Patients exposed to a surgical safety checklist experience better postoperative outcomes, but this could simply reflect wider quality of care in hospitals where checklist use is routine.

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Background The Clavien–Dindo classification is perhaps the most widely used approach for reporting postoperative complications in clinical trials. This system classifies complication severity by the treatment provided. However, it is unclear whether the Clavien–Dindo system can be used internationally in studies across differing healthcare systems in high‐ (HICs) and low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). Methods This was a secondary analysis of the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), a prospective observational cohort study of elective surgery in adults. Data collection occurred over a 7‐day period. Severity of complications was graded using Clavien–Dindo and the simpler ISOS grading (mild, moderate or severe, based on guided investigator judgement). Severity grading was compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Data are presented as frequencies and ICC values (with 95 per cent c.i.). The analysis was stratified by income status of the country, comparing HICs with LMICs. Results A total of 44 814 patients were recruited from 474 hospitals in 27 countries (19 HICs and 8 LMICs). Some 7508 patients (16·8 per cent) experienced at least one postoperative complication, equivalent to 11 664 complications in total. Using the ISOS classification, 5504 of 11 664 complications (47·2 per cent) were graded as mild, 4244 (36·4 per cent) as moderate and 1916 (16·4 per cent) as severe. Using Clavien–Dindo, 6781 of 11 664 complications (58·1 per cent) were graded as I or II, 1740 (14·9 per cent) as III, 2408 (20·6 per cent) as IV and 735 (6·3 per cent) as V. Agreement between classification systems was poor overall (ICC 0·41, 95 per cent c.i. 0·20 to 0·55), and in LMICs (ICC 0·23, 0·05 to 0·38) and HICs (ICC 0·46, 0·25 to 0·59). Conclusion Caution is recommended when using a treatment approach to grade complications in global surgery studies, as this may introduce bias unintentionally.

We report a case of fatal necrotizing soft tissue infection (NSTI) due to Clostridium perfringens (CP) in a neutropenic patient with diabetes mellitus. As in many cases, by the time a diagnosis was made, the condition had rapidly progressed to its late stages, resulting in a fatal outcome. The emergency physician should be aware of NSTI as a complication when patients present with pain out of proportion to physical findings and/or signs of soft tissue compromise. Negative prognostic factors for survival are diabetes mellitus, immunosuppression, age, and toxic shock syndrome. A bedside ultrasound scan allows for rapid evaluation in time-sensitive critically ill patients and can promote prompt treatment without the need to delay for further imaging studies.

The ichthyosis comprise a group of congenital disorders characterised by the presence of hyperkeratotic scales on the skin surface. Non-bullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma is an infrequent form of presentation, only few cases have been reported. This condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern and the most common cause is inactivating mutations in the transglutaminase-1 gene. Clinical manifestations include scaling of the skin, difficulty maintaining body temperature and in some cases malnutrition and musculoskeletal deformities.