No weak days? Impact of day in the week on surgical mortality.

Background: Studies show increased rates of mortality for admissions on the weekend (WE) versus the weekday (WD). However, scepticism exists of this so-called 'weekend effect' on patient outcome. It remains poorly investigated, particularly the timing of the day of surgery and post-operative outcomes.

Australian and New Zealand Audit of Surgical Mortality: concordance between reported and audited clinical events and delays in management in surgical mortality patients.

Background: The Australian and New Zealand Audit of Surgical Mortality (ANZASM) is a nationwide confidential peer review of deaths associated with surgical care. This study assesses the concordance between treating surgeons and peer reviewers in reporting clinical events and delays in management.

Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of deaths in 2009 and 2010.

Bimodal electric tissue ablation (BETA) compared with the Cool-Tip RFA system.

Background: Bimodal electric tissue ablation (BETA) incorporates the process of electrolysis into radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to increase the size of tissue ablation. This study investigated whether BETA could increase the efficacy of the Cool-Tip RF system (Covidien, Boulder, CO, USA) to produce larger ablations. It also investigated whether applying electrolysis only during the pretreatment phase (called electrochemical treatment (ECT)/RFA group) is as effective as BETA (where electrolysis was used during both the pretreatment and RFA phases).

Effect of testosterone and a nutritional supplement, alone and in combination, on hospital admissions in undernourished older men and women.

Background: In older people, undernutrition is associated with increased hospitalization rates and mortality. Because weight loss in older people often reflects a disproportionate reduction of skeletal muscle, anabolic treatments may be beneficial.

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the hypothesis that testosterone treatment and a nutritional supplement have additive benefits.

Statins inhibit neutrophil infiltration in skeletal muscle reperfusion injury.

Background: Neutrophil infiltration is a major determinant of ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Statins improve endothelial function by elevating nitric oxide synthase activity and inhibiting adhesion molecule expression and may, therefore, inhibit IRI-induced neutrophil extravasation. Although statins are protective against myocardial IRI and stroke, a role for statins in ameliorating skeletal muscle IRI has not yet been confirmed.