Background Enhanced recovery pathways (ERPs) after pediatric colorectal surgery have been shown to improve patient experience without compromising outcomes. ERPs for this population are also associated with reduced admission costs, but their economic impact in large populations is unclear. We present the first formal cost-effectiveness analysis of a pediatric colorectal surgery ERP from the payer perspective. Methods We compared the cost-effectiveness of an ERP versus standard care in a pediatric patient requiring colorectal surgery without additional comorbid conditions, using a Markov microsimulation model to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for each intervention. We sourced costs and health utilities from the peer-reviewed literature and transition-state probabilities from institutional primary data. We modeled our analysis from a US payer perspective over a 30-day time horizon and a willingness-to-pay ratio of $100,000/quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained by either intervention. Results We simulated individual patient outcomes using published clinical outcomes for patients managed with and without an ERP (microsimulation). The statistical software evaluates the variability across 10,000 microsimulations and repeats the modeling 1,000 times (iterations). The software then reports the most likely outcome based on the summarized results. We found that our ERP was a cost-effective alternative to standard care in over 86% of iterations. On average, an admission with ERP costs $5,625 less and provides a health utility benefit of 0.002 QALY over 30 days compared to standard care. Our model was sensitive to the costs of acute-care hospital stays, celecoxib costs, and time to solid oral (PO) intake. Conclusions In a first-of-its-kind cost-effectiveness analysis of ERPs for pediatric surgery, ERPs were both less costly and better for quality of life than standard care. These findings support the continued development and implementation of ERPs for pediatric patients requiring colorectal surgery, as well as the referral of such patients to centers with ERP programs.

BackgroundEnhanced recovery pathways (ERP) have been shown to decrease length of stay and opioid utilization for pediatric patients undergoing colorectal surgery without compromising outcomes. However, the cost benefits of ERP implementation have not been quantified. We sought to describe, for the first time, the resulting fiscal benefits of ERP implementation at a single-center academic hospital, aiming to highlight the financial benefits to hospitals and payers of ERP utilization.MethodsWe conducted a single-institution retrospective cohort study of patients aged 2-18 who underwent planned colorectal surgery before and after our institution implemented a colorectal ERP. Our primary outcome was total hospital admission costs based on hospital length of stay, narcotic use, crystalloid infusion, and multimodal pain medication use. We sourced our cost data from peer-reviewed literature and publicly available cost data. To account for potential confounding, we created a multivariable Gamma regression for cost using the Akaike Information Criterion selection method.ResultsOur retrospective review identified 345 eligible patients who underwent planned colorectal surgery between 2014 and 2024, with a median cost savings of $5689 per case. After adjusting for cofounders and employing our AIC model selection, we found that ERP implementation was associated with an overall 9% reduction in total admission costs compared to patients managed before the ERP (IRR 0.91, 95% CI 0.84-0.99, P = 0.038).ConclusionsThis is the first study to quantify cost savings after ERP implementation for pediatric colorectal surgery, and savings are independently associated with pathway exposure. To determine whether these single-institution savings are generalizable to other children's hospitals a formal additional ERP data from other institutions and a formal cost-effectiveness analysis are needed.

Introduction The burden of traumatic injury in the United States continues to outpace the rate of trauma surgeons entering practice within a larger surgical workforce crisis. Furthermore, a trauma length of stay can be prolonged by many nonsurgical factors, including nonsurgical procedures, medical comorbidities, and socioeconomic barriers to discharge. We hypothesize that using a time-series analysis to predict the likelihood of surgeon-directed procedures can aid trauma centers in redesigning the trauma workflow and more efficiently deploying surgical resources. Methods We performed a single-institution, retrospective cohort study, including adult (≥18 years) trauma patients admitted to a level 1 trauma center between 2018 and 2022. Hospital billing and charge data were collected to determine procedure-level data. Procedures were classified as surgeon-directed or non-surgeon-directed. Probabilities were generated based on the likelihood of patients remaining hospitalized and requiring a surgeon-directed procedure. Results 7382 patients underwent 3138 unique procedures. Of these patients, 6095 (82.6%) had at least one surgeon-directed procedure; 1287 (17.4%) had no surgeon-directed procedure. The length of stay was marginally longer in patients who underwent surgeon-directed procedures. For all patients, the likelihood of needing a surgeon-directed procedure declines each day of admission but stabilizes after day 5. Conclusions In our population, the surgical to nonsurgical transition during a trauma admission occurs after day 5. However, this may vary across institutions and not apply to patients requiring complex surgical intervention. Our methods can be used to structure and optimize the deployment of surgical resources only during the period with the highest surgical need.

