Evaluating Global Surgery Partnerships From Low and Middle Income Country Perspectives.

INTRODUCTION: Little is known about perceptions of low-income and middle-income country (LMIC) partners regarding global surgery collaborations with high-income countries (HICs). METHODS: A survey was distributed to surgeons from LMICs to assess the nature and perception of collaborations, funding, benefits, communication, and the effects of COVID-19 on partnerships. RESULTS: We received 19 responses from LMIC representatives in 12 countries on three continents. The majority (83%) had participated in collaborations within the past 5 y with 39% of collaborations were facilitated virtually. Clinical and educational partnerships (39% each) were ranked most important by respondents. Sustainability of the partnership was most successfully achieved in domains of education/training (78%) and research (61%). The majority (77%) of respondents reported expressing their needs before HIC team arrival. However, 54% of respondents were the ones to initiate the conversation and only 47% said HIC partners understood the overall environment well at arrival to LMIC. Almost all participants (95%) felt a formal process of collaboration and a structured partnership would benefit all parties in assessing needs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 87% of participants reported continued collaborations; however, 44% of partners felt that relationships were weaker, 31% felt relationships were stronger, and 25% felt they were unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides a snapshot of LMIC surgeons' perspectives on collaboration in global surgery. Independent of location, LMIC partners cite inadequate structure for long-term collaborations. We propose a formal pathway and initiation process to assess resources and needs at the outset of a partnership.

Subdural hemorrhage, macrocephaly, rash, and developmental delay in an infant: A pathogenic variant in NLRP3 causes CINCA/NOMID.

Subdural hemorrhages (SDHs) in children are most often observed in abusive head trauma (AHT), a distinct form of traumatic brain injury, but they may occur in other conditions as well, typically with clear signs and symptoms of an alternative diagnosis. We present a case of an infant whose SDH initially raised the question of AHT, but multidisciplinary evaluation identified multiple abnormalities, including rash, macrocephaly, growth failure, and elevated inflammatory markers, which were all atypical for trauma. These, along with significant cerebral atrophy, ventriculomegaly, and an absence of other injuries, raised concerns for a genetic disorder, prompting genetic consultation. Clinical trio exome sequencing identified a de novo likely pathogenic variant in NLRP3, which is associated with chronic infantile neurological, cutaneous, and articular (CINCA) syndrome, also known as neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease (NOMID). He was successfully treated with interleukin-1 blockade, highlighting the importance of prompt treatment in CINCA/NOMID patients. This case also illustrates how atraumatic cases of SDH can be readily distinguished from AHT with multidisciplinary collaboration and careful consideration of the clinical history and exam findings.

Geographic Proximity of Family Members and Healthcare Utilization After Complex Surgical Procedures.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the relationship between a patient's proximal familial social support, defined as the geographic proximity of family members, and healthcare utilization after complex cardiovascular and oncologic procedures. BACKGROUND: Social support mechanisms are increasingly identified as modifiable risk factors for healthcare utilization. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 60,895 patients undergoing complex cardiovascular procedures or oncologic procedures. We defined healthcare utilization outcomes as 30-day all-cause readmission unplanned readmission, nonindex hospital readmission, index hospital length of stay, and home discharge disposition. For each patient, we aggregated the number of first-degree relatives (FDR) living within 30 miles of the patient's home address at the time of the surgical procedure into the following categories: 0 to 1, 2 to 3, 4 to 5, 6+ FDRs. We developed hierarchical multivariable regression models to determine the relationship between the number of FDR living within 30 miles of the patient and the healthcare utilization outcomes. RESULTS: Compared with patients with 0 to 1 FDRs, patients with 6+ FDRs living in close proximity had significantly lower rates of all-cause readmission (12.1% vs 13.5%, P <0.001), unplanned readmission (10.9% vs 12.0%, P =0.001), nonindex readmission (2.6% vs 3.2%, P =0.003); higher rates of home discharge (88.0% vs 85.3%, P <0.001); and shorter length of stay (7.3 vs 7.5 days, P =0.02). After multivariable adjustment, a larger number of FDRs living within 30 miles of the patient was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of all-cause readmission ( P <0.001 for trend), 30-day unplanned readmission ( P <0.001), nonindex readmission ( P <0.001); higher likelihood of home discharge ( P <0.001); and shorter index length of stay ( P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The geographic proximity of family members is significantly associated with decreased healthcare utilization after complex cardiovascular and oncologic surgical procedures.

