Belonging in Surgery: A validated instrument and single institutional pilot.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop and validate an instrument to measure Belonging in Surgery among surgical residents. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Belonging is the essential human need to maintain meaningful relationships and connections to one's community. Increased belongingness is associated with better well-being, job performance and motivation to learn. However, no tools exist to measure belonging among surgical trainees. METHODS: A panel of experts adapted a belonging instrument for use among United States surgery residents. After administration of the 28-item instrument to residents at a single institution, a Cronbach's alpha was calculated to measure internal consistency, and exploratory principal component analyses (PCA) were performed. Multiple iterations of analyses with successively smaller item samples suggested the instrument could be shortened. The expert panel was reconvened to shorten the instrument. Descriptive statistics measured demographic factors associated with Belonging in Surgery. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 52% (114 responses). The Cronbach's alpha among the 28 items was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.93-0.96). The exploratory PCA and subsequent Promax rotation yielded one dominant component with an eigenvalue of 12.84 (70% of the variance). The expert panel narrowed the final instrument to 11 items with an overall Cronbach's alpha of 0.90 (95% CI: 0.86, 0.92). Belonging in Surgery was significantly associated with race (Black and Asian residents scoring lower than White residents), graduating with one's original intern cohort (residents who graduated with their original class scoring higher than those that did not), and inversely correlated with resident stress level. CONCLUSIONS: An instrument to measure Belonging in Surgery was validated among surgical residents. With this instrument, Belonging in Surgery becomes a construct that may be used to investigate surgeon performance and well-being.

Variation in Hospital Performance for General Surgery in Younger and Older Adults: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare hospital surgical performance in older and younger patients. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: In-hospital mortality after surgical procedures varies widely between hospitals. Prior studies suggest that failure-to-rescue rates drive this variation for older adults, but the generalizability of these findings to younger patients remains unknown. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients ≥18 years undergoing one of ten common and complex general surgery operations in 16 states using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Projects State Inpatient Databases (2016-2018). Patients were split into two populations: Medicare ≥65 (older adult) and non-Medicare <65 (younger adult) patients. Hospitals were sorted into quintiles using risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality rates for each age population. Correlations between hospitals in each mortality quintile across age populations were calculated. Complication and failure-to-rescue rates were compared across the highest and lowest mortality quintiles in each age population. RESULTS: We identified 579,582 patients treated in 732 hospitals. The mortality rate was 3.6% among older adults and 0.7% among younger adults. Among older adults, high- relative to low-mortality hospitals had similar complication rates (32.0% vs. 29.8%; P=0.059) and significantly higher failure-to-rescue rates (16.0% vs. 4.0%; P<0.001). Among younger adults, high- relative to low-mortality hospitals had higher complication (15.4% vs. 12.1%; P<0.001) and failure-to-rescue rates (8.3% vs. 0.7%; P<0.001). The correlation between observed-to-expected mortality ratios in each age group was 0.385 (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: High surgical mortality rates in younger patients may be driven by both complication and failure-to-rescue rates. There is little overlap between low-mortality hospitals in the older and younger adult populations. Future work must delve into the root causes of this age-based difference in hospital-level surgical outcomes.

Disparities in Presentation, Treatment, and Survival in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Disparities have been previously described in the presentation, management, and outcomes of other thyroid cancer subtypes; however, it is unclear whether such disparities exist in anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC). METHODS: We identified patients with ATC from the National Cancer Database (2004-2020). The primary outcomes were receipt of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. The secondary outcome was 1-year survival. Multivariable logistic and Cox proportional hazards regressions were used to assess the associations between sex, race/ethnicity, and the outcomes. RESULTS: Among 5359 patients included, 58% were female, and 80% were non-Hispanic white. Median tumor size was larger in males than females (6.5 vs. 6.0 cm; p < 0.001) and in patients with minority race/ethnicity than in white patients (6.5 vs. 6.0 cm; p < 0.001). After controlling for tumor size and metastatic disease, female patients were more likely to undergo surgical resection (odds ratio [OR]: 1.20; p = 0.016) but less likely to undergo chemotherapy (OR: 0.72; p < 0.001) and radiation (OR: 0.76; p < 0.001) compared with males. Additionally, patients from minority racial/ethnic backgrounds were less likely to undergo chemotherapy (OR: 0.69; p < 0.001) and radiation (OR: 0.71; p < 0.001) than white patients. Overall, unadjusted, 1-year survival was 23%, with differences in treatment receipt accounting for small but significant differences in survival between groups. CONCLUSIONS: There are disparities in the presentation and treatment of ATC by sex and race/ethnicity that likely reflect differences in access to care as well as patient and provider preferences. While survival is similarly poor across groups, the changing landscape of treatments for ATC warrants efforts to address the potential for exacerbation of disparities.