Background: There is a lack of consensus on the optimal antibiotic regimen for pediatric appendicitis, and conflicting data exist regarding the need for extended-spectrum use in this population. We implemented an antibiotic stewardship program with a standard, preferred antibiotic regimen for both uncomplicated and complicated appendicitis and hypothesized that clinical outcomes would be equivalent. Methods: This is a single-institution, retrospective study of pediatric patients (≤18 y) who underwent appendectomy for acute appendicitis between October 2015 and May 2022. We used institutional data from our stewardship program supplemented by manual chart review. Patients were assigned to pre- and post-pathway cohorts on the basis of appendectomy date. Patients were further stratified on the basis of whether they met criteria for complicated appendicitis on the basis of intra-operative findings. Results: There were 752 patients that were included: 346 (46.0%) in the pre-pathway cohort and 406 (54.0%) in the post-pathway cohort. The pre-pathway cohort had a higher rate of complicated appendicitis (40.2 vs. 25.6%). However, pre- and post-pathway cohorts had similar rates of post-operative infections, readmissions, and reoperations. When separated by complicated operative findings, patients with uncomplicated appendicitis had a shorter length of stay post-pathway implementation (p < 0.001). After controlling for complicated operative findings and pertinent covariates, the preferred antibiotic regimen was independently associated with decreased odds of post-operative organ space surgical site infections (SSI) (adjusted odds ratio 0.22, 95% CI: 0.05-0.99). Discussion: Antibiotic stewardship to increase the use of a standardized, preferred antibiotic regimen did not result in worse clinical outcomes. The preferred regimen was significantly associated with a decreased rate of organ space SSI, even when controlling for complicated operative findings. The mechanism of this finding requires additional study.

Introduction The impact of diverting ileostomy in adults with ulcerative colitis (UC) undergoing ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) is unclear. This study uses a novel approach with population-level data to identify patients with diverting ileostomy at the time of IPAA and determine the impact of diverting ileostomy on postoperative outcomes.Methods Using the International Business Machines (IBM) MarketScan (R) database, adults (18-64 years old) with a diagnosis of UC who underwent IPAA between 2000 and 2019 were examined. Patients were assigned to the diverting ileostomy (DI) cohort or no-DI cohort based on the presence of an ostomy closure code in the 1-year following their IPAA. Rates of ileostomy formation and readmissions were quantified and outcomes between cohorts compared.Results There were 540 patients in the no-DI and 2494 in the DI cohort. There were regional differences in the rate of ostomy creation, but the overall rate of ostomy creation remained stable across years. Patients with no-DI vs DI had a longer index length of stay (LOS) (7 vs 6 days, P = .001). Adverse postoperative outcomes did not differ between cohorts. Diversion did not independently affect the likelihood of a 30-day readmission, and since 2000, readmission rates have declined for all IPAA patients.Discussion This is the first study to capture population-level data on the effect of diversion at the time of IPAA for adult UC patients. This study demonstrates that the rate of fecal diversion at the time of IPAA has remained stable over time, but readmission rates have declined.

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Objective: To determine the utility of Autologous Skin Cell Suspension (ASCS) in closing full-thickness (FT) defects from injury and infection. Background: Although ASCS has documented success in closing partial-thickness burns, far less is known about the efficacy of ASCS in FT defects. Methods: Fifty consecutive patients with FT defects (burn 17, necrotizing infection 13, crush 7, degloving 5, and other 8) underwent closure with the bilayer technique of 3:1 widely meshed, thin, split-thickness skin graft and 80:1 expanded ASCS. End points were limb salvage rate, donor site reduction, operative and hospital throughput, incidence of complications, and re-epithelialization by 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Results: Definitive wound closure was achieved in 76%, 94%, and 98% of patients, at 4, 8, and 12 weeks, respectively. Limb salvage occurred in 42/43 patients (10 upper and 33 lower extremities). The mean area grafted was 435 cm2; donor site size was 212 cm2, representing a potential reduction of 50%. The mean surgical time was 71 minutes; the total operating room time was 124 minutes. The mean length of stay was 26.4 days; the time from grafting to discharge was 11.2 days. Four out of 50 patients (8%) required 6 reoperations for bleeding (1), breakdown (4), and amputation (1). Four out of 50 patients (8%) developed hypertrophic scarring, which responded to silicone sheeting (2) and laser resurfacing (2). The mean follow-up was 92.7 days. Conclusions: When used for the closure of FT wounds, point-of-care ASCS is effective and safe. Benefits include rapid re-epithelialization, high rate of limb salvage, reduction of donor site size and morbidity, and low incidence of hypertrophic scarring.