Hospital Costs Following Surgical Complications: A Value-driven Outcomes Analysis of Cost Savings Due to Complication Prevention.

OBJECTIVE: Surgical complications have substantial impact on healthcare costs. We propose an analysis of the financial impact of postoperative complications. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Both complications and preoperative patient risk have been shown to increase costs following surgery. The extent of cost increase due to specific complications has not been well described. METHODS: A single institution's American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data was queried from 2012 to 2018 and merged with institutional cost data for each encounter. A mixed effects multivariable generalized linear model was used to estimate the mean relative increase in hospital cost due to each complication, adjusting for patient and procedure-level fixed effects clustered by procedure. Potential savings were calculated based on projected decreases in complication rates and theoretical hospital volume. RESULTS: There were 11,897 patients linked between the 2 databases. The rate of any American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program complication was 11.7%. The occurrence of any complication resulted in a 1.5-fold mean increase in direct hospital cost [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.49-1.58]. The top 6 most costly complications were postoperative septic shock (4.0-fold, 95% CI 3.58-4.43) renal insufficiency/failure (3.3-fold, 95% CI 2.91-3.65), any respiratory complication (3.1-fold, 95% CI 2.94-3.36), cardiac arrest (3.0-fold, 95% CI 2.64-3.46), myocardial infarction (2.9-fold, 95% CI 2.43-3.42) and mortality within 30 days (2.2-fold, 95% CI 2.01-2.48). Length of stay (6.5 versus 3.2 days, P < 0.01), readmission rate (29.1% vs 3.1%, P < 0.01), and discharge destination outside of home (20.5% vs 2.7%, P < 0.01) were significantly higher in the population who experienced complications. CONCLUSIONS: Decreasing complication rates through preoperative optimization will improve patient outcomes and lead to substantial cost savings.

Comparison of Patient Outcomes Among Integrated Residency Versus Fellowship-trained Vascular Surgeons.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate whether graduates of integrated vascular surgery residency (IVSR) programs achieve similar surgical outcomes in clinical practice as compared to graduates of vascular surgery fellowships (VSF). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Early sub-specialization through IVSR programs decreases the total years of surgical training. However, it is unclear whether IVSR graduates achieve comparable outcomes to fellowship-trained surgeons once in clinical practice. METHODS: We identified all vascular surgeons who finished IVSR and VSF programs between 2013-2017 using American Board of Surgery data, which was linked to the Vascular Quality Initiative registry (2013-2019) to evaluate provider-specific clinical outcomes following carotid, lower extremity, and aortic aneurysm repair procedures. The association between training models and the composite outcome of 1-year mortality, major adverse cardiac events and/or other major complications were analyzed using mixed-effects logistic regression models. RESULTS: A total of 338 surgeons (31% IVSR, 69% VSF) submitted cases into the Vascular Quality Initiative registry, including 8155 carotid, 21,428 lower extremity, and 5800 aortic aneurysm repair procedures. Composite 1-year outcome rates were comparable between IVSR and VSF-trained surgeons following carotid endarterectomy (8%-IVSR vs 7%-VSF), lower extremity revascularization (19%-IVSR vs 16%-VSF), and aortic aneurysm repair (13%-IVSR vs 13%-VSF) procedures. These findings among IVSR-trained surgeons persisted following risk adjustment for severity of patient disease and indications for undertaking carotid [aOR: 1.04 (0.84-1.28)], lower extremity [aOR: 1.03 (0.84-1.26)], and aortic [aOR: 0.96 (0.76-1.21)] procedures when compared to VSF-trained surgeons. CONCLUSIONS: Despite fewer total years of training, graduates of IVSR programs achieve equivalent surgical outcomes as fellowship-trained vascular surgeons once in practice. These results suggest that concerns about differential competence among integrated residency graduates are not warranted.

Value Analysis of Methods of Inguinal Hernia Repair.

