All Publications

  • Improving preclinical medical student's perception of plastic and reconstructive surgery EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PLASTIC SURGERY Singh, D., Deptula, P., Cheng, J., Rowley, M., Thawanyarat, K., Said, H., Parsa, F., Nazerali, R. 2022

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s00238-022-02000-w

    View details for Web of Science ID 000866415700005

  • Craniofacial Assault Against Women: A National Evaluation Defining At-risk Populations and Outcomes. The Journal of craniofacial surgery Johnstone, T., Singh, D., Liu, F., Silverstein, M., Shah, J., Darrach, H., Staudenmayer, K., Sheckter, C., Nazerali, R. 2024

    Abstract

    Few studies have analyzed epidemiologic factor associated with female patients presenting to the emergency department from facial fractures because of assault. Clearly understanding these factors may assist in developing effective strategies to decrease the incidence and sequelae of these injuries.To determine the epidemiology of facial fractures because of assault in the female population.All female facial fracture visits were queried in the 2019 Nationwide Emergency Department (ED) Sample database. The likelihood of a facial fracture encounter resulting from assault was modeled using logistic regression adjusting for demographics, insurance status, geographic region, location of patient residence, and income. Secondary outcomes analyzed hospitalization costs and adverse events.Of all facial fractures 12.4% of female encounters were due to assault were due to assault. Of assaulted females, 72.8% were between the ages of 20 and 40, and Black women experienced a disproportionate share of assault encounters (odds ratio [OR]=2.55; CI, 2.29-2.84). A large portion (46.4%) of encounters occurred in patients living in the lowest quartile of median household income, and 22.8% of patients were uninsured (OR=1.34; CI, 1.09-1.66). Assaulted patients were more likely to have fractures in nasal bone (58.1% vs. 42.5%), orbit (16.8% vs. 10.9%), zygoma (4.1% vs 3.6%), and mandible (8.7% vs. 4.8%) compared with their nonassaulted counterparts.Facial fractures were especially common in lower income, uninsured, urban, and Black populations. Examining the patterns of injury and presentation are critical to improve prevention strategies and screening tools, identifying critical patients, and develop a more efficient and effective system to treat and support female patients suffering facial fractures secondary to assault.

    View details for DOI 10.1097/SCS.0000000000010234

    View details for PubMedID 38785427

  • Improving Operating Room Efficiency Through Reducing First Start Delays in an Academic Center. Journal for healthcare quality : official publication of the National Association for Healthcare Quality Singh, D., Cai, L., Watt, D., Scoggins, E., Wald, S., Nazerali, R. 2023

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: Delays in operating room (OR) first-case start times can cause additional costs for hospitals, healthcare team frustration and delay in patient care. Here, a novel process improvement strategy to improving first-case start times is presented.METHODS: First case in room start times were recorded for ORs at an academic medical center. Three interventions-automatic preoperative orders, dot phrases to permit re-creation of unavailable consent forms, and improved H&P linking to the surgical encounter-were implemented to target documentation-related delays. Monthly percentages of first-case on-time starts (FCOTS) and time saved were compared with the "preintervention" time period, and total cost savings were estimated.RESULTS: During the first 3-months after implementation of the interventions, the percentage of FCOTS improved from an average of 36.7%-52.7%. Total time savings across all ORs over the same time period was found to be 55.63 hours, which is estimated to have saved a total of $121,834.52 over the 3-month interventional period.CONCLUSIONS: By implementing multiple quality improvement interventions, delays to first start in room OR cases can be meaningfully reduced. Quality improvement protocols targeted toward root causes of OR delays can be a significant driver to reduce healthcare costs.

    View details for DOI 10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000398

    View details for PubMedID 37596242

  • Racial Disparities in Postoperative Breast Reconstruction Outcomes: A National Analysis. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities Johnstone, T., Thawanyarat, K., Rowley, M., Francis, S., Camacho, J. M., Singh, D., Navarro, Y., Shah, J. K., Nazerali, R. S. 2023

    Abstract

    Studies have shown that Black patients are more likely to experience complications following breast reconstruction compared to other racial groups. Most of these studies have been conducted on patient populations focusing on either autologous or implant-based reconstruction without possible predictive indicators for complication disparities for all types of reconstruction procedures. The aim of this study is to elucidate disparities among patient demographics by identifying predictors of complications and postoperative outcomes among different racial/ethnic patients undergoing breast reconstruction utilizing multi-state, multi-institution, and national level data.Patients in the Optum Clinformatics Data Mart that underwent all billable forms of breast reconstruction were identified via CPT codes. Demographics, medical history, and postoperative outcome data were collected by querying relevant reports of CPT, ICD-9, and ICD-10 codes. Outcomes analysis was limited to the 90-day global postoperative period. A multivariable logistic-regression analysis was performed to ascertain the effects of age, patient reported ethnicity, coexisting conditions, and reconstruction type on the likelihood of any common postoperative complication occurring. Linearity of the continuous variables with respect to the logit of the dependent variable was confirmed. Odds ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated.From over 86 million longitudinal patient records, our study population included 104,714 encounters for 57,468 patients who had undergone breast reconstruction between January 2003 and June 2019. Black race (relative to White), autologous reconstruction, hypertension, type II diabetes mellitus, and tobacco use were independent predictors of increased likelihood of complication. Specifically, the odds ratios for complication occurrence for Black, Hispanic, and Asian ethnicity (relative to White) were 1.09, 1.03, and 0.77, respectively. Black patients had an overall breast reconstruction complication rate of 20.4%, while the corresponding rate for White, Hispanic, and Asian patients were 17.0%, 17.9%, and 13.2%, respectively.Our analysis of a national-level database shows that Black patients undergoing implant-based or autologous reconstruction have increased risk of complications, likely due to multifactorial components that play a role in the care of this patient population. While higher rates of comorbidities have been cited as a possible cause, providers must consider racial influences involving cultural context, historical mistrust in medicine, and physician/health institution factors that may drive this disparity of outcomes among our patients.

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s40615-023-01599-1

    View details for PubMedID 37074634

    View details for PubMedCentralID 8027914