Prevalence of acne and its impact on quality of life and practices regarding self-treatment among medical students.

Acne vulgaris is one of the most common skin diseases worldwide and causes great distress to patients. In addition, most acne patients suffer from low self-esteem and social withdrawal. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of acne and its impact on quality of life among medical students.

The Financial Burden of Road Traffic Injuries in Mozambique: A Hospital-Related Cost-of-Illness Study of Maputo Central Hospital.

Background: Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are increasingly being recognized for their significant economic impact. Mozambique, like other low-income countries, suffers staggering rates of road traffic collisions. To our knowledge, this is the first study to estimate direct hospital costs of RTIs using a bottom-up, micro-costing approach in the Mozambican context.

Trauma Surveillance and Registry Development in Mozambique: Results of a 1-Year Study and the First Phase of National Implementation.

Background: Mozambique has had no policy-driven trauma system and no hospital-based trauma registries, and injury was not a public health priority. In other low-income countries, trauma system implementation and trauma registries have helped to reduce mortality from injury by up to 35%. In 2014, we introduced a trauma registry in four hospitals in Maputo serving 18,000 patients yearly.

Elimination of 24-hour continuous medical resident duty in Quebec.

In 2012 Quebec limited continuous in-hospital duty to 16 consecutive hours for all residents regardless of postgraduate (PGY) level. The new restrictions in Quebec appeared to have a profound, negative effect on the quality of life of surgical residents at McGill University and a perceived detrimental effect on the delivery of surgical education and patient care. Here we discuss the results of a nationwide survey that we created and distributed to general surgery residents across Canada to capture and compare their perceptions of the changes to duty hour restrictions.

The impact of postoperative complications on the recovery of elderly surgical patients.

Background: While the negative impact of postoperative complications on hospital costs, survival, and cancer recurrence is well known, few studies have quantified the impact of postoperative complications on patient-centered outcomes such as functional status. The objective of this study was to estimate the impact of postoperative complications on recovery of functional status after elective abdominal surgery in elderly patients.

Methods: Elderly patients (70 years and older) undergoing elective abdominal surgery, with a planned length of stay >1 day, were prospectively enrolled between July 2012 and December 2014.

Association between quality of care and complications after abdominal surgery.

Background: Measuring the quality of surgical care is essential to identifying areas of weakness in the delivery of effective surgical care and to improving patient outcomes. Our objectives were to (1) assess the quality of surgical care delivered to adult patients; and (2) determine the association between quality of surgical care and postoperative complications.

Methods: This retrospective, pilot, cohort study was conducted at a single university-affiliated institution.

Identification of quality of care deficiencies in elderly surgical patients by measuring adherence to process-based quality indicators.

Background: The ability to measure surgical quality of care is important and can lead to improvements in patient safety. As such, processes should be carried out in an identical fashion for all patients, regardless of how vulnerable or complex they are. Our objectives were to assess quality of surgical care delivered to elderly patients and to determine the association between patient characteristics and quality of care.

Abolishment of 24-hour continuous medical call duty in quebec: a quality of life survey of general surgical residents following implementation of the new work-hour restrictions.

Background: The implementation of work hour restrictions across North America have resulted in decreased levels of self injury and medical errors for Residents. An arbitration ruling in Quebec has led to further curtailment of work hours beyond that proposed by the ACGME. This may threaten Resident quality of life and in turn decrease the educational quality of surgical residency training.