OBJECTIVE: Value is defined as health outcomes important to patients relative to cost of achieving those outcomes: Value = Quality/Cost. For inguinal hernia repair, Level 1 evidence shows no differences in long-term functional status or recurrence rates when comparing surgical approaches. Differences in value reside within differences in cost. The aim of this study is to compare the value of different surgical approaches to inguinal hernia repair: Open (Open-IH), Laparoscopic (Lap-IH), and Robotic (R-TAPP). METHODS: Variable and fixed hospital costs were compared among consecutive Open-IH, Lap-IH, and R-TAPP repairs (100 each) performed in a university hospital. Variable costs (VC) including direct materials, labor, and variable overhead ($/min operating room [OR] time) were evaluated using Value Driven Outcomes, an internal activity-based costing methodology. Variable and fixed costs were allocated using full absorption costing to evaluate the impact of surgical approach on value. As cost data is proprietary, differences in cost were normalized to Open-IH cost. RESULTS: Compared to Open-IH, VC for Lap-IH were 1.02X higher (including a 0.81X reduction in cost for operating room [OR] time). For R-TAPP, VC were 2.11X higher (including 1.36X increased costs for OR time). With allocation of fixed cost, a Lap-IH was 1.03X more costly, whereas R-TAPP was 3.18X more costly than Open-IH. Using equivalent recurrence as the quality metric in the value equation, Lap-IH decreases value by 3% and R-TAPP by 69% compared to Open-IH. CONCLUSIONS: Use of higher cost technology to repair inguinal hernias reduces value. Incremental health benefits must be realized to justify increased costs. We expect payors and patients will incorporate value into payment decisions.

Portable Automated Surveillance of Surgical Site Infections Using Natural Language Processing: Development and Validation.

OBJECTIVES: We present the development and validation of a portable NLP approach for automated surveillance of SSIs. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The surveillance of SSIs is labor-intensive limiting the generalizability and scalability of surgical quality surveillance programs. METHODS: We abstracted patient clinical text notes after surgical procedures from 2 independent healthcare systems using different electronic healthcare records. An SSI detected as part of the American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Program was used as the reference standard. We developed a rules-based NLP system (Easy Clinical Information Extractor [CIE]-SSI) for operative event-level detection of SSIs using an training cohort (4574 operative events) from 1 healthcare system and then conducted internal validation on a blind cohort from the same healthcare system (1850 operative events) and external validation on a blind cohort from the second healthcare system (15,360 operative events). EasyCIE-SSI performance was measured using sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver-operating-curve (AUC). RESULTS: The prevalence of SSI was 4% and 5% in the internal and external validation corpora. In internal validation, EasyCIE-SSI had a sensitivity, specificity, AUC of 94%, 88%, 0.912 for the detection of SSI, respectively. In external validation, EasyCIE-SSI had sensitivity, specificity, AUC of 79%, 92%, 0.852 for the detection of SSI, respectively. The sensitivity of EasyCIE-SSI decreased in clean, skin/subcutaneous, and outpatient procedures in the external validation compared to internal validation. CONCLUSION: Automated surveillance of SSIs can be achieved using NLP of clinical notes with high sensitivity and specificity.

Academic Advancement in Global Surgery: Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure: Recommendations From the American Surgical Association Working Group on Global Surgery.

: There is growing interest in global surgery among US academic surgical departments. As academic global surgery is a relatively new field, departments may have minimal experience in evaluation of faculty contributions and how they integrate into the existing academic paradigm for promotion and tenure. The American Surgical Association Working Group on Global Surgery has developed recommendations for promotion and tenure in global surgery, highlighting criteria that: (1) would be similar to usual promotion and tenure criteria (eg, publications); (2) would likely be undervalued in current criteria (eg, training, administrative roles, or other activities that are conducted at low- and middle-income partner institutions and promote the partnerships upon which other global surgery activities depend); and (3) should not be considered (eg, mission trips or other clinical work, if not otherwise linked to funding, training, research, or building partnerships).

Patient Satisfaction With Decision Making Does Not Correlate With Patient Centeredness of Surgeons.