The use of enhanced recovery protocols (ERP) in surgery delivers standardized, repeatable, and measurable care that improves clinical outcomes for patients. These pathways address the surgical care episode, from preoperative surgical readiness, during the surgical admission, until after discharge. Standardized pathways have been well-studied in adults, and emerging data in children show promise. However, data reporting has been targeted toward specific study populations and may be a barrier to broader pathway implementation. In this review, we discuss implementation of pediatric ERPs, examine outcome studies and published inclusion and exclusion criteria, and describe strategies for broader implementation of pediatric ERPs.

BACKGROUND Prevention of chronic disease necessitates early diagnosis and intervention. In young adults, a trauma admission may be an early contact with the health care system, representing an opportunity for screening and intervention. This study estimates the prevalence of previously diagnosed disease and undiagnosed disease (UD)—diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, and alcohol and substance use—in a young adult trauma population. We determine factors associated with UD and examine outcomes in patients with UD. METHODS This is a multicenter, retrospective cohort study of adult trauma patients 18 to 40 years old admitted to participating Level I trauma centers between January 2018 and December 2020. Three Level 1 trauma centers in a single state participated in the study. Trauma registry data and chart review were examined for evidence of previously diagnosed disease or UD. Patient demographics and outcomes were compared between cohorts. Multivariable regression modeling was performed to assess risk factors associated with any UD. RESULTS The analysis included 6,307 admitted patients. Of these, 4,843 (76.8%) had evidence of at least 1 UD, most commonly hypertension and obesity. In multivariable models, factors most associated with risk of UD were age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98–0.99), male sex (aOR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.25–1.63), and uninsured status (aOR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.38–1.80). Only 24.5% of patients had evidence of a primary care provider (PCP), which was not associated with decreased odds of UD. Clinical outcomes were significantly associated with the presence of chronic disease. Of those with UD and no PCP, only 11.2% were given a referral at discharge. CONCLUSION In the young adult trauma population, the UD burden is high, especially among patients with traditional sociodemographic risk factors and even in patients with a PCP. Because of short hospital stays in this population, the full impact of UD may not be visible during a trauma admission. Early chronic disease diagnosis in this population will require rigorous, standard screening measures initiated within trauma centers. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic and Epidemiological; Level IV.

Background Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathways improve healthcare quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness. We hypothesized that the RAND Method (a hybrid Delphi approach), involving anonymous sequential surveys and face-to-face meetings, would allow for more rapid agreement and initiation of new ERAS pathways. Methods Using the ERAS Society guidelines for cesarean section as a baseline, our institution's ERAS Leadership Team (ELT) compiled published literature and institutional practices to design a 32-component survey that was sent to obstetricians, nurse midwives, anesthesiologists, pharmacists, and nurses. Components that did not reach 90% consensus were included in a second survey the following week, and meetings were held to review results. At the conclusion of this process, time to agreement was retrospectively compared to the colorectal ERAS pathway process at this institution. Results ERAS pathway components were compiled and reviewed by 121 stakeholders at 7 hospitals using iterative surveys with review meetings over a 13-week period. Survey response rates were 61% and 50% in the initial and follow-up surveys, respectively. There was agreement on 28/32 and 32/32 items on the initial and follow-up surveys. Using the RAND Method, time to agreement decreased by 54.1% (24 vs 13 weeks) compared to prior system-wide efforts to standardize the colorectal surgery ERAS pathway. Discussion With rapidly expanding healthcare systems, effective methods to gain consensus and adopt ERAS pathways are critical to implementation of ERAS guidelines. We demonstrate that the RAND Method allows for a transparent and efficient means of agreement across a diverse group of clinicians practicing in several settings.

Social determinants of health may mediate health disparities, but these variables are not routinely measured in clinical practice. This is a retrospective, single-institution study that evaluates the effect of area deprivation on outcomes after trauma admission. Adult trauma patients 18 years and older were eligible. Patients were stratified into high-area (HSD) or low-area (LSD) social deprivation cohorts using zip code of residence. Regression modeling was used to explain the association between HSD, sociodemographic characteristics, and clinical outcomes. Patients who resided in HSD areas made up 29.5% of the study population, were more likely to be younger, male, and identify as a non-White race. Patients in the HSD cohort were also less likely to be admitted to the ICU (OR 0.84, CI 0.71-0.98) and discharged with additional services (OR 0.73, CI 0.57-0.94). We found that independently, area social deprivation affects trauma outcomes and the resources a patient is provided after discharge.

BACKGROUND:Best-practice models delivering surgical care in the preoperative setting are unknown. In April 2018, we established a Same-Day Clinic (SDC) to increase the access and efficiency of general surgical care delivery.METHODS:This is a single-institution retrospective cohort study. We included patients who underwent elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy, inguinal or umbilical hernia repair. 112 patients were seen in the year prior to clinic creation; 84 were seen in the year following clinic creation.RESULTS:After clinic creation, the percentage of patients referred following an emergency department encounter decreased from 33.4 to 17.9%. Patients referred from primary care encounters increased from 28.6 to 44%. Patients who underwent pre-referral imaging decreased from 58.9% to 44%. The SDC cohort was seen 11 days sooner (40 vs. 29d).CONCLUSION:The SDC increases access and decreases wait times to surgical treatment. It strengthens referral networks for traditionally underserved populations and reduces the burden of non-necessary preoperative imaging.

