Publications by authors named "R du Maine"
Background: District hospitals in South Africa have limited surgical capacity and regional hospitals treat most essential surgical conditions. This study aimed to describe the pathway and time to regional hospital surgical care for persons with general surgery conditions (PSC) in South Africa.
Methods: This was a retrospective audit of all persons referred on the Vula Mobile App to the general surgery service at Worcester Regional Hospital (WRH) from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019.
Traumatic injury to the rectum is rare but associated with high morbidity and mortality. In recent years, diagnostic and treatment recommendations for these complex injuries have changed. While rare, it is critical for general surgeons to understand the basic principles of injury assessment, damage control, and definitive management of traumatic rectal injuries.
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- Injuries are a major cause of death in the U.S., and trauma systems ensure that injured patients receive proper care through trauma centers (TCs) with varying designations for resources but not specific surgical care.
- A study analyzed Washington state's hospital data in 2016 to find patterns in surgical care differences between TCs and non-trauma centers (non-TCs) using unsupervised clustering methods.
- Results showed that while surgical care features partially aligned with TC designations, factors like orthopedic procedures and patient demographics were significant in distinguishing hospitals, highlighting the need for optimized resource allocation in trauma systems.
Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can result in significant morbidity and mortality if not diagnosed in a timely manner. Brain computed tomography (CT) is the diagnostic gold standard but is of limited availability in most South African public hospitals, resulting in transfer of TBI patients to tertiary hospitals.
Objective: To describe the referral patterns and outcomes of patients with TBI referred to Groote Schuur Hospital Trauma Centre.