BACKGROUND: High-quality decision making is important in patient-centered care. Although patient involvement in decision making varies widely, most patients desire to share in decision making. The Press-Ganey Patient Satisfaction survey includes questions that measure patients' perceptions of their providers' efforts to involve them in decision making (PGDM). We hypothesized that higher PGDM scores would correlate with higher scores on a validated measure of patient centeredness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Surgical providers at a university hospital who routinely receive Press-Ganey scores received a survey that included the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS), a validated tool that measures the provider's orientation toward patient centeredness on a continuous six-point scale: score ≥5 = high, 4.57-5 = moderate, and <4.57 = low and includes nine-item "caring" or "sharing" subscales. We compared PPOS scores to PGDM scores, averaged from April 2015 to January 2016. RESULTS: Eighty-six of 112 (75%) of surgical providers responded to the survey. Fifty-two (46%) had PGDM scores available and 26% achieved a perfect score on the PGDM. The overall PPOS scores were low, with a mean of 4.2 (SD = 0.5). The PPOS was not correlated with the PGDM, correlation coefficient (rs) = -0.07 (CI: -0.34-0.21, P = 0.63). Similarly, the two subscales of the PPOS did not correlate with the PGDM with rs = -0.15 (CI: -0.41-0.13, P = 0.29) for "caring" and rs = -0.04 (CI: -0.31-0.23, P = 0.76) for "sharing". CONCLUSIONS: Although surgical providers scored low in patient centeredness using the PPOS, over one-quarter (26%) of them rank in the top 1% on the PGDM. No correlation was found between providers' patient centeredness and their patients' perceptions of efforts to include them in decision making.

Home Disposal Kits for Leftover Opioid Medications After Surgery: Do They Work?

BACKGROUND: Postoperative overprescribing is common, and many patients will have excess medications. An effective method to encourage disposal is lacking. We hypothesized that a convenient home disposal kit will result in more appropriate disposal of excess opioids. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a single-center prospective observational pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of a postoperative opioid disposal kit. Patients in the intervention group received an opioid disposal kit and educational handout before discharge from the hospital. At the first follow-up visit, patients completed a survey in which they reported the remaining amount of pain medications from their original prescription and their plan for the excess medication. Patients were asked about risk factors for chronic opioid use. We used multivariable Poisson regression to identify independent factors associated with an increased likelihood of appropriate opioid disposal. RESULTS: The survey was offered to 904 patients with a response rate of 91.7%. After excluding those with missing data, 571 patients were included in the study. Overall, 83 (14.5%) patients never filled an opioid prescription, and 286 (60.0%) patients had tablets remaining at the time of the follow-up visit. Among those with tablets remaining, 52 received a home disposal kit, whereas 234 patients with tablets remaining did not. Patients who received the kit were more likely to dispose of opioid medications (54.9% versus 34.8%, relative risk = 1.8, 95% CI 1.3-2.5). No confounders were identified during multivariable analysis that increased a patient's likelihood of disposing excess medications. CONCLUSIONS: The provision of a convenient home disposal kit postoperatively increased patient-reported opioid disposal.

Hospital-level Variation in Utilization of Surgery for Clinical Stage I-II Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To (1) evaluate rates of surgery for clinical stage I-II pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), (2) identify predictors of not undergoing surgery, (3) quantify the degree to which patient- and hospital-level factors explain differences in hospital surgery rates, and (4) evaluate the association between adjusted hospital-specific surgery rates and overall survival (OS) of patients treated at different hospitals. BACKGROUND: Curative-intent surgery for potentially resectable PDAC is underutilized in the United States. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of patients ≤85 years with clinical stage I-II PDAC in the 2004 to 2014 National Cancer Database. Mixed effects multivariable models were used to characterize hospital-level variation across quintiles of hospital surgery rates. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the effect of adjusted hospital surgery rates on OS. RESULTS: Of 58,553 patients without contraindications or refusal of surgery, 63.8% underwent surgery, and the rate decreased from 2299/3528 (65.2%) in 2004 to 4412/7092 (62.2%) in 2014 (P < 0.001). Adjusted hospital rates of surgery varied 6-fold (11.4%-70.9%). Patients treated at hospitals with higher rates of surgery had better unadjusted OS (median OS 10.2, 13.3, 14.2, 16.5, and 18.4 months in quintiles 1-5, respectively, P < 0.001, log-rank). Treatment at hospitals in lower surgery rate quintiles 1-3 was independently associated with mortality [Hazard ratio (HR) 1.10 (1.01, 1.21), HR 1.08 (1.02, 1.15), and HR 1.09 (1.04, 1.14) for quintiles 1-3, respectively, compared with quintile 5] after adjusting for patient factors, hospital type, and hospital volume. CONCLUSIONS: Quality improvement efforts are needed to help hospitals with low rates of surgery ensure that their patients have access to appropriate surgery.

Safety Culture and Perioperative Quality at the Volta River Authority Hospital in Akosombo, Ghana.

