Operating room use for emergency general surgery cases: analysis of the Patterns of Complex Emergency General Surgery in Canada study.

Background: Access to the operating room (OR) is variable among emergency general surgery (EGS) services, with some having dedicated EGS ORs, and others only a shared queue. Currently in Canada, only a limited number of acute care surgery services have dedicated daytime operating room (OR) access; hence, we aimed to describe the burden of after-hours EGS operating in Canada and differences associated with OR access.

Methods: In this multicentre retrospective cohort study, we used data from a previously conducted study designed to evaluate nonappendiceal, nonbiliary disease across 8 Canadian hospitals.

Failure to rescue in emergency general surgery in Canada.

Background: The risk of death after a postoperative complication - known as failure to rescue (FTR) - has been proposed to be superior to traditional benchmarking outcomes, such as complication and mortality rates, as a measure of system quality. The purpose of this study was to identify the current FTR rate in emergency general surgery (EGS) centres across Canada. We hypothesized that substantial variability exists in FTR rates across centres.

Impact of the acute care surgery model on resident operative experience in emergency general surgery.

Background: The acute care surgery (ACS) model has been shown to improve patient, hospital and surgeon-specific outcomes. To date, however, little has been published on its impact on residency training. Our study compared the emergency general surgery (EGS) operative experiences of residents assigned to ACS versus elective surgical rotations.

Patterns of complex emergency general surgery in Canada.

Background: Most of the literature on emergency general surgery (EGS) has investigated appendiceal and biliary disease; however, EGS surgeons manage many other complex conditions. This study aimed to describe the operative burden of these conditions throughout Canada.

Methods: This multicentre retrospective cohort study evaluated EGS patients at 7 centres across Canada in 2014.

Operative timing is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing emergency general surgery: a multisite study of emergency general services in a single academic network.

Background: Despite the widespread implementation of the acute care surgery (ACS) model, limited access to operating room time represents a barrier to the optimal delivery of emergency general surgery (EGS) care. The objective of this study was to describe the effect of operative timing on outcomes in EGS in a network of teaching hospitals.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of EGS operations performed at 3 teaching hospitals in a single academic network.

Combinatorial human progenitor cell transplantation optimizes islet regeneration through secretion of paracrine factors.

Transplanted human bone marrow (BM) and umbilical cord blood (UCB) progenitor cells activate islet-regenerative or revascularization programs depending on the progenitor subtypes administered. Using purification of multiple progenitor subtypes based on a conserved stem cell function, high aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity (ALDH(hi)), we have recently shown that transplantation of BM-derived ALDH(hi) progenitors improved systemic hyperglycemia and augmented insulin secretion by increasing islet-associated proliferation and vascularization, without increasing islet number. Conversely, transplantation of culture-expanded multipotent-stromal cells (MSCs) derived from BM ALDH(hi) cells augmented total beta cell mass via formation of beta cell clusters associated with the ductal epithelium, without sustained islet vascularization.