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Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adoption of laparoscopic colon surgery and assess its impact in the community at large. Study Design The Surgical Care and Outcomes Assessment Program (SCOAP) is a quality improvement (QI) benchmarking initiative in the Northwest using medical record-based data. We evaluated the use of laparoscopy and a composite of adverse events (CAE; death or clinical reintervention) for patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery at 48 hospitals from 4th quarter of 2005 through 4th quarter of 2010. Results Of the 9,705 patients undergoing elective colorectal surgeries (mean age 60.6 ± 15.6 (SD) yrs; 55.2% women), 38.0% were performed laparoscopically (17.8% laparoscopic procedures converted to open). The use of laparoscopic procedures increased from 23.3% in 2005 quarter 4 to 41.6% in 2010 quarter 4 (trend over study period, p<0.001). After adjustment (age, sex, albumin levels, diabetes, body mass index, comorbidity index, cancer diagnosis, year, hospital bed size and urban vs. rural location), the risk of transfusions [odds ratio (OR) 0.52, 95% CI 0.39–0.7], wound infections (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.34–0.61), and CAEs (OR 0.58; 95%CI 0.43–0.79) were all significantly lower with laparoscopy. Within those hospitals that had been in SCOAP since 2006, hospitals where laparoscopy was most commonly used also had a significant increase in the volume of all types of colon surgery (202 cases per hospital in 2010 from 112 cases per hospital in 2006, 80.4% increase), and in particular the number of resections for non-cancer diagnoses and right sided pathology. Conclusions The use of laparoscopic colorectal resection increased in the Northwest. Increased adoption of laparoscopic colectomies was associated with greater use of all types of colorectal surgery.

There are increasing efforts towards improving the quality and safety of surgical care while decreasing the costs. In Washington state, there has been a regional and unique approach to surgical quality improvement. The development of the Surgical Care and Outcomes Assessment Program (SCOAP) was first described 5 years ago. SCOAP is a peer-to-peer collaborative that engages surgeons to determine the many process of care metrics that go into a “perfect” operation, track on risk adjusted outcomes that are specific to a given operation, and create interventions to correct under performance in both the use of these process measures and outcomes. SCOAP is a thematic departure from report card oriented QI. SCOAP builds off the collaboration and trust of the surgical community and strives for quality improvement by having peers change behaviors of one another. We provide, here, the progress of the SCOAP initiative and highlight its achievements and challenges.

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Prostatic crystalloids are intraluminal eosinophilic structures with variable size and shape. Their presence has been described in conjunction with the occurrence of prostatic adenocarcinoma (pCA). We herein report the association of crystalloids and pCA in a prospective trial utilizing an extended multi-site transrectal ultrasound-guided (TRUS) prostate biopsy protocol. Three hundred and fortyfour consecutive patients were prospectively enrolled at the Dallas Veterans Administration Hospital from November 2002 to September 2003. Indications for biopsy included a prostatespecific antigen (PSA) X4 ng/ml and/or abnormal digital rectal exam. A single pathologist evaluated all biopsy cores and documented the presence or absence of significant histopathologic features. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were applied to test the association of these features with the presence of pCA on concurrent biopsy. Median number of core biopsies per patient was 12 (range 3-36). Overall cancer detection rate was 42.7%. pCA was diagnosed in 66 (81.5%) of 81 patients with crystalloids, 70 (69.3%) of 101 patients with high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN), and 32 (84.2%) of 38 patients with both HGPIN and crystalloids on biopsy. Multivariate analysis identified crystalloids (RR 4.53, 95% CI 2.30-8.88) and HGPIN (RR 3.20, 95% CI 1.84-5.57) as independent predictors of the presence of cancer on concurrent biopsy (Po0.001). In this prospective analysis, crystalloids were significantly associated with pCA on concurrent biopsy and more predictive of the presence of pCA than HGPIN. These findings suggest that the presence of crystalloids alone or in combination with HGPIN in prostate biopsies may be a more compelling indication for repeat biopsy than HGPIN alone.