BACKGROUND: The Volta River Authority Hospital (VRAH) is a district hospital associated with a large public works project in Akosombo, Ghana, that has developed a reputation for high-quality care. We hypothesized that this stems from a culture of safety and standardized processes typical of high-risk engineering environments. To investigate this, we evaluated staff and patient perceptions of safety and quality, as well as perioperative process variability. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys were used to evaluate staff and patient perceptions of safety. Perioperative general surgery and obstetrical procedure observations generated process maps, which were analyzed for variability and waste. RESULTS: Thirty-one SAQs were administered. 83% of workers held a positive perception of teamwork, and 77.4% held a positive perception of safety culture. Fifteen HCAHPS surveys of surgical inpatients showed a median hospital rating of 10 [IQR 8.5-10] on a ten-point scale. 90% gave maximal scores for pain management and 84.4% for nurse communication. Ten general surgery and obstetrical procedures were observed for which process map analysis was notable for no consistent waste steps and 100% adherence to the World Health Organization Safe Surgery Checklist. CONCLUSIONS: Surveys suggest an institutional commitment to safety with strong teamwork culture and patient communication. Perioperative process mapping supports this culture, with low levels of variability and waste, and is useful for evaluating standardization of care. VRAH demonstrates the feasibility of delivering high standards of perioperative care in a low-resource setting.

Online physician review websites poorly correlate to a validated metric of patient satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: Physician review websites such as Vitals and Healthgrades are becoming an increasingly popular tool for patients to choose providers. We hypothesized that the scores of these surveys poorly represent the true value of patient satisfaction when compared to a validated survey instrument. METHODS: Answers from Vitals and Healthgrades online surveys were compared to the Press Ganey Medical Practice Survey (PGMPS) for 200 faculty members at a university hospital for FY15. Weighted Pearson's correlation was used to compare Healthgrades and Vitals to PGMPS. RESULTS: While statistically significant, both Vitals and Healthgrades had very low correlations with the PGMPS with weighted coefficients of 0.18 (95% confidence interval: 0.02-0.34, P = 0.025) and 0.27 (95% confidence interval: 0.12-0.42, P < 0.001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Online physician rating websites such as Vitals and Healthgrades poorly correlate with the PGMPS, a validated measure of patient satisfaction. Patients should be aware of these limitations and, consequently, should have access to the most accurate measure of patient satisfaction.

Cost and outcomes of open versus laparoscopic cholecystectomy in Mongolia.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the standard of care for biliary disease in developed countries. LC in resource-limited countries is increasing. This prospective, observational study evaluates costs, outcomes, and quality of life (QoL) associated with laparoscopic versus open cholecystectomy (OC) in Mongolia. METHODS: Patient demographics, outcomes, and total payer and patient costs were elicited from a convenience sample of patients undergoing cholecystectomy at four urban and three rural hospitals (February 2016-January 2017). QoL was assessed preoperatively and postoperatively using the five-level EQ-5D instrument. Perioperative complications, surgical fees, and QoL scores were evaluated for LC versus OC. Multivariate regression models were generated to adjust for differences between these groups. RESULTS: Two hundred and fifteen cholecystectomies were included (LC 122, OC 93). LC patients were more likely to have attended college and have insurance. Preoperative symptoms were comparable between groups. Total complication rate was 21.8% (no difference between groups); LC patients had less superficial infections (0% versus 10.8%). Median hospital length of stay (HLOS) and days to return to work were shorter after LC. QoL improved after surgery for both groups. Mean total payer and patient costs were higher for LC, but not significant (P-value 0.126). After adjustment, LC had significantly less complications, shorter HLOS, fewer days to return to work, greater improvement in QoL scores, and no increase in cost. CONCLUSIONS: LC is safe and beneficial to patients with biliary disease in Mongolia, and cost effective from the patient's and payer's perspective. Although equipment costs for LC may be more expensive than OC, there are likely significant cost savings related to reduced HLOS, shorter time off work, fewer complications, and improved QoL.

Association between surgical patient satisfaction and nonmodifiable factors.

