The personal limitations checklist: human factors insights from air accidents to reduce intraoperative harm

High Reliability Organisations (HRO), including healthcare and aviation, have a common focus on risk management. The human element is a ‘weak link’ which may result in accidents or adverse events taking place. Surgeons and other healthcare professionals can learn from aviation's rigorous approach to the role of human factors (HF) in such events, and how we can minimise them. Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) reports show that fatal accidents are frequently caused by pilots flying outside their own personal limits, those of the aircraft or environment. Similarly, patient morbidity or mortality may occur if surgeons work outside personal their capability, with poor procedure selection and patient optimisation, or with a team or theatre environment not suited to the procedure. We introduce the personal limitations checklist – a tool adapted from aviation that allows surgeons to define their limits in advance of any decision to operate, and develop critical self-reflection. It also allows management of patient expectations, shared decision making, and flattening of team hierarchy. The minimum skills, patient characteristics, team and theatre resources for any given procedure to proceed are defined. If the surgeon is ‘out of limits’, redressing these factors, seeking additional assistance, or thorough patient consenting may be required for the safe conduct of the procedure. We explore external pressures that could cause a surgeon to exceed both personal and organisational limits.     

Metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma to the parotid lymph nodes

Parotid lymph node (PLN) metastasis greatly worsens the prognosis of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and poses a great challenge for further treatment of OSCC. The clinicopathological characteristics and treatment strategies for PLN metastasis from OSCC need to be comprehensively elucidated. A retrospective review of OSCC patients who experienced postoperative PLN metastasis in our department between 2000 and 2018 was performed in this study. A total of 47 OSCC patients with postoperative PLN metastasis were identified. PLN with metastasis were divided into three groups based on the location: parotid tail (PLN-t), superficial lobe (PLN-sl), and deep lobe (PLN-dl). Most of the patients experienced PLN metastasis within less than 12 months after the primary surgery for OSCC. Comparatively, patients with PLN-sl metastasis were more prone to have infiltration of the facial nerve. The tongue and buccal mucosa were the most frequent primary sites associated with PLN metastasis from OSCC. PLNs in the parotid tail were most commonly affected by the metastasized OSCC. Consequently, we recommend a series of strategies for the prevention and treatment of PLN metastasis for OSCC patients. In conclusion, PLNs should not be overlooked during preoperative evaluation and postoperative follow-up examinations for OSCC patients.     

The impact of delayed diagnosis on the outcomes of oral cancer patients: a retrospective cohort study

The contemporary literature is discordant regarding the role of delayed diagnosis in the prognosis of patients with oral cancer. This study examined data on a previously reported cohort of 101 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma diagnosed at a single institution between 2008 and 2010. The time interval between symptom onset and initial histological diagnosis (diagnostic delay) was recorded for each patient, as were demographic data and cancer features such as T stage, nodal status, and smoking status. The mean follow-up period was 4 years 10 months. The mean diagnostic delay was 4 months, mean overall survival was 5 years 6 months, and mean disease-specific survival was 4 years 9 months. No significant correlation was found between diagnostic delay and overall survival, disease-specific survival, or recurrence rates. Patients with node-positive disease were more likely to be diagnosed earlier, whereas women and non-smokers were more likely to have a delayed diagnosis. Inherent tumour biology is likely an important prognostic factor separate to diagnostic delay. Public education efforts should focus on symptom recognition and encourage early presentation for investigation of oral lesions, particularly for females and non-smokers, so that more aggressive tumours can be treated sooner to give the best chance at survival.     

Clinicopathologic factors associated with malignant transformation of oral leukoplakias: a retrospective cohort study

It is clinically challenging to identify oral leukoplakias that have a high risk of undergoing malignant transformation. The aim of this retrospective study was to elucidate the associations between malignant transformation of oral leukoplakias and various clinicopathologic factors. Patients with a diagnosis of clinical oral leukoplakia, verified through histopathologic examination and with access to digital images of the lesion, were retrospectively included for the period 2003–2013. Using the clinical images, all lesions were re-evaluated regarding diagnosis and clinical subtype. Of the 234 included patients, with a median follow-up of 9 years, 27 (11.5%) developed oral squamous cell carcinoma. Among the clinicopathologic factors investigated, non-homogeneous oral leukoplakia (OL), OL with dysplasia, and OL localized to the tongue showed statistically significant increased rates of malignant transformation in the multivariate Cox regression analysis. Non-homogeneous OL showed a 15.2-times higher transformation rate than homogenous OL (P < 0.001). Dysplastic leukoplakias developed into carcinomas 2.4-times more often than did non-dysplastic leukoplakias (P = 0.048). OL located on the tongue showed a 2.8-times higher malignant transformation rate than OLs at other oral locations (P = 0.018), when other locations were combined into one group. Non-homogeneous OL, OL with dysplasia, and OL localized to the tongue have higher transformation rates.     

