Study Protocol: A randomized controlled trial of patient navigation-activation to reduce cancer health disparities

Background  

Cancer health disparities affecting low-income and minority patients are well documented. Root-causes are multifactorial, including diagnostic and treatment delays, social and financial barriers, and poor communication. Patient navigation and communication coaching (activation) are potential interventions to address disparities in cancer treatment. The purpose of this clinical trial is to test the effectiveness of an intervention combining patient navigation and activation to improve cancer treatment.     

Patient Experience With Gallstone Disease in a National Health Service District Hospital

Background:

The prevalence of gallstone disease in the community makes it an important area of service in district general hospitals. Laparoscopic surgical techniques in synergy with modern imaging and endoscopic and interventional techniques have revolutionized the treatment of gallstone disease, making it possible to provide prompt and definitive care to patients.

Methods:

Patients with gallstone disease were treated based on a predetermined protocol by a special-interest team depending on the patient''s mode of presentation. Data were collected and analyzed prospectively.

Results:

Our team treated 1332 patients with gallstone disease between September 1999 and December 2007. Patients (249) with acute symptoms presented through Accident and Emergency (A&E). Despite varied presentations, laparoscopic treatment was possible in all but 8 patients. The study comprised 696 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) as in-hospital (23 hour) cases in a stand-alone center, and 257 outpatients and 379 inpatients. Sixty-seven patients with acute cholecystitis had their surgery within 96 hours of acute presentation. Seventy patients had laparoscopic subtotal cholecystectomy. The overall morbidity was 2.33% with 3 patients having residual common bile duct stones; 3 patients had biliary leak from cystic or accessory duct stumps and one had idiopathic right segmental liver atrophy; 19 had wound infections, 5 had port-site hernia. No mortalities occurred during the 30-day follow-up.

Conclusion:

We believe that prompt investigation with imaging and endoscopic intervention if needed along with LC at the earliest safe opportunity by a specialized dedicated team represents an effective method for treating gallstone disease in district general hospitals. Our experience with over 1000 patients has offered us the courage of conviction to say that justice is finally here for gallstone sufferers.     

Laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair: over a thousand convincing reasons to go on

Background  Laparoscopic hernia repair has emerged as an effective alternative method for treating inguinal hernias. The ability to provide this service as day surgery or short-stay (23-h stay) treatment makes it an attractive method in this age of resource limitations. The technique is cost-effective when the use of disposable instruments is kept to a minimum. Methods  Our team performed laparoscopic transabdominal pre-peritoneal (TAPP) inguinal hernia repair on 1,389 patients in the period from September 1999 to March 2007. We take this opportunity to discuss the lessons we have learnt and our experience and views with regards to certain procedure-specific problems encountered by many of our peers. Results  A variety of commonly encountered inguinal and groin hernias were treated by TAPP with good results, minimal morbidity (4.39%) and one mortality. We have discussed our views on technical aspects of the procedure, such as the extent of pre-peritoneal dissection, methods of treating the hernia sac, the size and number of pre-peritoneal prosthetic meshes deployed, fixation of the mesh and reconstitution of the peritoneum. Our views on the causes and our strategies for managing complications such as seroma formation (3.09%), recurrence (0.29%), bleeding (0.36%) and mesh infection (0.14%) have been outlined. We believe that incidental hernias (N=150) discovered during initial laparoscopy can be safely treated with no added morbidity, provided the patients’ views and consent regarding the treatment are given due consideration. Conclusion  Laparoscopic TAPP hernia repair has proven to be an efficient method of providing treatment for groin hernias. Our experience over the last eight years has given us over a thousand convincing reasons to continue working and improving upon this service.     

An apricot story: view through a keyhole

Background  

Very few cases of small bowel obstruction due to ingested fruits have been described in literature, and most of these have managed by a laparotomy. Laparoscopic assisted surgery can effectively deal with such impacted foreign bodies, thereby avoiding a formal laparotomy.     

Is laparoscopic cholecystectomy safe and acceptable as a day case procedure?

BACKGROUND: This study reviewed the results of performing day case laparoscopic cholecystectomy to assess the feasibility and safety of the procedure as a day case. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a prospective study of 150 day case laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed between September 1999 and December 2004 under the care of the senior author. The results of a follow-up questionnaire to assess post-discharge clinical course and patient satisfaction were analyzed. All patients had commenced eating and drinking and were fully mobile before discharge home. The length of hospital stay was 4-8 hours. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 43 years; 134 patients had an American Society of Anesthesiologists grade I, the remaining 16 patients were grade II. The mean operative time was 41 minutes. There were no conversions to open procedures. There was no bleeding, no visceral injury, and no mortality. There was one admission directly from the day surgical unit (admission rate of 0.6%), but no readmission following discharge. No patients were admitted due to postoperative nausea or pain. Ninety-nine (66%) of 150 patients responded to our questionnaire: 97% were satisfied about the information they had received. Patients rated their satisfaction with the procedure as follows: 75% excellent, 21% good, 3% satisfied, and 1 patient un-satisfied. Ninety-four percent of the patients would recommend the procedure as a day case. CONCLUSION: Day case laparoscopic cholecystectomy is safe, feasible, and cost-effective when patients are carefully selected. It provides good patient satisfaction.     