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction surveys are an important tool in measuring physician performance. We hypothesized that nonmodifiable factors would be associated with surgical outpatient satisfaction scores. METHODS: Press Ganey Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems outpatient satisfaction scores from completed surveys (18,373) at an academic department of surgery were reviewed. Data were collected on patient factors, provider specialty, practice setting, and first visit status. Patients were divided into groups based on satisfaction scores-completely satisfied (score = 100) or less satisfied (score ≤99). Generalized estimating equation logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors predictive of patient satisfaction. RESULTS: Patients less likely to be completely satisfied were younger (odds ratio [OR] 0.54; confidence interval [CI] 0.43-0.69, P < 0.001 for 18-29 y versus >80 y) and were more likely to be seeing their surgeon for the first time (OR 0.84; CI 0.78-0.89, P < 0.001 for first versus return patients). Compared with patients seen at hospital subspecialty clinics, patients were more likely to be satisfied if seen at a cancer center clinic (OR 1.22; CI 1.13-1.32, P < 0.001) or a community ambulatory clinic (OR 1.30; CI 1.18-1.43, P < 0.001). There was no difference in satisfaction among patients seen in General Surgery, Plastic Surgery, or Otolaryngology Clinics. Patients were less likely to be satisfied when seen in Urology (OR 0.82; CI 0.75-0.91, P < 0.001) and Vascular Surgery (OR 0.75; CI 0.62-0.92, P = 0.006) clinics compared with General Surgery Clinics. CONCLUSIONS: Using satisfaction scores to evaluate providers should take into account nonmodifiable factors of the underlying patient population, the specialty of the provider, and the practice setting of the visit.

Patient Preparation for Transitions of Surgical Care: Is Failing to Prepare Surgical Patients Preparing Them to Fail?

BACKGROUND: Transitions of care before and after surgery are critical for patient preparation. We sought to determine whether the degree of exposure to health information resources before and after surgery increases preparedness and decreases hospital readmission. METHODS: A national Web-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted of 1917 patients and caregivers who had a recent surgical encounter. Health information resources used before and after surgery were correlated with patient level of preparedness. We also evaluated the association between preparedness and hospital readmission. RESULTS: Compared to unprepared patients, those who felt prepared were most likely to be given multiple health information resources before surgery (92 vs. 77%, p < 0.001) and before leaving the hospital (91 vs. 69%, p = 0.02). Feeling prepared was positively correlated with the number of resources provided to patients by their surgical team and used before surgery and before leaving the hospital (p < 0.05, both). 30-day readmission was significantly lower among patients who felt prepared either before (7% prepared vs. 22% not prepared, p = <0.001) or after surgery (9% prepared vs. 23% not prepared, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with access to more health information resources during transitions before and after surgery feel better prepared and have lower rates of 30-day readmission.

Hospital-level Variation in Secondary Complications After Surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether hospital rates of secondary complications could serve as a performance benchmark and examine associations with mortality. BACKGROUND: Failure to rescue (death after postoperative complication) is a challenging target for quality improvement. Secondary complications (complications after a first or "index" complication) are intermediate outcomes in the rescue process that may provide specific improvement targets and give us insight into how rescue fails. METHODS: We used American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data (2008-2012) to define hospital rates of secondary complications after 5 common index complications: pneumonia, surgical site infection (SSI), urinary tract infection, transfusion/bleed events, and acute myocardial infarction (MI). Hospitals were divided into quintiles on the basis of risk- and reliability-adjusted rates of secondary complications, and these rates were compared along with mortality. RESULTS: A total of 524,860 patients were identified undergoing one of the 62 elective, inpatient operations. After index pneumonia, secondary complication rates varied from 57.99% in the highest quintile to 22.93% in the lowest [adjusted odds ratio (OR), 4.64; confidence interval (CI), 3.95-5.45). Wide variation was seen after index SSI (58.98% vs 14.81%; OR, 8.53; CI, 7.41-9.83), urinary tract infection (38.41% vs 8.60%; OR, 7.81; CI, 6.48-9.40), transfusion/bleeding events (27.14% vs 12.88%; OR, 2.54; CI, 2.31-2.81), and acute MI (64.45% vs 23.86%, OR, 6.87; CI, 5.20-9.07). Hospitals in the highest quintile had significantly greater mortality after index pneumonia (10.41% vs 6.20%; OR, 2.17; CI, 1.6-2.94), index MI (18.25% vs 9.65%; OR, 2.67; CI, 1.80-3.94), and index SSI (2.75% vs 0.82%; OR, 3.93; CI, 2.26-6.81). CONCLUSIONS: Hospital-level rates of secondary complications (failure to arrest complications) vary widely, are associated with mortality, and may be useful for quality improvement and benchmarking.

