Abstract： Appropriate prophylactic administration of antibiotics for thoracic and cardiovascular surgical procedure can reduce postoperative morbidity and decrease the overall cost due to infections. Prophylactic antibiotics should be given within 30 minutes preceding incision intravascularly. Serum levels of free drug above the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) for common contaminating bacteria should be maintained for the entire surgical period. Prophylactic antibiotics after operation are useless for patients without risk factors predisposing to postoperative infection. Heart and(or) lung transplant patients should be given antiviral and antifungal prophylaxis. Selection of antibiotics must be based on the pharmacokinetic, pharcodynamic and pharmacoeconomic properties of antibiotics and features of surgery. The policy of antibiotic prophylaxis must be modified in response to alterations in antibiotic resistance pattern which is constantly changing in hospital.
Quality control of general thoracic surgery contains many links including the qualification and technical conditions of medical institutions, preoperative diagnostic system, surgery, postoperative management, pathological diagnosis and follow-up. Standards of quality control should be based on evidence-based medicine, and general rules with detailed criteria. As one of the core concepts of quality control, fine management is ought to strictly follow clinical practice guideline of thoracic surgery, to be clear with quality standards of each key link in clinical pathway, and to improve the clinical quality control system that combines self-evaluation and supervision and inspection.
ObjectiveTo explore the treatment strategies for patients with fever and pulmonary complications after thoracic surgery during COVID-19 epidemic.MethodsThe clinical data of 537 patients who ungerwent selective surgery at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shangjin Branch of West China Hospital between February and December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, including 242 (45.1%) males and 295 (54.9%) females aged 53.3±13.4 years. We have established a procedure for the patients with fever and pulmonary complications after thoracic surgery to investigate the cause of the disease and track risk factors.ResultsThe overall postoperative complication rate was 16.4% (88/537), and 1 (0.2%) patient died. Of 537 patients, 179 (33.3%) patients were enrolled in our model according to the inclusion criteria: ratio of males [112 (62.6%) vs. 130 (36.3%), P<0.010], patients with a history of smoking [74 (41.3%) vs. 87 (24.3%), P<0.010], or with esophageal cancer surgery [36 (20.1%) vs. 15 (4.2%)], or with traditional thoracotomy [14 (7.8%) vs. 4 (1.1%)] was higher than that of the other patients. Patients in our process due to fever or pulmonary complications had longer ICU stay and postoperative hospital stay (P=0.010). Logistic regression multivariate analysis showed that gender was an independent risk factor for postoperative fever or pulmonary complications.ConclusionIn low-risk areas of the epidemic, the treatment process is simple and feasible, and the cause traceability and corresponding treatment can basically be completed within 24 hours. At the same time, the treatment process has been running stably for a long time.
ObjectiveTo explore the training mode for improving the innovative scientific research ability of postgraduates of thoracic surgery.MethodsTwenty-two postgraduate students enrolled in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Ruijin Hospital from September 2016 to June 2019 were targeted for training, and the teachers were 13 doctors in our department. Training methods included grant-based learning, formative learning and translational medical learning. In addition to the postgraduate education provided by the medical school, the training content also included more than 50 lectures about thoracic surgery, including surgical video explanation, perioperative management of thoracic surgery, interpretation of clinical guidelines, and intensive reading of the literature; it also included half-year clinical internship, 100 surgical operations and management of 5 medical beds in ward.ResultsClinical ability of the postgraduates were improved. Six postgraduate students enrolled in 2016 graduated successfully. They published 15 SCI papers and won more than 20 awards.ConclusionCultivating postgraduates of thoracic surgery oriented by innovative scientific research ability is conducive to the comprehensive understanding of thoracic diseases and the ability of innovative translation research.
Objective To explore the emergence agitation resulting from postoperative indwelling urethral catheters in patients of thoracic surgery. Methods In this prospective cohort study, we recruited 140 patients who were scheduled for thoracic surgery under general anesthesia in West China Hospital from January through April 2014. These patients were divided into two groups including a control group and a trial group with 70 patients in each group. The patients in the control group had indwelled urethral catheter routinely. The catheter removed after the surgery at operation room in the trial group. Intraoperative urinary volume, emergence agitation (EA) occurrence, postoperative urinary retention, and urethral irritation were recorded. Results There was no statistical difference in postoperative urinary retention rate between the control group and the trial group (1.43% vs. 2.86%, P=0.230). However, the urethral irritation rate in the control group was significantly higher than that in the trial group (12.86% vs. 0.00%, P=0.012) . And there was a statistical difference in adverse event rate (2.86% vs. 0.00%, P=0.039) between the two groups. There was a significantly higher incidence of urethral irritation in male patients (20.51%, 8/39) than female patients (3.23%, 1/31, P=0.033).The rate of EA in the control group was significantly higher than that in the trial group (28.57% vs. 12.86%, P=0.010). There was a significantly higher EA rate in the patients who had urethral irritation by postoperative indwelling catheters compared with those without indwelling catheters (45.00% vs. 12.86%, P=0.043). Conclusion This study suggests that postoperative EA is a result from urethral irritation than local pain, and the EA rate can be decreased by removal of catheter before anaesthetic recovery.