Gallstones: best served hot.

BACKGROUND: Acute episodes of gallstone-related diseases have traditionally been managed conservatively. In the event of gallstones obstructing the common bile duct, patients had endoscopic extraction of calculi with interval cholecystectomy after 4 weeks to 6 weeks when acute inflammatory changes have subsided. This placed the patient at risk of recurrent cholecystitis, pancreatitis, or other complications of cholelithiasis. METHODS: Patients presenting with acute gallstone-related diseases were investigated and underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy during the same admission according to a predetermined treatment protocol. RESULTS: All patients (119) treated according to the study protocol had good results, with no 30-day mortality and no biliary tract injuries. One patient had bleeding from the cystic artery, and 6 patients required conversion to open cholecystectomy. CONCLUSION: Growing expertise in laparoscopic cholecystectomy has made it possible for surgeons to perform safe cholecystectomy in the presence of acute gallstone-related disease. Our experience of managing gallstone disease with prompt cholecystectomy during the index admission shows that this approach provides better, safer, and more cost-effective patient care.     

Carrier screening for cystic fibrosis: Test acceptance and one year follow-up

We identified 124 carriers among 4,879 patients of prenatal care providers in the Rochester region. Six factors were identified that together permitted a correct classification regarding test acceptance for 77.5% of all subjects. For those pregnant, the most influential of these factors was a more accepting attitude toward abortion. As an indication for abortion, cystic fibrosis (CF) ranked between mild and moderate mental retardation. Of the 124 carrier women identified, we obtained 1-year follow-up information on 100. Mean score for CF knowledge at 1 year (77.4 ± 13.2%), although significantly lower than immediately after counseling (84 ± 12.4%), was still significantly higher than after detection but before counseling (51.1% ± 20.7%). Anxiety about having a child with CF significantly declined from 25.8 ± 8.0 SD immediately after counseling to 18.9 ± 7.8 at 1 year (Spielberger State Anxiety Scale). Although 15 carriers regretted having been tested, 83% believed that they benefited from testing, 83% would make the same decision to be tested over again, and 79% would recommend testing to a friend. We conclude that, for most women, CF carrier screening accomplished its purpose: most carriers detected came for counseling, had their partners tested, and, if their partners were also carriers, had prenatal diagnosis. The major undesirable outcomes were that many women testing negative did not understand that a negative result did not exclude being a carrier and that three women found to be carriers did not have their partners tested because of anxiety or the unacceptability of pregnancy termination and therefore may not have carefully considered their decision to be tested. Both of these undesirable outcomes could have been avoided by greater attention to pretest patient education by the primary care provider. Am. J. Med. Genet. 73:378–386, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Laparoscopic surgery for chronic groin pain in the general population: a prospective study

BACKGROUND: Chronic groin pain is a challenging problem among not only athletes but also the general population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of laparoscopic surgery in the management of these patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prospective data including the outcomes were collected and analyzed for 43 patients who had groin pain without clinical or radiologic evidence of hernia. All patients had magnetic resonance imaging scan and had consulted an orthopedic surgeon when appropriate. All patients were followed in clinic 2 weeks after operation and 6 months after the operation by phone call, and all were asked to call our unit in case of partial or no improvement. RESULTS: From September 1999 to August 2006, we performed 1617 laparoscopic groin hernia repairs in 1209 patients using the transabdominal preperitoneal approach. Forty-three patients (3 women and 40 men) with variable life activities and employment were included in this study. Only five patients played football at a professional level. The mean age of these patients was 38 years (range, 17-74 years), and the mean follow-up was 43 months (range, 14-72 months).The clinical invagination test showed wide external inguinal ring in 27 (62.7%) patients and tender inguinal canal in another 6 (13.95%) patients. Negative laparoscopy was reported in 7 (16.27%) patients. All patients had mesh insertion. The operation cured groin pain in 30 (69.76%) patients, and the pain improved in another 9 (20.93%) patients. Three (6.97%) patients had no change in their symptoms, and the pain became worse in 1 (2.32%) patient. CONCLUSION: We suggest offering laparoscopic groin exploration and mesh insertion for any adult patient presenting with chronic groin pain without clinical evidence of groin hernia or radiologic abnormality regardless of age, life activities, and employment.