Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29406843›Full record

ArticleRambam Maimonides medical journal2018

Factors Affecting Surgical Decision-making-A Qualitative Study.

Caroline Gunaratnam, Mark Bernstein

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Rambam Maimonides medical journal, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
36citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

36 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 59 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
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  5. Observational
  6. Balancing Objectivity and Humanity: Ethical Challenges and Considerations in Surgical Candidacy Decisions.HEC forum : an interdisciplinary journal on hospitals' ethical and legal issues · 2026
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  20. Barriers faced by surgeons in identifying and managing malnutrition in emergency general surgery: A qualitative study.Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Caroline GunaratnamDivision of Neurosurgery, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Mark BernsteinDivision of Neurosurgery, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
University Health Network · CAUniversity of Toronto · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGuidelines and Class 1 evidence are strong factors that help guide surgeons' decision-making, but dilemmas exist in selecting the best surgical option, usually without the benefit of guidelines or Class 1 evidence. A few studies have discussed the variability of surgical treatment options that are currently available, but no study has examined surgeons' views on the influential factors that encourage them to choose one surgical treatment over another. This study examines the influential factors and the thought process that encourage surgeons to make these decisions in such circumstances.

methodsSemi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 32 senior consultant surgeons, surgical fellows, and senior surgical residents at the University of Toronto teaching hospitals. An e-mail was sent out for volunteers, and interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and subjected to thematic analysis using open and axial coding.

resultsBroadly speaking there are five groups of factors affecting surgeons' decision-making: medical condition, information, institutional, patient, and surgeon factors. When information factors such as guidelines and Class 1 evidence are lacking, the other four groups of factors-medical condition, institutional, patient, and surgeon factors (the last-mentioned likely being the most powerful)-play a significant role in guiding surgical decision-making.

conclusionsThis study is the first qualitative study on surgeons' perspectives on the influential factors that help them choose one surgical treatment option over another for their patients.

Identifiers

PMID29406843
PMCPMC5796734
OpenAlexW2792779504

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.