How Referring Providers Choose Specialists for Their Patients: a Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Physician referrals are a critical step in directing patients to high-quality specialists. Despite efforts to encourage referrals to high-volume hospitals, many patients receive treatment at low-volume centers with worse outcomes. We aimed to determine the most important factors considered by referring providers when selecting specialists for their patients through a systematic review of medical and surgical literature. METHODS: PubMed and Embase were searched from January 2000 to July 2021 using terms related to referrals, specialty, surgery, primary care, and decision-making. We included survey and interview studies reporting the factors considered by healthcare providers as they refer patients to specialists in the USA. Studies were screened by two independent reviewers. Quality was assessed using the CASP Checklist. A qualitative thematic analysis was performed to synthesize common decision factors across studies. RESULTS: We screened 1,972 abstracts and identified 7 studies for inclusion, reporting on 1,575 providers. Thematic analysis showed that referring providers consider factors related to the specialist's clinical expertise (skill, training, outcomes, and assessments), interactions between the patient and specialist (prior experience, rapport, location, scheduling, preference, and insurance), and interactions between the referring physician and specialist (personal relationships, communication, reputation, reciprocity, and practice or system affiliation). Notably, studies did not describe how providers assess clinical or technical skills. CONCLUSIONS: Referring providers rely on subjective factors and assessments to evaluate quality when selecting a specialist. There may be a role for guidelines and objective measures of quality to inform the choice of specialist by referring providers.

Left Atrial Appendage Morphology and Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source: A Cross-Sectional Multicenter Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: The left atrial appendage (LAA) is the main source of thrombus in atrial fibrillation, and there is an association between non-chicken wing (NCW) LAA morphology and stroke. We hypothesized that the prevalence of NCW LAA morphology would be higher among patients with cardioembolic (CE) stroke and embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) than among those with noncardioembolic stroke (NCS). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective pilot study included consecutive patients with ischemic stroke from 3 comprehensive stroke centers who previously underwent a qualifying chest computed tomography (CT) to assess LAA morphology. Patients underwent inpatient diagnostic evaluation for ischemic stroke, and stroke subtype was determined based on ESUS criteria. LAA morphology was determined using clinically performed contrast enhanced thin-slice chest CT by investigators blinded to stroke subtype. The primary predictor was NCW LAA morphology and the outcome was stroke subtype (CE, ESUS, NCS). RESULTS: We identified 172 patients with ischemic stroke who had a clinical chest CT performed. Mean age was 70.1 ± 14.3 years and 51.7% were male. Compared with patients with NCS, the prevalence of NCW LAA morphology was higher in patients with CE stroke (58.7% versus 46.3%, P = .1) and ESUS (58.8% versus 46.3%, P = .2), but this difference did not achieve statistical significance. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of NCW LAA morphology may be similar in patients with ESUS and CE, and may be higher than that in those with NCS. Larger studies are needed to confirm these associations.

The effect of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act on surgical outcomes in non-English primary language speakers.

BACKGROUND: In 2016, Section 1557 mandated use of qualified language interpreter services. We examined the effect of Section 1557 on surgical outcomes. METHODS: Utilizing the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database (2013-2020), we performed a difference-in-differences analysis of adult surgical patients (Maryland, New Jersey). The exposure was implementation of Section 1557 (pre-period: 2013-2015; post-period: 2017-2020). The treatment group was non-English primary language speakers (n-EPL). The comparison group was English primary language speakers (EPL). Outcomes included length-of-stay, postoperative complications, mortality, discharge disposition, and readmissions. RESULTS: Among 2,298,584 patients, 198,385 (8.6%) were n-EPL. After implementation of Section 1557, n-EPL saw no difference in readmission rates but did experience significantly higher rates of mortality (+0.43%, p â€‹= â€‹0.049) and non-routine discharges (+1.81%, p â€‹= â€‹0.031) in Maryland, and higher rates of post-operative complications (+0.31%, p â€‹= â€‹0.001) in both states, compared to pre-Section 1557. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to our hypothesis, Section 1557 did not improve surgical outcomes for n-EPL.

