Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) on October 31 announced a new initiative to improve the knowledge and management of pain in surgical patients, with a focus on opioid risks and non-opioid alternatives. The initiative, titled, “Opioids and Surgery: Use, Abuse, and Alternatives,” will encompass the following: evidence-based…

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Editor's Note Patient level factors dominated the increased readmission risks after colorectal surgery at minority-serving hospitals, while hospital factors were less contributory, this study finds. Patient factors accounted for 65% of the increase in odds for readmission, and hospital-level factors accounted for 40%. Inpatient mortality was significantly greater at minority-serving…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) on October 28 recognized 60 of 603 participating hospitals for achieving meritorious outcomes in surgical patient care in 2015. The recognition program commends a select group of hospitals for achieving a meritorious composite score that is…

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Editor's Note Researchers from the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, have developed a risk prediction tool, called a “nomogram,” that uses a scoring system to determine a patient’s risk for returning to the surgical ICU within 72 hours after discharge. The study was presented October 20…

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Editor's Note Only half of departments of surgery in the US have established mentorship programs, and most are informal, unstructured, and do not involve all of the key stakeholders, this study finds. Of 155 chairs of departments of surgery surveyed 76 responded, for a 49% response rate. A total of…

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Editor's Note In this study, substantial variation was observed across hospitals in Medicare episode payments for patients rescued from surgical complications, and higher payments were not associated with improved clinical performance. Medicare payments for patients rescued at the highest-cost hospitals were two- to threefold higher than the lowest-cost hospitals for…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) has developed a pediatric surgical risk calculator based on 181,353 cases covering 382 CPT codes across all specialties. It was found to have excellent discrimination for mortality, morbidity, and seven additional complications. The calculator can be…

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Editor's Note Surgical ICU patients who were assigned to an early mobilization program were discharged sooner from the ICU and the hospital and needed less help after discharge, compared with those who had standard care, this study finds. The analysis included 104 patients assigned to early mobilization and 96 who…

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Editor's Note Postoperative outcomes in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system have consistently improved for the past 15 years, this study finds. In this analysis of nearly 705,000 patients undergoing noncardiac surgical procedures at 143 hospitals, absolute rates and likelihood of complications, mortality, and failure to rescue significantly decreased 40%…

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Editor's Note Despite significant challenges in their careers, cardiothoracic surgeons report a very high level of job satisfaction in a survey published online September 13 in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons reports. The 63-question survey was administered to more than 4,300 members of the Society…

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