Development and preliminary validation of a new task-based objective procedure-specific assessment of inguinal hernia repair procedural safety.

Background: Surgical videos coupled with structured assessments enable surgical training programs to provide independent competency evaluations and align with the American Board of Surgery's entrustable professional activities initiative. Existing assessment instruments for minimally invasive inguinal hernia repair (IHR) have limitations with regards to reliability, validity, and usability. A cross-sectional study of six surgeons using a novel objective, procedure-specific, 8-item competency assessment for minimally invasive inguinal hernia repair (IHR-OPSA) was performed to assess inter-rater reliability using a "safe" vs.

Long-Term, Prospective, Multicenter Study of Poly-4-Hydroxybutyrate Mesh (Phasix Mesh) for Hernia Repair in Cohort at Risk for Complication: 60-Month Follow-Up.

Background: Long-term resorbable mesh represents a promising technology for ventral and incisional hernia repair (VIHR). This study evaluates poly-4-hydroxybutyrate mesh (P4HB; Phasix Mesh) among comorbid patients with CDC class I wounds.

Study Design: This prospective, multi-institutional study evaluated P4HB VIHR in comorbid patients with CDC class I wounds.

SAGES white paper on the current state of community practice surgeons: re-discovering the value of our community practice surgeons.

Background: The Community Practice (CP) surgeon is the first point of access to surgical care globally and performs the majority of procedures in the USA. CP surgeons include those of various practice models, locations and communities, education and training, and much more. It is a diverse group that drives quality, access to care, research, and innovation.

Treatment patterns and outcomes following disease progression on anti-PD-1 therapies for advanced melanoma.

Anti-PD-1-based therapies prolong survival in advanced melanoma, but disease progression is common. This study evaluated treatment patterns and overall survival (OS) after anti-PD-1 progression. Retrospective data from patients with advanced melanoma and progression on anti-PD-1 treatment between 2014 and 2019 were taken from Flatiron Health, which reflects largely community practice.

The Impact of Inherited Retinal Diseases in the United States of America (US) and Canada from a Cost-of-Illness Perspective.

Objective: To estimate the annual cost of inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) in the United States of America (US) and Canada from a societal perspective - including costs to the health system, individual and family productivity costs, lost wellbeing and other societal economic costs - by setting and payer. Findings will inform the need for policy action to mitigate the impact of IRDs.

Methods: The costs of IRDs were estimated using a cost-of-illness methodology, based on the prevalence of IRDs in each country.

Prospective, multicenter study of P4HB (Phasix™) mesh for hernia repair in cohort at risk for complications: 3-Year follow-up.

Background: This study represents a prospective, multicenter, open-label study to assess the safety, performance, and outcomes of poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB, Phasix™) mesh for primary ventral, primary incisional, or multiply-recurrent hernia in subjects at risk for complications. This study reports 3-year clinical outcomes.

Materials And Methods: P4HB mesh was implanted in 121 patients via retrorectus or onlay technique.

Correction to: Mass testing and treatment for malaria followed by weekly fever screening, testing and treatment in Northern Senegal: feasibility, cost and impact.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Genetic evidence for imported malaria and local transmission in Richard Toll, Senegal.

Background: Malaria elimination efforts can be undermined by imported malaria infections. Imported infections are classified based on travel history.

Methods: A genetic strategy was applied to better understand the contribution of imported infections and to test for local transmission in the very low prevalence region of Richard Toll, Senegal.

Impact of Four Rounds of Mass Drug Administration with Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine Implemented in Southern Province, Zambia.

Over the past decade, Zambia has made substantial progress against malaria and has recently set the ambitious goal of eliminating by 2021. In the context of very high vector control and improved access to malaria diagnosis and treatment in Southern Province, we implemented a community-randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of four rounds of community-wide mass drug administration (MDA) and household-level MDA (focal MDA) with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHAP) implemented between December 2014 and February 2016. The mass treatment campaigns achieved relatively good household coverage (63-79%), were widely accepted by the community (ranging from 87% to 94%), and achieved very high adherence to the DHAP regimen (81-96%).

Pyrethroid and Carbamate Resistance in Giles along Lake Kariba in Southern Zambia.

Whereas data on insecticide resistance and its underlying mechanisms exist for parts of Zambia, data remain limited in the southern part of the country. This study investigated the status of insecticide resistance, metabolic mechanisms, and parasite infection in along Lake Kariba in southern Zambia. Indoor-resting mosquitoes were collected from 20 randomly selected houses within clusters where a mass drug administration trial was conducted and raised to F1 progeny.

Assessment of the Acceptability of Testing and Treatment during a Mass Drug Administration Trial for Malaria in Zambia Using Mixed Methods.