Inefficiencies of care in hub and spoke healthcare systems: A multi-state cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Complex surgical care is often centralized to one high volume (hub) hospital within a system. The benefit of this centralization in common operations is unknown. METHODS: Using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's State Inpatient Databases, adult general surgical patients within hospital systems in 13 states (2016-2018) were identified. Risk-adjusted logistic regression estimated the odds of death or serious morbidity (DSM) and prolonged length of stay (LOS) at hubs relative to other system hospitals (spokes). RESULTS: We identified 122,895 patients across 43 hub-and-spoke systems. Hubs completed 83.2 â€‹% of complex and 59.6 â€‹% of common operations. For complex operations, odds of DSM were significantly lower in hubs (OR: 0.80; 95 â€‹% CI [0.65, 0.98]). For common operations, odds of DSM were similar between hubs and spokes, while odds of prolonged LOS were greater at hubs (OR 1.19; 95 â€‹% CI [1.16,1.24]). CONCLUSIONS: While hub hospitals had lower odds of DSM for complex operation, they had higher odds of prolonged length of stay for common operations. This finding shows an opportunity for improved system efficiency.

Sex differences and racial/ethnic disparities in the presentation and treatment of medullary thyroid cancer.

BACKGROUND: This study assessed for disparities in the presentation and management of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). METHODS: Patients with MTC (2010-2020) were identified from the National Cancer Database. Differences in disease presentation and likelihood of guideline-concordant surgical management (total thyroidectomy and resection of ≥1 lymph node) were assessed by sex and race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Of 6154 patients, 68.2% underwent guideline-concordant surgery. Tumors >4 â€‹cm were more likely in men (vs. women: OR 2.47, p â€‹< â€‹0.001) and Hispanic patients (vs. White patients: OR 1.52, p â€‹= â€‹0.001). Non-White patients were more likely to have distant metastases (Black: OR 1.63, p â€‹= â€‹0.002; Hispanic: OR 1.44, p â€‹= â€‹0.038) and experienced longer time to surgery (Black: HR 0.66, p â€‹< â€‹0.001; Hispanic: HR 0.71, p â€‹< â€‹0.001). Black patients were less likely to undergo guideline-concordant surgery (OR 0.70, p â€‹= â€‹0.022). CONCLUSIONS: Male and non-White patients with MTC more frequently present with advanced disease, and Black patients are less likely to undergo guideline-concordant surgery.

Barriers and Facilitators to Clinical Practice Development in Men and Women Surgeons.

Importance: Many early-career surgeons struggle to develop their clinical practices, leading to high rates of burnout and attrition. Furthermore, women in surgery receive fewer, less complex, and less remunerative referrals compared with men. An enhanced understanding of the social and structural barriers to optimal growth and equity in clinical practice development is fundamental to guiding interventions to support academic surgeons. Objective: To identify the barriers and facilitators to clinical practice development with attention to differences related to surgeon gender. Design, Setting, and Participants: A multi-institutional qualitative descriptive study was performed using semistructured interviews analyzed with a grounded theory approach. Interviews were conducted at 5 academic medical centers in the US between July 12, 2022, and January 31, 2023. Surgeons with at least 1 year of independent practice experience were selected using purposeful sampling to obtain a representative sample by gender, specialty, academic rank, and years of experience. Main Outcomes and Measures: Surgeon perspectives on external barriers and facilitators of clinical practice development and strategies to support practice development for new academic surgeons. Results: A total of 45 surgeons were interviewed (23 women [51%], 18 with ≤5 years of experience [40%], and 20 with ≥10 years of experience [44%]). Surgeons reported barriers and facilitators related to their colleagues, department, institution, and environment. Dominant themes for both genders were related to competition, case distribution among partners, resource allocation, and geographic market saturation. Women surgeons reported additional challenges related to gender-based discrimination (exclusion, questioning of expertise, role misidentification, salary disparities, and unequal resource allocation) and additional demands (related to appearance, self-advocacy, and nonoperative patient care). Gender concordance with patients and referring physicians was a facilitator of practice development for women. Surgeons suggested several strategies for their colleagues, department, and institution to improve practice development by amplifying facilitators and promoting objectivity and transparency in resource allocation and referrals. Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this qualitative study suggest that a surgeon's external context has a substantial influence on their practice development. Academic institutions and departments of surgery may consider the influence of their structures and policies on early career surgeons to accelerate practice development and workplace equity.

The use and costs of same-day surgery versus overnight admission for total thyroidectomy: A multi-state, all-payer analysis.

