Publications by authors named "Catherine Velopulos"

Introduction: Hepatic angioembolization is highly effective for hemorrhage control in hemodynamically stable patients with traumatic liver injuries and contrast extravasation. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the specific location of angioembolization within the hepatic arterial vasculature and its implications on patient outcomes.

Methods: A post-hoc analysis of a multicenter prospective observational study across 23 centers was performed.

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Background: Prior studies evaluating observation versus angioembolization (AE) for blunt liver injuries (BLT) with contrast extravasation (CE) on computed tomography imaging have yielded inconsistent conclusions, primarily due to limitations in single-center and/or retrospective study design. Therefore, this multicenter study aims to compare an observation versus AE-first approach for BLT, hypothesizing decreased liver-related complications (LRCs) with observation.

Methods: We conducted a post hoc analysis of a multicenter, prospective observational study (2019-2021) across 23 centers.

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Introduction: The social vulnerability index (SVI) is a census tract-level population-based measure generated from 16 socioeconomic and demographic variables on a scale from 1 (least) to 100 (most) vulnerable. This study has three objectives as follows: 1) to analyze multiple ways of utilizing SVI, 2) compare SVI as a group measure of marginalization to individual markers, and 3) to understand how SVI is associated with choice of surgery in metabolic surgery.

Methods: We retrospectively identified adults undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and gastric sleeve in 2013-2018 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data from a single academic center.

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Objective: Improvement of surgical care is dependent upon evidence-based practices (EBPs), policies, procedures, and innovations. The objective of this study was to understand and synthesize the use of implementation science (IS) in surgical care.

Summary Background Data: This article summarizes the existing literature to identify the frequency and types of EBPs selected for surgical care, IS frameworks that guided the published research, and prominent facilitators and barriers.

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Introduction: Ventral hernias can be repaired electively; however, many circumstances require emergency repair. The association between sociodemographic status and rate of emergency repair are unclear and the Social Vulnerability Index may be a useful tool to better understanding this association. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between Social Vulnerability Index and emergency ventral hernia repair.

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Abstract: The prior articles in this series have focused on measuring cost and quality in acute care surgery. This third article in the series explains the current ways of defining value in acute care surgery, based on different stakeholders in the health care system-the patient, the health care organization, the payer and society. The heterogenous valuations of the different stakeholders require that the framework for determining high-value care in acute care surgery incorporates all viewpoints.

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Article Synopsis
  • High-grade liver injuries with extravasation (HGLI + Extrav) carry significant risks, and the study evaluated whether an observation-first strategy (OBS) is safe compared to initial angiography (IR).
  • Of 59 patients, 39% were treated with OBS and 61% with IR, with patients initially managed by IR experiencing a higher rate of surgery (13.9% vs. 0%).
  • Despite the increased rate of operations for IR patients, there were no significant differences in liver-related complications or mortality, indicating that OBS may be a suitable approach for selectively managing HGLI + Extrav patients.
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Objectives: There is little evidence guiding the management of grade I-II traumatic splenic injuries with contrast blush (CB). We aimed to analyze the failure rate of nonoperative management (NOM) of grade I-II splenic injuries with CB in hemodynamically stable patients.

Methods: A multicenter, retrospective cohort study examining all grade I-II splenic injuries with CB was performed at 21 institutions from January 1, 2014, to October 31, 2019.

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Objective: The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) is a composite metric for social determinants of health. The objective of this study was to determine if SVI influences stage at presentation for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and subsequent therapies.

Materials And Methods: NSCLC patients from our local contribution to the National Cancer Database (2011-2021) were grouped into low SVI (<75 %ile) and high SVI (>75 %ile) cohorts.

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Background: The social vulnerability index (SVI) is a neighborhood-based metric used to determine an individual's susceptibility to socioeconomic hardship, with high SVI indicating high susceptibility. SVI has previously been associated with surgical outcomes. We aimed to determine if SVI influences morbidity following robotic-assisted lung resection.

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Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed delivery of emergency general surgery (EGS) and contributed to widespread bed shortages. At our institution, rapid testing is not routinely approved for EGS patients. We examined common EGS conditions (appendicitis and acute cholecystitis), hypothesizing that necessity of testing for COVID-19 significantly delayed operative intervention.

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if an association between Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and risk-adjusted complications exists in a broad spectrum of surgical patients.

Summary Background Data: Growing evidence supports the impact of social circumstances on surgical outcomes. SVI is a neighborhood-based measure accounting for sociodemographic factors putting communities at risk.

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Background: Outcomes for patients undergoing emergency thoracic operations have not been well described. This study was designed to compare postoperative outcomes among patients undergoing emergency versus nonemergency thoracic operations.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database (2005-2018).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study looked at whether doing endotracheal intubation (a medical procedure to help people breathe) before reaching the hospital is helpful or harmful after a trauma.
  • They compared two groups: one that had intubation attempts before arriving at the emergency department and one that had it done shortly after arriving.
  • Their findings showed that patients intubated before getting to the hospital spent more time at the scene, but there wasn't a big difference in survival rates between the two groups.
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Objectives: The effect of a patient's Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) on complication rates after esophagectomy remains unstudied. The purpose of this study was to determine how social vulnerability influences morbidity following esophagectomy.

Methods: This was a retrospective review of a prospectively collected esophagectomy database at one academic institution, 2016 to 2022.

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Background: Vascular access in hypotensive trauma patients is challenging. Little evidence exists on the time required and success rates of vascular access types. We hypothesized that intraosseous (IO) access would be faster and more successful than peripheral intravenous (PIV) and central venous catheter (CVC) access in hypotensive patients.

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Introduction: The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) is a composite measure geocoded at the census tract level that has the potential to identify target populations at risk for postoperative surgical morbidity. We applied the SVI to examine demographics and disparities in surgical outcomes in pediatric trauma patients.

Methods: Surgical pediatric trauma patients (≤18-year-old) at our institution from 2010 to 2020 were included.

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Background: Trauma registry staff are tasked with high-quality data collection to support program requirements. Hospital-specific data dictionaries are increasingly used to ensure accurate data collection, yet it is unknown how such a resource impacts a trauma registry team's competency with data collection.

Objective: This study sought to explore whether having a hospital-specific data dictionary affected trauma service team members' self-reported competency level with abstracting required and nonrequired data elements.

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Introduction: The management of liver injuries in hemodynamically stable patients is variable and includes primary treatment strategies of observation (OBS), angiography (interventional radiology [IR]) with angioembolization (AE), or operative intervention (OR). We aimed to evaluate the management of patients with liver injuries with active extravasation on computed tomography (CT) imaging, hypothesizing that AE will have more complications without improving outcomes compared with OBS.

Methods: This is a prospective, multicenter, observational study.

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