Expedited discharge in uncomplicated acute appendicitis: Decreasing the length of stay while maintaining quality.

Background: An expedited discharge protocol for uncomplicated appendicitis was developed at a Canadian academic hospital to determine if patients could be safely discharged home early without negatively impacting care and patient satisfaction.

Methods: A non-randomized prospective quality improvement project was completed between February 01, 2017 and January 31, 2018. The project included patients between 16 and 65 years with uncomplicated appendicitis managed with laparoscopic appendectomy.

Can we improve the efficiency of care in patients with colorectal cancer from the time of their initial referral for colonoscopy to surgical resection?

Delays in the diagnosis and treatment of colon adenocarcinoma are distressing to patients and clinicians alike. Of 224 patients with resected colon cancer identified via a province-wide administrative database, 170 (76%) received their colonoscopy from a gastroenterologist (GI). Patients waited significantly longer between their colonoscopy and surgical resection when the colonoscopy was performed by a GI within an urban city (43 v.

Interexaminer reliability of the hip extension test for suspected impaired motor control of the lumbar spine.

Objective: The hip extension test may be a clinical sign of impaired motor control in the lumbar spine, which may have a negative impact on spine stability. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the interexaminer reliability of the hip extension test for suspected dynamic instability of the lumbar spine in patients with chronic low back pain.

Methods: Forty-two patients with chronic low back pain participated in this interexaminer reliability study.