ASA Annual Meeting Highlights Trauma Center Volume, Bariatric Accreditation, More

The September 2014 Annals of Surgery features more than 15 studies presented at the American Surgical Association's (ASA) 2014 annual meeting, held April 10 to 12, 2014, in Boston. Notable studies included one finding that increases in trauma center volume were tied to improved 1- and 28-day patient mortality for patients suffering both traumatic brain injury and shock. The study evaluated 2,070 patients in 60 hospitals and found that every increase in 500 trauma admissions resulted in a 7% drop in 1- and 28-day mortality for patients in both groups, along with an increase in ventilator-free days and a decrease in Multiple Organ Dysfunction Scale scores. Traumatic brain injury patients sustained their improved mortality at six months as well, although shock patients did not.