Editor's Note A study of 14 South Carolina hospitals found the use of a 19-item surgical checklist developed by the World Health Organization resulted in a 22% decrease in postoperative mortality over 3 years, compared with hospitals not participating in the checklist program. In the 14 participating hospitals, mortality was…

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Editor's Note New persistent postoperative opioid use is common and does not differ between minor and major procedures, but, instead, it is associated with behavioral and pain disorders, this study finds. Of 36,177 elective surgery patients assessed, about 6% filled opioid drug prescriptions between 90 and 180 days after the…

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Editor's Note This study finds that the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Surgical Risk Calculator serves its intended purpose of providing a general purpose risk calculator, which is applicable across many surgical domains, using easily understood and generally available predictive information. The Surgical Risk…

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Editor's Note In a March 21 Safety Alert, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its data on breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) to reflect the World Health Organization designation of BIA-ALCL as a rare T-cell lymphoma that can develop following breast implants. At this time the data…

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Editor's Note Managing appendicitis with antibiotics on an outpatient basis shows promise as a safe, effective, lower-cost alternative to surgery, this study finds. Of 30 patients involved in the trial, 15 were randomized to antibiotics and 14 to appendectomy. A total of 14 patients in the antibiotic group were discharged from…

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Editor's Note Opioid overdose is a rare but potentially lethal complication after elective inpatient surgical procedures, and the incidence is increasing, this study finds. Of 11,317,958 patients analyzed, 9,458 (0.1%) had a postoperative opioid overdose, and the frequency doubled during the study period (2001 to 2011) from 0.6 to 1.1…

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Editor's Note Selective nonoperative management of abdominal gunshot wounds is an acceptable and effective treatment for patients with less severe injuries that do not involve major organ damage or significant blood loss, this study finds. Of 922 patients with abdominal gunshot wounds analyzed, 707 had an immediate laparotomy and 215…

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Editor's Note Even mild postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are associated with increased early postoperative mortality, ICU admission, and length of stay, finds this study. Of 1,202 ASA physical status 3 patients from seven academic medical centers included in the analysis, at least one PPC occurred in 401 patients. All patients…

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Editor's Note In hospitals that care for a lower volume of frail patients, frail surgical patients have increased postoperative mortality and failure to rescue, finds this study. Of 63,381 frail patients analyzed, 30-day mortality in the lowest volume quintile was 1.1%, compared to 0.9% in the highest. Adjusted analysis found…

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Editor's Note In hospital delay of appendectomy in children was not associated with an increased rate of perforated appendix, this study from Sweden finds. Of 2,756 children who had an appendectomy for acute appendicitis, 661 (24%) had a histopathologic diagnosis of perforated appendix. In multivariate analysis, increased time to surgery…

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