May 2014

When it comes to hospital admissions, hip fractures outnumber all other orthopedic injuries, with more than 300,000 Americans breaking a hip annually and requiring 24-hour care post-surgery.

Although many studies have found Crohn's disease (CD) patients are more likely to smoke than the general population, only a few have examined CD prevalence as it relates to regional smoking rates.

Although healthcare professionals tend to believe women are more concerned about the cosmetics of scarring than men, a study published online in the American Journal of Men's Health has uncovered exactly how men feel about their scars.

Since those who undergo cardiac surgery are more likely to receive allogeneic blood transfusions, researchers at Johns Hopkins Hospital set out to investigate the effects of reinfusing autologous blood lost during cardiopulmonary bypass.

Since nearly half of all Staphylococcus aureus infections harbor difficult-to-cure methicillin-resistant (MRSA) isolates, identifying MRSA risk factors could improve infection prevention and treatment, as well as reduce resistance patterns.

Could early mobilization and feeding after colorectal surgery reduce hospital stays and readmission rates? A team of researchers from Duke University Hospital believes so.

With no standards in place to guide referrals for children with gastroesophageal reflux disease, variation in procedural decision-making among pediatric subspecialists is expected.

A cholecystectomy is generally an uncomplicated procedure, but on the rare occasions when gallstones migrate to adjacent viscera or vascular structures, it becomes a considerably more complicated operation.

For most mistakes, it is best to apply the "ABC" rule: acknowledge the error and accept responsibility, be gentle with yourself, and correct it, make amends, and move on. But if the blunder occurs in the surgical suite, it is not that simple.

Many gynecologic surgeries that formerly required large incisions and lengthy hospital stays are simpler today due to smaller incisions, less blood loss, and improved mobilization. As a result, same-day discharge after robotic-assisted hysterectomy - an option that only recently became available - now seems possible.

Since surgical patients who develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) face a 40% risk of death, a tool that can accurately predict who will develop ARDS is greatly needed.