Objective To evaluate the pathways for improving the operational efficiency of medical teams, thereby providing micro-level empirical evidence for the refined management and high-quality development of public hospitals. MethodsBased on panel data from nine surgical teams in the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Sichuan Cancer Hospital from 2021 to 2024, this study employed the data envelopment analysis (DEA) with the BCC model to assess static efficiency, including technical efficiency (TE), scale efficiency (SE), and overall efficiency (OE). The Malmquist index was used to analyze the dynamic total factor productivity (TFP) and its decomposition into efficiency change (EC) and technology change (TC). Input indicators were the number of physicians and the number of open beds. Output indicators included the proportion of surgical patients, the proportion of grade Ⅳ surgeries, and the average length of stay (reciprocally transformed for positive orientation). Results The mean OE of all medical teams showed a continuous upward trend, while the mean SE exhibited a “V-shaped” pattern, initially decreasing and then increasing. The most significant growth was observed in mean TE, which was the primary driver of the OE improvement. All medical teams achieved positive TFP growth, with TC values greater than 1.000 across all teams, indicating that technological innovation was the core engine of efficiency enhancement. However, EC showed a divergent trend among the teams. Conclusion Public hospital performance appraisal policies effectively guide technological upgrading of medical teams through indicators such as “proportion of discharged patients undergoing surgery” and “proportion of grade Ⅳ surgeries”. However, issues of hospital resource mismatch and SE differentiation persist. It is necessary to establish specialized operation groups for dynamic resource monitoring and construct a “technological upgrading, scale adaptation, and management innovation” triangular balanced system to achieve a sustainable mechanism for maximizing healthcare resource input-output.
With the continuous advancement of internet technology and the improvement of internet literacy among the general population, the concept of online-offline integration in internet hospitals has gradually gained acceptance and has been applied and developed both domestically and internationally. In thoracic surgery, the applicability of this model lies in enhancing efficiency and delivering comprehensive, diversified, and personalized medical services to address complex and severe conditions. However, challenges such as hardware limitations and diagnostic/treatment risks persist during the implementation of internet hospitals. Through future in-depth and localized research, the online-offline integration of internet hospitals is expected to undergo further development and refinement. This progress will facilitate its integration into clinical practice in thoracic surgery, ultimately providing patients with improved medical care services.
ObjectiveTo estimate postoperative pain and use of analgesic of patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery(VATS) or robotic assisted thoracoscopic surgery(RATS). MethodsFrom October 2014 through August 2015, 339 patients were treated by surgery in Shanghai Chest Hospital. Among them, 116 patients with intrathoracic lesions who underwent RATS with the da Vinci? Surgical System were as a RATS group with 51 males and 65 females at age of 52.59±11.49 years. Another 223 patients by VATS were as a VATS group with 93 males and 130 females at age of 58.00±10.56 years. We recorded the data of the VAS score and use analgesic of the patients after surgery. ResultsThere was a significant difference in VAS score between the RATS group and the VATS group(3.01±0.18 vs. 5.19±0.14, P<0.05). Astatistical difference of analgesic use between RATS and VATS was also found(1.09±0.12 vs. 1.77±0.10, P<0.05). ConclusionCompared with VATS, the postoperative pain of the patients who underwent RATS is lighter. And the use of analgesic is less.
It has been absent from an accepted criteria for normalization and quality control of the thoracic surgery until now. The ideal assessing instrument which will be used to evaluate the technical skills and surgical procedures should present a few vital characterizations below: objectivity, speciality in the content, detailed structure, and quantifiability. Objective structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS) has developed as a reliable method of surgical skills measurement. This article focuses on the history of OSATS and its prospect in the thoracic surgery area by reviewing relevant literatures.
Objective To investigate the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) after thoracotomy. Methods We analyzed the clinical data of 10 patients with PTE after thoracotomy treated from January 2011 to March 2015. Among them were 8 males and 2 females, with their age ranging from 51 to 73 years old, averaging 61. Six patients had lung cancer lobectomy, and 4 had esophagus carcinoma resection. All the 10 patients suffered sudden shortness of breath, chest pain and palpitation within the first 40 hours to 128 hours after surgery, and the physical examinations revealed tachypnea, drop of blood pressure and tachycardia. The PTE diagnosis was confirmed after using echocardiography, three-dimensional imaging of CT pulmonary angiography. All the patients accepted the treatment combination of low molecular weight heparin and warfarin. Results All the patients were cured without complications like chest or wound bleeding. Follow-up checks 3 months after the surgery showed no relapses. Conclusions Thoracotomy patients are of high risks of PTE. The diagnosis should be based on imaging examinations. Treatment combination of low molecular weight heparin and warfarin has a remarkable effect in treating PTE patients after thoracotomy, which also has a low rate of bleeding complications.