We examined whether trait disgust sensitivity predicts well-being in colostomy patients, and whether disgust predicts stigmatizing attitudes about colostomy in non-patients. 195 patients with a colostomy returned a mailed survey including measures of disgust sensitivity, life satisfaction, mood, and feelings of being stigmatized. We also conducted an internet-survey of a non-patient sample (n =...

When faced with intense domestic turmoil, governments may strategically engage in foreign interactions to divert the public’s attention away from pressing issues. I test this hypothesis for a globally representative sample of 190 countries, at monthly level, over years 1997–2014. Using high–frequency data on media–reported events, find robust evidence that resort diversionary strategies times t...

Community members often evaluate health conditions more negatively than do the patients who have them. The authors investigated whether experience with a health condition reduces this discrepancy by surveying colostomy patients by mail (n = 195), some of whom (n = 100) had their colostomies reversed and normal bowel function restored. The authors also surveyed a community sample recruited via t...

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided cyst drainage is increasingly performed in the treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts and walled-off pancreatic necrosis. We have experienced three cases of colonic fistula after endoscopic ultrasound-guided cyst drainage. Case #1 was a patient with walled-off pancreatic necrosis, in which a fistula into the transverse colon occurred as a late complication of endoscopi...

Dear Editors, Fournier’s gangrene is a fast progressing, life-threatening necrotizing infection, which is commonly seen in the dermis and subcutaneous layers of the anogenital region. The infection is usually caused by organisms that spread along the subcutaneous and fascial planes across the perineum, scrotum and often beyond these tissues. The usual treatment is a prompt surgical debridement ...

OBJECTIVE To review multi-institutional, multidisciplinary experience in the management of Fournier's gangrene (FG) in an attempt to identify etiologic parameters as well as to propose methods of efficient management. PATIENTS AND METHODS Retrospective chart review of 45 patients diagnosed with FG and treated in three departments (general surgery and urology departments) was performed. RESU...

BACKGROUND This targeted chart review study reports the first ever detailed global account of clinical approaches adopted to detect and manage anastomotic leaks identified during surgery in routine clinical practice. METHOD 156 surgeons from eight countries retrospectively extracted data from surgical records of 458 patients who underwent colorectal surgery with an identified intraoperative l...

HYPOTHESIS Patients with diverticulitis are at a lifetime risk for emergency colectomy and colostomy. Age and recurrence characteristics can serve to predict the risk for these adverse outcomes. DESIGN Time-to-event analysis and logistic regression were used to determine the risk of emergency colectomy/colostomy. SETTING AND PATIENTS A retrospective cohort study using a statewide administra...