Weather Alert: A major winter storm is likely to impact the Philadelphia region this weekend into Monday. Temple Health remains open, though some appointments or services may be adjusted. Patients will be contacted directly if their visit is affected. Please check Foxchase.org for updates and monitor myTempleHealth for changes to scheduled appointments.
Process-of-Care Clinical Trials in Surgery
-
Fox Chase Cancer Center surgeon Robert Uzzo has a commentary in Renal & Urology News about "Clinical Trials in Surgery: A New Paradigm." Dr. Uzzo, the Chair of Surgical Oncology and G. Willing "Wing" Pepper Chair in Cancer Research, explains the efficacy of "processes-of-care-trials" or POCTS:
Why are processes-of-care trials (POCTs) meaningful? First, they present an opportunity for physicians within a system to rally around a common problem with no obvious solution and try to study it systematically. For example, post-operative ileus is a very common cause of prolonged hospitalization. While it is simple to explain, it remains difficult to improve. Second, POCTs emphasize the use of level 1 evidence and move us away from practice by anecdote. Third, and most importantly, POCTs reshape the culture of acceptance of “meaningless” or “minor” post-operative complications such as catheter associated urinary tract infections, superficial skin infections, and post-op retention. These “initiating” complications often prolong hospitalization and permit “spiraling” complications to set in.
The full piece is at renalandurologynews.com