Introduction: Blood loss is a hallmark of traumatic injury. Massive transfusion, historically defined as the replacement by transfusion of 10 units of packed red blood cells (PRBCs) in 4 h, is a response to uncontrolled hemorrhage. We sought to identify blood transfusion thresholds in which predicted mortality exceeds 50%.Methods: We analyzed the 2017-2019 National Trauma Database. Inclusion criteria included patients >= 18 y who received >= 1 unit of PRBCs. Statistical analysis included bivariate analysis, logistic regression for mortality, and adjusted predicted probability modeling was utilized.Results: We identified 61,676 patients for analysis. The 50% predicted mortality for all pa-tients was 31 PRBC units. The 50% predicted mortality was 6 units of PRBCs for elderly trauma patients 80 y and older.Conclusions: Blood remains as scarce resource in hospitals especially with trauma. Patients receiving a massive transfusion over a short period of time may exhaust blood bank supply with diminishing survival benefit. Surgeons should be judicious regarding continued blood usage once the 50% predicted mortality threshold is reached.(c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Introduction: In pediatric ulcerative colitis (UC), surgery is often postponed until disease is life-threat-ening or refractory to immune suppression. In these settings, diverting ileostomy (DI) is theorized to have a protective effect on the new anastomosis. However, analyses have been performed only in single -institution series and the true impact of performing DI at the time of IPAA on postoperative outcomes is unclear. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study using claims data from the International Business Machines (IBM) MarketScan (R) database. Patients were sorted to the DI group if they carried a CPT code for ostomy closure within 6 months of index procedure. We examined demographics, preoperative risk factors, and performed regression analysis to compare 30-day postoperative outcomes between groups. Results: We identified 317 patients <= 18yo that underwent IPAA procedure and met inclusion criteria from 2000 to 2019. Of these, 238 patients were assigned to the IPAA + DI cohort and 79 patients were assigned to the IPAA cohort. Adverse outcomes were comparable between cohorts. Surgical site infection (SSI) rates between IPAA and IPAA + DI were 10.1 vs. 11.3% (p = 0.67). Rates of intra-abdominal drainage procedures were 3.8 vs. 2.1% (p = 0.39). The rates of 30-day readmissions were 16.5 vs. 19.3% (p = 0.39). Creation of a DI was not associated with higher odds of 30-day readmission (OR = 1.4, p = 0.31). Conclusion: Creating a DI necessitates an additional surgery for closure and is not associated with decreased adverse outcomes. There is still a role for multicenter studies to define which patient pop-ulations may benefit from diversion.Level of Evidence: Retrospective comparative study.Type of Study: Level III. (c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

What lies beneath -No need to fear a minimally invasive approach to inguinal hernia

Introduction: Nonoperative management (NOM) of acute appendicitis in the pediatric pop-ulation is highly debated with uncertain cost-effectiveness. We performed a decision tree cost-effectiveness analysis of NOM versus early laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) for acute appendicitis in children. Methods: We created a decision tree model for a simulated cohort of 49,000 patients, the number of uncomplicated appendectomies performed annually, comparing NOM and LA. We included postoperative complications, recurrent appendicitis, and antibiotic-related complications. We used the payer perspective with a 1-year time horizon. Model uncer-tainty was analyzed using a probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Event probabilities, health -state utilities, and costs were obtained from literature review, Healthcare Cost and Utili-zation Project, and Medicare fee schedules. Results: In the base-case analysis, NOM costs $6530/patient and LA costs $9278/patient on average at 1 y. Quality-adjusted life year (QALY) differences minimally favored NOM compared to LA with 0.997 versus 0.996 QALYs/patient. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for NOM over LA was $4,791,149.52/QALY. NOM was dominant in 97.4% of simula-tions, outperforming in cost and QALYs. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed NOM was 99.6% likely to be cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000/QALY. Conclusions: Our model demonstrates that NOM is a dominant strategy to LA over a 1-year horizon. We use recent trial data demonstrating higher rates of early and late NOM fail-ures. However, we also incorporate a shorter length of index hospitalizations with NOM, reflecting a contemporary approach to NOM and ultimately driving cost-effectiveness. Long-term follow-up data are needed in this population to assess the cost-effectiveness of NOM over longer time horizons, where healthcare utilization and recurrence rates may be higher. (c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.