This study was done to examine the criteria for determining the adequacy of preoperative total parenteral nutrition (TPN). We hypothesized that an important criterion for adequate preoperative nutrition should be a contraction of the expanded extracellular fluid compartment known to occur in malnourished patients undergoing surgical treatment. Clinical evidence of this included a rise in the serum albumin level and weight loss. Fifty-nine patients requiring preoperative nutritional support for at least five days were admitted to the study. The patients were divided into three groups (group 1, group 2a and group 2b) based upon the response of the patients to TPN. Group 1 consisted of 23 patients who demonstrated a rise in serum albumin value, loss in body weight and diuresis after seven days of TPN. Group 2 was made up of 36 patients who failed to demonstrate a rise in the albumin level in response to nutritional support for one week. Of these patients, 20 underwent operation at the end of a week of nutritional support (group 2a) while 16 patients received four to six weeks of nutritional support preoperatively (group 2b). The complication rate in the three groups was 4.3 per cent for those in group 1; 45 per cent for those in group 2a and 12.5 per cent for those in group 2b (p less than 0.05), group 2a versus group 2b). The results of this study demonstrate a high mortality and morbidity in patients who fail to increase the serum albumin level after one week of TPN. The data suggest that a prolonged period of parenteral nutrition results in a substantial decrease in perioperative complications in this group of patients.
The United States (U.S.) continues to experience a shift in the federal and private insurance payer's reimbursement systems from the historical "pay for volume" to today's "pay for value" model [1].This is evidenced by the fact that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to link 90% of all Medicare fee-for-service reimbursements to "quality or value" by the end of 2018 and plans to have 50% of Medicare payments tied to "quality or value" through alternative payment models by the end of 2018 [2][3][4].Multiple process changes were implemented in an effort to achieve these improvements• Operating room (OR) traffic was decreased,
By approaching the cephalic vein with an incision placed high in the deltopectoral triangle, instances in which the cephalic vein is absent or too small to cannulate will almost always result in the successful cannulation of an alternative vein located in this region. In those rare instances in which there is no vein which can be cannulated on one side, contralateral dissection is likely to be successful. Occasionally, a catheter will be seen to pass over the clavicle into the external jugular vein. The catheter should be withdrawn and rethreaded because repeat attempts at central placement will usually be successful.