total of 122 cases of invasive amebiasis-associated colon perforation., Methods and Study Design: We conducted a clinical, retrospective, and observational study and presented cases of colonic perforation observed over the past 30 years at the Medical-Surgical Emergency Service of the Mexico City-based Hospital General de México OD during the 1970-1999 period., Results: During this time, a total of 19,916 emergency abdominal surgeries were performed. One hundred twenty-two of these procedures corresponded to cases of colon perforation by ameba, which represents 0.6%; 80 patients were men (65.6%) and 42 were women (34.4%), with an average age of 48 years. Multiple colon perforation was 74%, with right colon the most affected (90.5%). Depending on the perforation's extension and localization, right hemicolectomy with ileostomy were performed in 53 patients (43.45%), subtotal colectomy with ileostomy in 43 (35.25%), left hemicolectomy with transverse colostomy in 12 (9.83%), exteriorization of perforated left colon (stoma) in 13 (10.65%), and primary closure with exteriorization in one patient (0.8%). Post-operative complications were present in 48 patients (39.3%), and 20 cases were related with the creation of a stoma. Eighteen of these cases were due to persistent abdominal sepsis and ten due to toxic colon; the latter correspond solely to patients with initial nonresective treatment. General mortality was 40%, with 32% (17 of 53 cases) of mortality in those submitted to right hemicolestomy, 16.7% (two of 12) of left hemicolestomy, 44.2% (19 of 43) in those in whom a subtotal colectomy was performed, with 76.9% (ten of 13) patients with exteriorization of the perforated right colon, and with 100% (one of one patient) mortality with primary closure., Conclusions: Perforation is the most frequent surgical complication of invasive amebiasis of the colon, occurring principally in masculine gender and in the fourth decade of life. Resection and stoma creation is the procedure of choice that can resolve the septic focus from the first surgical procedure, depending on the general status of the patient. However, morbidity and mortality are high, and there is a tendency for these to be lower on comparing initial cases with those with recently conducted surgical procedures.

To evaluate syringe pressure irrigation of the surgical wound to decrease its infection after appendectomy, we designed a randomized control trial at the Emergency Department of Mexico City General Hospital, including 350 patients with acute abdomen suggestive of appendicitis, without any other infection clinically evident. The trial was randomized into 2 groups. Group I patients received prophylactic systemic antibiotics before surgery. Group II patients received the same prophylactic systemic antibiotics plus syringe pressure irrigation of the surgical wound with 300 ml of saline solution using a 20-ml syringe with 19-gauge intravenous (IV) catheter to measure the incidence of postoperative wound infection. In our results, 283 patients had appendicitis. Of these, 188 were uncomplicated (66.4%) and 95 (33.6%) were complicated. Of the complicated cases, 40 were assigned to group I, and of these, 29 (72. 5%) developed wound infection. In group II there were 55 patients and only 9 (16.3%) developed wound infection after syringe pressure irrigation [p = 0.000001; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.02-0.22]. We conclude that syringe pressure irrigation of the surgical wound after appendectomy contributes significantly to decrease the incidence of postoperative wound infection in complicated cases. It is a cheap, safe, and accessible method in any surgical room.