Biomedical subjects

James L Guzzo

Publications and source records attributed to James L Guzzo.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Mentors decrease compliance with best sterile practices during central venous catheter placement in the trauma resuscitation unit.

BACKGROUND: In the academic trauma unit during initial evaluation and resuscitation of trauma victims, central venous catheters are often placed by multiple operators. There are few data on compliance with accepted, standard sterile practices during such procedures. METHODS: Prospective data were tabulated from video capture of 144 consecutive central venous catheterizations in a trauma resuscitation unit, during peak hours, by a team of trained video technicians. The physicians were surgical and emergency medicine residents. The number of primary operators (trainees) and secondary operators (mentors) for each line was recorded from the video analysis, as well as physician adherence to the use of maximum barrier precautions (MBP; sterile gown, gloves, full operative drape, cap, and mask). Procedures were stratified by level of urgency: Emergent (n = 7), semi-emergent (n = 20), and elective (n = 113). RESULTS: The subclavian vein was used for 73% of the elective catheter placements. For elective central venous catheters, 99 of 113 primary operators (88%) observed MBP, whereas only 31 of 45 secondary operators (69%) did so (p < or = 0.01). Among the 45 elective central venous catheters placed with a secondary operator, there were four instances of frank contamination (9%). CONCLUSIONS: Secondary operators, typically trauma surgery attendings, trauma/critical care fellows, or senior surgical residents, function as mentors in academic institutions and act as role models. Secondary operators participated in many of the studied cases, yet failed to demonstrate consistent use of MBP. In elective central venous catheter placement, those where there was the greatest opportunity to follow MBP, we observed a statistically significant difference in compliance rate between the primary and secondary operators. The study suggests the need to address the performance of the secondary operators and to educate them, as although they may be technically experienced in placing central venous catheters, they may comply less consistently with MBP.

Catheterization, Central Venous↗

PubMed2005

Prediction of outcomes in trauma: anatomic or physiologic parameters?

BACKGROUND: Prediction of outcomes after injury has traditionally incorporated measures of injury severity, but recent studies suggest that including physiologic and shock measures can improve accuracy of anatomic-based models. A recent single-institution study described a mortality predictive equation [f(x) = 3.48 - .22 (GCS) - .08 (BE) + .08 (Tx) + .05 (ISS) + .04 (Age)], where GSC is Glasgow Coma Score, BE is base excess, Tx is transfusion requirement, and ISS is Injury Severity Score, which had 63% sensitivity, 94% specificity, (receiver operating characteristic [ROC] 0.96), but did not provide comparative data for other models. We have previously documented that the Physiologic Trauma Score, including only physiologic variables (systemic inflammatory response syndrome, Glasgow Coma Score, age) also accurately predicts mortality in trauma. The objective of this study was to compare the predictive abilities of these statistical models in trauma outcomes. METHODS: Area under the ROC curve of sensitivity versus 1-specificity was used to assess predictive ability and measured discrimination of the models. RESULTS: The study cohort consisted of 15,534 trauma patients (80% blunt mechanism) admitted to a Level I trauma center over a 3-year period (mean age 37 +/- 18 years; mean Injury Severity Score 10 +/- 10; mortality 4%). Sensitivity of the new predictive model was 45%, specificity was 96%, ROC was 0.91, validating this new trauma outcomes model in our institution. This was comparable with area under the ROC for Revised Trauma Score (ROC 0.88), Trauma and Injury Severity Score (ROC 0.97), and Physiologic Trauma Score (ROC 0.95), but superior compared with admission Glasgow Coma Score (ROC 0.79), Injury Severity Score (ROC 0.79), and age (ROC 0.60). CONCLUSIONS: The predictive ability of this new model is superior to anatomic-based models such as Injury Severity Score, but comparable with other physiologic-based models such as Revised Trauma Score, Physiologic Trauma Score and Trauma, and Injury Severity Score.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Severe and refractory peptic ulcer disease: the diagnostic dilemma: case report and comprehensive review.

The recognition of Helicobacter pylori infection as a cause of peptic ulcer disease, medical regimens to eradicate the organism, and the widespread use of proton pump inhibition to suppress gastric acid secretion have revolutionized the management of peptic ulcer disease. As a result, successful medical management of peptic ulcer disease has largely supplanted the need for gastric surgery by general surgeons. Surgery is reserved for complications of the disease, refractory disease, or rare causes of ulcer disease such as gastrinoma and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. In this report, we describe a case of intractable peptic ulcer disease that progressed to gastric outlet obstruction despite maximal medical therapy. We review the diagnostic studies utilized to evaluate the potential etiologies of peptic ulcer disease and the difficulty in diagnosing gastrinoma and Zollinger-Ellison in the setting of potent medical acid suppression therapy.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in ICU patients with previous laparotomy.

To our knowledge, there is an absence of data evaluating the safety and efficacy of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement in ICU patients with previous abdominal surgery. Our goals were to determine the complication rate of PEG in ICU patients who either had a recent or prior laparotomy compared to patients without any prior abdominal surgery. Prospective data was collected on 42 consecutive patients with prior abdominal surgery who underwent PEG placement in a university ICU setting during a 3-year period. These patients were further stratified by time of previous abdominal surgery: recent = abdominal surgery during the current hospitalization; old = abdominal surgery done prior to the current hospitalization and >30 days. Complications were defined as technical problems, local infection, tube dislodgment, and bleeding. This data was compared to results of 75 consecutive PEG placements in ICU patients with no previous abdominal surgery (NPAS) at the same institution. A total of 117 patients were included in the study. Sixty-two (58%) of the patients were trauma patients and 45 (42%) had other pathology. The mean age of the study population was 53 +/- 15 years and they were primarily male (75%). The overall complication rates were as follows: local wound = 18.7 per cent, technical problems = 4 per cent, PEG dislodgment = 7.4 per cent, and bleeding = 3 per cent. Of the 42 patients with prior abdominal surgery, 22 were recent, and 20 were old. Local wound complications were the most common complication when stratified by PEG category (virgin = 17.3%, recent = 18%, and old = 15%) followed by dislodgment (virgin = 6.7%, recent = 9%, and old = 5%). There were no significant differences in complication rates when comparing specific complications by PEG category as analyzed by chi2 analysis. PEG should be considered in all patients with previous laparotomy in need for long-term enteral access.

Adult↗