Readmission destination and risk of mortality after major surgery: an observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Hospital readmissions are common after major surgery, although it is unknown whether patients achieve improved outcomes when they are readmitted to, and receive care at, the index hospital where their surgical procedure was done. We examined the association between readmission destination and mortality risk in the USA in Medicare beneficiaries after a range of common operations. METHODS: By use of claims data from Medicare beneficiaries in the USA between Jan 1, 2001, and Nov 15, 2011, we assessed patients who needed hospital readmission within 30 days after open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, infrainguinal arterial bypass, aortobifemoral bypass, coronary artery bypass surgery, oesophagectomy, colectomy, pancreatectomy, cholecystectomy, ventral hernia repair, craniotomy, hip replacement, or knee replacement. We used logistic regression models incorporating inverse probability weighting and instrumental variable analysis to measure associations between readmission destination (index vs non-index hospital) and risk of 90 day mortality for patients who underwent surgery who needed hospital readmission. FINDINGS: 9,440,503 patients underwent one of 12 major operations, and the number of patients readmitted or transferred back to the index hospital where their operation was done varied from 186,336 (65·8%) of 283,131 patients who were readmitted after coronary artery bypass grafting, to 142,142 (83·2%) of 170,789 patients who were readmitted after colectomy. Readmission was more likely to be to the index hospital than to a non-index hospital if the readmission was for a surgical complication (189,384 [23%] of 834,070 patients readmitted to index hospital vs 36,792 [13%] of 276,976 patients readmitted non-index hospital, p<0·0001). Readmission to the index hospital was associated with a 26% lower risk of 90 day mortality than was readmission to a non-index hospital, with inverse probability weighting used to control for selection bias (odds ratio [OR] 0·74, 95% CI 0·66-0·83). This effect was significant (p<0·0001) for all procedures in inverse probability-weighted models, and was largest for patients who were readmitted after pancreatectomy (OR 0·56, 95% CI 0·45-0·69) and aortobifemoral bypass (OR 0·69, 95% CI 0·61-0·77). By use of hospital-level variation among regional index hospital readmission rates as an instrument, instrumental variable analysis showed that the patients with the highest probability of returning to the index hospital had 8% lower risk of mortality (OR 0·92 95% CI 0·91-0·94) than did patients who were less likely to be readmitted to the index hospital. INTERPRETATION: In the USA, patients who are readmitted to hospital after various major operations consistently achieve improved survival if they return to the hospital where their surgery took place. These findings might have important implications for cost-effectiveness-driven regional centralisation of surgical care. FUNDING: None.

Toward rapid learning in cancer treatment selection: An analytical engine for practice-based clinical data.

OBJECTIVE: Wide-scale adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) has created an unprecedented opportunity for the implementation of Rapid Learning Systems (RLSs) that leverage primary clinical data for real-time decision support. In cancer, where large variations among patient features leave gaps in traditional forms of medical evidence, the potential impact of a RLS is particularly promising. We developed the Melanoma Rapid Learning Utility (MRLU), a component of the RLS, providing an analytical engine and user interface that enables physicians to gain clinical insights by rapidly identifying and analyzing cohorts of patients similar to their own. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A new approach for clinical decision support in Melanoma was developed and implemented, in which patient-centered cohorts are generated from practice-based evidence and used to power on-the-fly stratified survival analyses. A database to underlie the system was generated from clinical, pharmaceutical, and molecular data from 237 patients with metastatic melanoma from two academic medical centers. The system was assessed in two ways: (1) ability to rediscover known knowledge and (2) potential clinical utility and usability through a user study of 13 practicing oncologists. RESULTS: The MRLU enables physician-driven cohort selection and stratified survival analysis. The system successfully identified several known clinical trends in melanoma, including frequency of BRAF mutations, survival rate of patients with BRAF mutant tumors in response to BRAF inhibitor therapy, and sex-based trends in prevalence and survival. Surveyed physician users expressed great interest in using such on-the-fly evidence systems in practice (mean response from relevant survey questions 4.54/5.0), and generally found the MRLU in particular to be both useful (mean score 4.2/5.0) and useable (4.42/5.0). DISCUSSION: The MRLU is an RLS analytical engine and user interface for Melanoma treatment planning that presents design principles useful in building RLSs. Further research is necessary to evaluate when and how to best use this functionality within the EMR clinical workflow for guiding clinical decision making. CONCLUSION: The MRLU is an important component in building a RLS for data driven precision medicine in Melanoma treatment that could be generalized to other clinical disorders.