Publications by authors named "Drew J Gunnells"
The initial evaluation and workup of anal canal cancer and perianal cancer is the same, but treatment strategies differ based on stage and location of disease. Chemoradiation remains the cornerstone of treatment for anal canal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), while surgery is typically reserved for persistent or recurrent disease. Perianal SCC can be treated with local excision for early stage disease (T1N0, select T2N0) or chemoradiation for later stages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Rural patients experience a higher incidence of and mortality from colorectal cancer. Ensuring high-quality screening is essential to address these disparities.
Objective: To investigate whether socioecological determinants of health are associated with colonoscopy quality in rural Alabama.
Article Synopsis
- The UAB Department of Surgery has focused on enhancing surgical care in rural Alabama by creating the UAB surgery community network over the past 5 years.
- The initiative aims to recruit rural surgeons, conduct relevant research, and grow a statewide surgical network.
- The presentation will cover the specific challenges faced in rural surgery, highlight initial efforts to tackle these issues, and propose future strategies for improvement.
Introduction: The impact of COVID-19 infection on surgical patients is largely described by small-cohort studies. This study characterized the risk factors for postoperative mortality among patients with preoperative COVID-19 infection.
Methods: Data were abstracted from the electronic medical record for patients who tested positive for COVID-19 before surgery, excluding procedures related to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (case, March 2020-April 2021).
Background: This retrospective study compares a multidisciplinary clinic (MDC) to standard care for time to treatment of colorectal cancer.
Methods: We queried our institutional ACS-NSQIP database for patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer from 2017 to 2020. Patients were stratified by initial clinic visit (MDC vs control).
Background: Racial disparities in surgical outcomes exist for Black patients with IBD compared to White patients. However, previous studies fail to include other racial/ethnic populations. We hypothesized these disparities exist for Hispanic and Asian patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Enhanced Recovery Programs (ERPs) benefit patients but their effects on healthcare costs remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the costs associated with a colorectal ERP in a large academic health system.
Methods: Patients who underwent colorectal surgery from 2012 to 2014 (pre-ERP) and 2015-2017 (ERP) were propensity score matched based on patient and operative-level characteristics.
Introduction: Conflicting data exist on racial disparities in stoma reversal (SR) rates. Our aim was to investigate the role of race in SR rates, and time to closure, in a longitudinal, racially diverse database.
Methods: All adult patients (>18 years) who received an ileostomy or colostomy from 1999 to 2016 at a single institution were identified.
Background: The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in minorities is increasing, and health outcome disparities are becoming more apparent. Our aim was to investigate the contribution of race to readmissions in IBD patients undergoing colorectal surgery.
Design: The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2012 to 2013 was queried for all patients with IBD undergoing elective colorectal surgery.