术中同期韧带修复治疗踝关节骨折伴三角韧带断裂疗效及预后影响因素探讨

目的探讨术中同期韧带修复治疗踝关节骨折伴三角韧带断裂疗效及预后影响因素。方法回顾性分析溧阳市人民医院2016年1月至2018年12月收治踝关节骨折伴三角韧带断裂患者共183例临床资料,其中未行同期韧带修复者共48例设为A组,术中行同期韧带修复者135例设为B组,而B组根据修复方式分为浅层修复(54例),深层修复(48例)及完全修复(33例);比较不同组术中出血量、住院时间、美国足踝外科学会(AOFAS)评分、视觉模拟评分法(VAS)评分、术后并发症发生率及矢状面足跟着地角度,采用Logistic回归模型进行预后影响因素分析。结果B组住院时间、VAS评分、术后并发症发生率及矢状面足跟着地角度均少于A组(P<0.05);B组AOFAS评分高于A组(P<0.05);B组冠状面和水平面足跟着地角度则高于A组(P<0.05);深层组和完全组AOFAS评分少于浅层组(P<0.05);深层组和完全组VAS评分显著高于浅层组(P<0.05);完全组术后并发症发生率高于浅层组(P<0.05);Logistic回归模型单因素分析结果显示,年龄、合并其他损伤、受伤至手术时间、深层及浅层修复均是患者临床预后影响因素(P<0.05);而多因素分析结果则显示,浅层修复是患者临床预后独立保护因素(P<0.05)。结论踝关节骨折伴三角韧带断裂患者术中同期行韧带修复可有效提高临床疗效,改善关节生物力学指标;其中行浅层修复三角韧带更有助于增加临床获益。     

Primary vaccination in adult patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation – A single center retrospective efficacy analysis

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) results in a loss of humoral immunity and subsequent risk for severe infections. Thus, re-vaccination is required but may fail due to incomplete immune reconstitution. We retrospectively analyzed predictors of immune response to primary vaccination applied according to the EBMT (European Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group) recommendations. Serologic response to vaccination against diphtheria (D), tetanus (T), Bordetella pertussis (aP) and Haemophilus influenzae (Hib) (administrated as combined DTaP-Hib-IPV vaccination) was studied in 84 alloHSCT patients transplanted between 2008 and 2015 (age at alloHSCT: 18.6–70.6 years). All patients with a relapse-free survival of ≥9 months, at least 3 consecutive vaccinations and absence of intravenous immunoglobulin administration within 3 months before and after vaccination met the primary inclusion criteria. Additionally, immunological response to a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was analyzed in a subgroup of 67 patients. Patients’ characteristics at the time of first vaccination were recorded. Responses were measured as vaccine-specific antibody titers. Regarding DTaP-Hib-IPV vaccination, 89.3% (n = 75) of all patients achieved protective titers to at least 3 of the 4 vaccine components and were thus considered responders. 10.7% (n = 9) of the patients were classified as non-responders with positive immune response to less than 3 components. Highest response was observed for Hib (97.4%), tetanus (95.2%) and pneumococcal vaccination (83.6%) while only 68.3% responded to vaccination against Bordetella pertussis. Significant risk factors for failure of vaccination response included low B cell counts (p < 0.001; cut-off: 0.05 B cells/nl) and low IgG levels (p = 0.026; mean IgG of responders 816 mg/dl vs. 475 mg/dl of non-responders). Further, a trend was observed that prior cGvHD impairs vaccination response as 88.9% of the non-responders but only 54.7% of the responders had prior cGvHD (p = 0.073). The results demonstrate, that the currently proposed vaccination strategy leads to seroprotection in the majority of alloHSCT patients.     

妊娠期高血压疾病危险因素及护理干预新进展

妊娠期高血压疾病是女性妊娠期间极为常见的一种妊娠并发症，亦为妇产科临床中极为常见的一种病症，该病症可产生 极大的危害性。目前临床主要站在流行病学角度上研究妊娠期高血压疾病，针对该病症的发病诱因、机制等尚未有统一认识形 成。本文主要分析和总结妊娠期高血压疾病的相关危险因素和护理干预措施，以供今后临床作参考。