Failure to Cure Patients with Colorectal Liver Metastases: The Impact of the Liver Surgeon.

BACKGROUND: Lack of a liver surgeon (LS) may lead to failure to cure in patients with possibly resectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). This study aims to quantify the failure-to-cure rate due to noninclusion of an LS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients who underwent chemotherapy with palliative intent for CRLM at a community oncology network between 2010 and 2018 were identified from a prospectively maintained cancer registry. Two LS blinded to patient management and outcome reviewed pretreatment imaging and assigned each scan a newly developed resectability score. Nominal group technique and independent scores were combined to determine probability of curative-intent resection. Interobserver agreement was calculated using κ testing. RESULTS: This study included 72 palliative CRLM patients. Demographic factors were: 44 (59%) male, median age 68 years (range 36-94 years), 23 (32%) rectal primary, 24 (33%) receiving oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy. Of the 72 patients with CRLM, 6 had left-sided metastases only. The median number of CRLM was 6 (1-8). Agreement on resectability was achieved in 32 (44%) patients for the entire cohort and 17 (54%) in patients without extrahepatic disease. A lower median number of CRLM was found in the group considered to be resectable by the two LS (2 versus 8; p = 0.001). Substantial agreement was found between liver surgeons in the group of patients without extrahepatic disease (κ = 0.9043). CONCLUSIONS: Over 44% of patients who were assigned palliative chemotherapy at tumor boards without an LS were considered potentially resectable upon independent LS review.

Truth in Reporting: How Data Capture Methods Obfuscate Actual Surgical Site Infection Rates within a Health Care Network System.

BACKGROUND: Two systems measure surgical site infection rates following colorectal surgeries: the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services pay-for-performance initiatives use National Healthcare Safety Network data for hospital comparisons. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare database concordance. DESIGN: This is a multi-institution cohort study of systemwide Colorectal Surgery Collaborative. The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program requires rigorous, standardized data capture techniques; National Healthcare Safety Network allows 5 data capture techniques. Standardized surgical site infection rates were compared between databases. The Cohen κ-coefficient was calculated. SETTING: This study was conducted at Boston-area hospitals. PATIENTS: National Healthcare Safety Network or National Surgical Quality Improvement Program patients undergoing colorectal surgery were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Standardized surgical site infection rates were the primary outcomes of interest. RESULTS: Thirty-day surgical site infection rates of 3547 (National Surgical Quality Improvement Program) vs 5179 (National Healthcare Safety Network) colorectal procedures (2012-2014). Discrepancies appeared: National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database of hospital 1 (N = 1480 patients) routinely found surgical site infection rates of approximately 10%, routinely deemed rate "exemplary" or "as expected" (100%). National Healthcare Safety Network data from the same hospital and time period (N = 1881) revealed a similar overall surgical site infection rate (10%), but standardized rates were deemed "worse than national average" 80% of the time. Overall, hospitals using less rigorous capture methods had improved surgical site infection rates for National Healthcare Safety Network compared with standardized National Surgical Quality Improvement Program reports. The correlation coefficient between standardized infection rates was 0.03 (p = 0.88). During 25 site-time period observations, National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and National Healthcare Safety Network data matched for 52% of observations (13/25). κ = 0.10 (95% CI, -0.1366 to 0.3402; p = 0.403), indicating poor agreement. LIMITATIONS: This study investigated hospitals located in the Northeastern United States only. CONCLUSIONS: Variation in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-mandated National Healthcare Safety Network infection surveillance methodology leads to unreliable results, which is apparent when these results are compared with standardized data. High-quality data would improve care quality and compare outcomes among institutions.

Management of intracranial complications of sinus surgery.

Endoscopic sinus surgery has an impressive and continually im-proving safety record. Increasing surgical experience and improved techniques and equipment make this procedure fundamentally safe. Anatomic variations, extensive disease, and the tight confines that the sinuses occupy between the skull base and orbits, however, do allow the possibility of untoward events. Many of these complications are minor, but the potential for significant morbidity, including blindness, diplopia, cerebrospinal fluid fistula with or without meningitis, intracranial brain injury, and hemorrhage from internal carotid artery injury, is real. This article discusses the avoidance and management of these complications.