From 2014 to 2016, a community-randomized controlled trial in Southern Province, Zambia, compared mass drug administration (MDA) and focal MDA (fMDA) with the standard of care. Acceptability of the intervention was assessed quantitatively using closed-ended and Likert scale-based questions posed during three household surveys conducted from April to May in 2014, 2015, and 2016 in 40 health catchments that implemented MDA and fMDA and 20 catchments that served as trial controls. In 2014 and 2015, 47 households per catchment were selected, targeting 1,880 households in MDA and fMDA trial arms; in 2016, 55 households per catchment were selected for a target of 2,200 households in MDA and fMDA trial arms.

Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Ventral Hernia Repair.

Robotic-assisted laparoscopic ventral hernia repair (RA-LVHR) has many options. Before applying these techniques, it is important to identify the patient's goals for hernia repair, align yourself with those goals, and apply a technique appropriate for the clinical scenario, and most likely to meet the goals. Fundamental principles of hernia repair must be maintained: avoiding thermal injury to hollow viscera, adequate dissection of abdominal wall, appropriate mesh:defect ratio, stronger fixation where overlap is limited, and more overlap where fixation points are weak.

Utilising the Delphi Process to Develop a Proficiency-based Progression Train-the-trainer Course for Robotic Surgery Training.

Context: As the role of robot-assisted surgery continues to expand, development of standardised and validated training programmes is becoming increasingly important.

Objective: To provide guidance on an optimised "train-the-trainer" (TTT) structured educational programme for surgical trainers, in which delegates learn a standardised approach to training candidates in skill acquisition. We aim to describe a TTT course for robotic surgery based on the current published literature and to define the key elements within a TTT course by seeking consensus from an expert committee formed of key opinion leaders in training.

Malaria case investigation with reactive focal testing and treatment: operational feasibility and lessons learned from low and moderate transmission areas in Amhara Region, Ethiopia.

Background: When malaria transmission is very low, investigation of passively detected malaria cases and reactive focal testing and treatment (FTAT) in the case and neighbouring households can identify and contain the source and spread of infections.

Methods: Case investigation with reactive FTAT for malaria was implemented in 10 villages in Amhara Region, Ethiopia during the 2014/2015 malaria transmission season. Intervention villages were purposively selected based on the incidence of passively detected Plasmodium falciparum and mixed infections (P.

The NOVEL trial: natural orifice versus laparoscopic cholecystectomy-a prospective, randomized evaluation.

Introduction: The evolution of Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) represents a case study in surgical procedural evolution. Beginning in 2004 with preclinical feasibility studies, and followed by the creation of the NOSCAR collaboration between The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, procedural development followed a stepwise incremental pathway. The work of this consortium has included white paper analyses, obtaining outside independent funding for basic science and procedural development, and, ultimately, the initiation of a prospective randomized clinical trial comparing NOTES cholecystectomy as an alternative procedure to laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Prospective evaluation of poly-4-hydroxybutyrate mesh in CDC class I/high-risk ventral and incisional hernia repair: 18-month follow-up.

Background: Long-term resorbable mesh represents a promising technology for complex ventral and incisional hernia repair (VIHR). Preclinical studies indicate that poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB) resorbable mesh supports strength restoration of the abdominal wall. This study evaluated outcomes of high-risk subjects undergoing VIHR with P4HB mesh.

Clinical management of children with fever: a cross-sectional study of quality of care in rural Zambia.

Objective: To evaluate current practices and standards of evaluation and treatment of childhood febrile illness in Southern Province, Zambia.

Methods: From November to December 2013, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of facilities and health workers and we observed the health workers' interactions with febrile children and their caregivers. The facility survey recorded level of staffing, health services provided by the facility, availability and adequacy of medical equipment, availability of basic drugs and supplies and availability of treatment charts and guidelines.

Short-term Impact of Mass Drug Administration With Dihydroartemisinin Plus Piperaquine on Malaria in Southern Province Zambia: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background:  Mass drug administration (MDA) using dihydroartemisinin plus piperaquine (DHAp) represents a potential strategy to clear Plasmodium falciparum infections and reduce the human parasite reservoir.

Methods:  A cluster-randomized controlled trial in Southern Province, Zambia, was used to assess the short-term impact of 2 rounds of community-wide MDA and household-level (focal) MDA with DHAp compared with no mass treatment. Study end points included parasite prevalence in children, infection incidence, and confirmed malaria case incidence.

Development of a rapid response plan for intraoperative emergencies: the Circulate, Scrub, and Technical Assistance Team.

Background: Unplanned intraoperative events are inevitable and cause stress and inefficiency among staff. We believe that developing a technical rapid response team with explicitly defined, narrow roles would reduce the amount of chaos during such emergencies. This article provides a detailed description of the development and implementation of such a program.

Mass testing and treatment for malaria in low transmission areas in Amhara Region, Ethiopia.

Background: In areas with ongoing malaria transmission, strategies to clear parasites from populations can reduce infection and transmission. The objective of this paper was to describe a malaria mass testing and treatment (MTAT) intervention implemented in six kebeles (villages) in Amhara Region, Ethiopia, at the beginning of the 2014 transmission season.

Methods: Intervention kebeles were selected based on incidence of passively detected Plasmodium falciparum and mixed (P.