Volume, specialty background, practice pattern, and outcomes in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: an analysis of the national inpatient sample.

Background: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a complex endoscopic procedure performed by both gastroenterologists and surgeons. There has been recent controversy regarding training paradigms for gastrointestinal endoscopy. No prior studies have evaluated comparative outcomes for ERCP in relation to specialty training background.

True benefit or selection bias: an analysis of laparoscopic versus open splenectomy from the ACS-NSQIP.

Background: By virtue of the benefits associated with minimally invasive approaches, laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) is believed to have better patient-related outcomes compared to open splenectomy (OS). However, there are limited data directly comparing the two techniques.

Methods: Patients who underwent elective LS and OS between 2005 and 2010 were identified from the public use file of the ACS-NSQIP database using the Current Procedural Terminology codes 38120 and 38100.

Does resident involvement effect surgical times and complication rates during laparoscopic appendectomy for uncomplicated appendicitis? An analysis of 16,849 cases from the ACS-NSQIP.

Background: Controversy exists regarding whether resident involvement during surgery impacts patient outcomes. We compared surgical times and perioperative complications of patients undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy with and without residents.

Methods: Patients undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy for uncomplicated acute appendicitis during 2005 to 2008 were identified from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database.

Cs+ -selective membrane electrodes based on ethylene glycol-functionalized polymeric microspheres.

A new strategy for improving the robustness of membrane-based ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) is introduced based on the incorporation of microsphere-immobilized ionophores into plasticized polymer membranes. As a model system, a Cs(+)-selective electrode was developed by doping ethylene glycol-functionalized cross-linked polystyrene microspheres (P-EG) into a plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix containing sodium tetrakis-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl] borate (TFPB) as the ion exchanger. Electrodes were evaluated with respect to Cs(+) in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, and dynamic response.

The use of canines in the detection of human cancers.

Objectives: To determine whether canines could be trained to identify patients with cancer by sniffing the urine obtained from a patient with breast or prostate cancer from among samples obtained from healthy volunteers.

Design: Dogs of different breeds were trained by their owners to detect the urine sample from a patient with cancer from among 6 other age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. After the training was completed, using new samples, 2 test runs were used for each patient with breast cancer and three runs for the patients with prostate cancer against the same matched samples.