The correlation of CT-derived muscle density, skeletal muscle index, and visceral adipose tissue with nutritional status in severely injured patients.

Background: This study explored if computerized tomography-derived body composition parameters (CT-BCPs) are related to malnutrition in severely injured patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Methods: This prospective cohort study included severely injured (Injury Severity Score ≥ 16) patients, admitted to the ICU of three level-1 trauma centers between 2018 and 2022. Abdominal CT scans were retrospectively analyzed to assess the CT-BCPs: muscle density (MD), skeletal muscle index (SMI), and visceral adipose tissue (VAT).

The association of disability conditions with access to minimally invasive general surgery.

Background: Despite the high prevalence of disability conditions in the US, their association with access to minimally invasive surgery (MIS) remains under-characterized.

Objective: To understand the association of disability conditions with rates of MIS and describe nationwide temporal trends in MIS in patients with disability conditions.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Nationwide Readmission Database (2016-2019).

Missing Narrative: Examining the Impact of Disability on Post-Operative Infectious Complications.

More than 20% of the population in the United States suffers from a disability, yet the impact of disability on post-operative outcomes remains understudied. This analysis aims to characterize post-operative infectious complications in patients with disability. This was a retrospective review of the National Readmission Database (2019) among patients undergoing common general surgery procedures.

Burden of Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health on Infectious Complications in Emergency General Surgery.

Infectious complications lead to worse post-operative outcomes and are used to compare hospital performance in pay-for-performance programs. However, the impact of social and behavioral determinants of health on infectious complication rates after emergency general surgery (EGS) remains unclear. All patients undergoing EGS in the 2019 Nationwide Readmissions Database were included.

Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery Evacuation of Retained Hemothorax; Timing May Not Increase Thoracoscopic Failure.

Introduction: Current guidelines for retained hemothorax (rHTX) in trauma patients recommend video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) within 4 days. However, this recommendation is currently based upon evidence from small observational studies. The aim of this study is to further evaluate the association between timing of VATS and clinical outcomes in rHTX following trauma.

Predictors of Mortality in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support Patients Following Major Trauma.

Introduction: The usage of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in trauma patients has increased significantly within the past decade. Despite increased research on ECMO application in trauma patients, there remains limited data on factors predicting morbidity and mortality outcome. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to describe patient characteristics that are independently associated with mortality in ECMO therapy in trauma patients, to further guide future research.