The effects of temporary staff on observable teamwork outcomes within operating rooms.

Introduction: The use of temporary nursing and operating room staff has increased, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, limited research examines how temporary staffing impacts communication and teamwork behaviors in the operating room.

Materials And Methods: Surgical case safety behaviors were assessed using the Teamwork Evaluation of Non-Technical Skills (TENTS) tool at a large academic hospital.

Towards better understanding of factors contributing to medical physicist well-being in academic medical centers: A systems-analysis approach.

The well-being of medical physicists can impact overall system performance, patient safety, and quality of patient care. There are limited formal assessments of factors contributing to physicists well-being. Nine medical physicists at a US academic medical center were surveyed on 21 workplace factors, drawn from the National Academy of Medicine's systems model of clinician burnout and professional well-being between May 2022 and August 2022.

Increases in the Association Between the Rates of Synchronous and Metachronous Metastases over Time.

This study investigates the association between synchronous and metachronous metastases across various cancer types, evaluating whether that relationship has evolved over time. Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-8 dataset from 1975 to 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. For each of the 18 solid tumor types, the crude rates of synchronous and metachronous metastases were estimated from the SEER database.

Stressors contributing to burnout among acute care and trauma surgery care teams: a systems-analysis approach.

Background: Burnout negatively impacts healthcare professionals' well-being, leading to an increased risk of human errors and patient harm. There are limited assessments of burnout and associated stressors among acute care and trauma surgery teams.

Methods: Acute care and trauma surgery team members at a US academic medical center were administered a survey that included a 2-item Maslach Burnout Inventory and 21 workplace stressors based on the National Academy of Medicine's systems model of clinician burnout and professional well-being.

Association between tumor location and toxicity outcomes after stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastases.

Purpose: Toxicities associated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) are important when considering treatment and supportive management for patients with brain metastases. We herein assessed the association between brain metastasis location and risk of toxicity after SRS.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective institutional review of patients treated with SRS for brain metastases between 2008 and 2023.

Longitudinal analysis of culture of patient safety survey results in surgical departments.

Background: There is a need for improved methodologies on how to longitudinally analyze, interpret and learn from the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS), developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Typically, SOPS quantify results by the percentage of positive responses, but this approach may miss insights from neutral or negative feedback.

Study Design: The SOPS were distributed every two years from 2011 to 2022 to all hospital staff at one academic institution from perioperative services.

Identifying dose constraints for the parotid ducts to minimize patient-reported xerostomia: Is conventional mean dose sparing of the parotid glands sufficient?

Background And Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify dose constraints for the parotid ducts that limit patient-reported xerostomia and estimate whether these constraints are achieved during conventional parotid gland sparing radiation therapy (PGS-RT).

Methods And Materials: Thirty-eight oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma patients were treated prospectively on trial with MRI sialography-guided parotid duct sparing radiation therapy (PDS-RT). PDS-RT explicitly minimizes dose to the parotid ducts in addition to PGS-RT.

Operating Room Teams Display Acceptable Levels of Patient Safety Behaviors During Surgical Cases.

Introduction: Cornerstones of patient safety include reliable safety behaviors proposed by Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) practices. A better quantification of these behaviors is needed to establish a baseline for future improvement efforts.

Methods: At one large academic medical center, OR Teams were prospectively assigned to be observed during surgical cases, and patient safety behaviors were quantified using the Teamwork Evaluation of Non-Technical Skills (TENTS) instrument.

Reporting Standards for Complication Studies of Radiation Therapy for Pediatric Cancer: Lessons From PENTEC.

The major aim of Pediatric Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic (PENTEC) was to synthesize quantitative published dose/-volume/toxicity data in pediatric radiation therapy. Such systematic reviews are often challenging because of the lack of standardization and difficulty of reporting outcomes, clinical factors, and treatment details in journal articles. This has clinical consequences: optimization of treatment plans must balance between the risks of toxicity and local failure; counseling patients and their parents requires knowledge of the excess risks encountered after a specific treatment.

Analysis of patient safety event report categories at one large academic hospital.

Given the persistent safety incidents in operating rooms (ORs) nationwide (approx. 4,000 preventable harmful surgical errors per year), there is a need to better analyze and understand reported patient safety events. This study describes the results of applying the Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) supported by the Teamwork Evaluation of Non-Technical Skills (TENTS) instrument to analyze patient safety event reports at one large academic medical center.

Quantifying Regional Radiation-Induced Lung Injury in Patients Using Hyperpolarized Xe Gas Exchange Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Purpose: Radiation-induced lung injury has been shown to alter regional ventilation and perfusion in the lung. However, changes in regional pulmonary gas exchange have not previously been measured.

Methods And Materials: Ten patients receiving conventional radiation therapy (RT) for lung cancer underwent pre-RT and 3-month post-RT magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using an established hyperpolarized Xe gas exchange technique to map lung function.

Brain and Brain Stem Necrosis After Reirradiation for Recurrent Childhood Primary Central Nervous System Tumors: A PENTEC Comprehensive Review.

Purpose: Reirradiation is increasingly used in children and adolescents/young adults (AYA) with recurrent primary central nervous system tumors. The Pediatric Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic (PENTEC) reirradiation task force aimed to quantify risks of brain and brain stem necrosis after reirradiation.

Methods And Materials: A systematic literature search using the PubMed and Cochrane databases for peer-reviewed articles from 1975 to 2021 identified 92 studies on reirradiation for recurrent tumors in children/AYA.

Improving Pediatric Normal Tissue Radiation Dose-Response Modeling in Children With Cancer: A PENTEC Initiative.

The development of normal tissue radiation dose-response models for children with cancer has been challenged by many factors, including small sample sizes; the long length of follow-up needed to observe some toxicities; the continuing occurrence of events beyond the time of assessment; the often complex relationship between age at treatment, normal tissue developmental dynamics, and age at assessment; and the need to use retrospective dosimetry. Meta-analyses of published pediatric outcome studies face additional obstacles of incomplete reporting of critical dosimetric, clinical, and statistical information. This report describes general methods used to address some of the pediatric modeling issues.

Risks of Spinal Abnormalities and Growth Impairment After Radiation to the Spine in Childhood Cancer Survivors: A PENTEC Comprehensive Review.

Purpose: A PENTEC (Pediatric Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic) review was performed to estimate the dose-volume effects of radiation therapy on spine deformities and growth impairment for patients who underwent radiation therapy as children.

Methods And Materials: A systematic literature search was performed to identify published data for spine deformities and growth stunting. Data were extracted from 12 reports of children irradiated to the spine (N = 603 patients).

Comparison of Risks of Late Effects From Radiation Therapy in Children Versus Adults: Insights From the QUANTEC, HyTEC, and PENTEC Efforts.

Pediatric Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic (PENTEC) seeks to refine quantitative radiation dose-volume relationships for normal-tissue complication probabilities (NTCPs) in survivors of pediatric cancer. This article summarizes the evolution of PENTEC and compares it with similar adult-focused efforts (eg, Quantitative Analysis of Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic [QUANTEC] and Hypofractionated Treatment Effects in the Clinic [HyTEC]) with respect to content, oversight, support, scope, and methodology of literature review. It then summarizes key organ-specific findings from PENTEC in an attempt to compare NTCP estimates in children versus adults.