JACS Highlights September 2024

• The following articles appear in the September 2024 issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. A complimentary online subscription to JACS is a benefit of ACS membership. See more articles on the JACS website.

Procedure Risk vs. Frailty in Outcomes for Elderly Emergency General Surgery Patients: Results of a National Analysis

Bishoy Zakhary, MPH, Bruno C. Coimbra, Junsik Kwon, MD, and colleagues

This study found that procedure risk had a stronger association with relevant outcomes in elderly emergency general surgery (EGS) patients compared with frailty. Assessing frailty in the elderly EGS patient population without adjusting for the type of procedure or procedure risk ultimately presents an incomplete representation of how frailty impacts patient-related outcomes. Read more.

Scheduled Follow-Up and Association with Emergency Department Use and Readmission after Trauma

Sophia M. Smith, MD, Xuewei Zhao, MPH, Kelly Kenzik, PhD, and colleagues

In trauma patients, follow-up is not associated with reduced rate of emergency department (ED) use or readmission. Mental health comorbidity was a risk factor for both ED use and readmission, and non-White race was associated with ED use. Read more.

Escalating Surgical Treatment for Left Ventricular Assist Device Infection and Expected Mortality: Clinical Risk Prediction Score

Michael J. Finnan, MD, MS, David Chi, MD, PhD, Sarah N. Chiang, and colleagues

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) infection is challenging to manage, and clear treatment guidelines are lacking. This cohort study of 760 LVAD patients characterized three escalating strategies: medical management, surgical debridement, and flap reconstruction. In selected cases, escalating surgical treatment was associated with increased survival. Read more.

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