BACKGROUND: Outpatient thyroidectomy is increasingly favored, given evidence of safety and convenience for selected patients. However, the prevalence of same-day discharge is unclear. We aimed to evaluate temporal trends, hospital characteristics, and costs associated with same-day discharge after total thyroidectomy in an all-payer, multi-state cohort. METHODS: We included patients aged ≥18 years who underwent a total thyroidectomy (2013-2019) using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project data. Admission type was defined as same-day, overnight, or inpatient based on length of stay. Same-day patients were propensity-score matched 1:1 with overnight patients. Hospital characteristics and costs were compared in the matched cohort. RESULTS: Among 86,187 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy, 16,743 (19.4%) cases were same-day, 59,778 (69.4%) were overnight, and 9,666 (11.2%) were inpatient. The proportion of patients who underwent same-day thyroidectomy increased from 14.8% to 20.8% over the study period (P < .001), whereas overnight admissions decreased from 72.9% to 68.8% (P < .001). In total, 9,571 same-day patients were matched to 9,571 overnight patients. Same-day patients had higher odds of treatment at a certified cancer center (odds ratio 1.77; 95% confidence interval 1.65-1.90), Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited teaching hospital (odds ratio 1.72; 95% confidence interval 1.61-1.85), and high-volume hospital (odds ratio 1.53; 95% confidence interval 1.42-1.65). Pairwise cost differences showed median savings of $974 (interquartile range -1,610 to 3,491) for same-day relative to overnight admission (P < .001). CONCLUSION: Although over two-thirds of patients are admitted overnight, same-day total thyroidectomy is increasingly performed. Same-day thyroidectomy may be a lower-cost option for selected patients, particularly in specialty centers with experience in thyroidectomy.

Should I See You Again Soon? A Multispecialty Assessment of the Impact and Burden of Preoperative History and Physical Update Visits.

BACKGROUND: Federal regulations require a history and physical (H&P) update performed ≤30 days before a planned procedure. We evaluated the utility and burdens of H&P update visits by determining impact on operative management, suitability for telehealth, and visit time and travel burden. STUDY DESIGN: We identified H&P update visits performed in our health system during 2019 for 8 surgical specialties. As available, up to 50 visits per specialty were randomly selected. Primary outcomes were a) interval changes in history, exam, or operative plan between the initial and updated H&P notes and b) visit suitability for telehealth, as determined by two independent physician reviewers. Clinic time was captured, and round-trip driving time and distance between patients' home and clinic ZIP codes were estimated. RESULTS: We identified 8,683 visits and 362 were randomly selected for review. Documented changes were most commonly identified in histories (60.8%), but rarely in physical exams (11.9%) and operative plans (11.6%). 99.2% of visits were considered suitable for telehealth. Median clinic time was 52 minutes (IQR:33.8-78), driving time was 55.6 minutes (IQR:35.5-85.5), and driving distance was 20.2 miles (IQR:8.5-38.4). At the health system level, patients spent an estimated aggregate 7,000 hours (including 4,046 hours of waiting room and travel time) and drove 142,273 miles to attend in-person H&P update visits in 2019. CONCLUSION: Given their minimal impact on operative management, regulatory requirements for in-person H&P updates should be reconsidered. Flexibility in update timing and modality might help defray the substantial burdens these visits impose on patients.

Revisiting the Relationship between Tumor Size and Risk in Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Large tumor size is associated with poorer outcomes in well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC), yet it remains unclear whether size >4 cm alone confers increased risk, independent of other markers of aggressive disease. The goal of this study was to assess the relationship between tumor size, other high-risk histopathologic features, and survival in WDTC, and to evaluate the significance of 4 cm as a cutoff for management decisions. METHODS: Patients with WDTC were identified from the National Cancer Database (2010-2015) and categorized by tumor size [i.e., small (≤4 cm) or large (>4 cm)] and presence of high-risk histopathologic features (e.g., extrathyroidal extension). First, propensity score matching was used to identify patients who were similar across all other observed characteristics except for small vs. large tumor size, and a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the relationship between tumor size and survival. Second, we assessed whether the presence of high-risk features demonstrate conditional effects on survival based on the presence of tumor size >4 cm using an interaction term. Finally, additional models assessed the relationship between incremental 1 cm increases in tumor size and survival. Analyses were repeated using a validation cohort from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (2008-2013). RESULTS: Of 193,133 patients in the primary cohort, 7.9% had tumors >4 cm, and 30% had at least one high-risk feature. After matching, tumor size >4 cm was independently associated with worse survival (HR 1.63, p<0.001). However, tumor size >4 cm and one or more other high-risk features together yielded worse survival than either size >4 cm alone (MMD: 0.70, p<0.001) or other high-risk features alone (MMD: 0.49, p<0.001). When assessed in 1 cm increments, the largest increases in hazard of death occurred at 2 cm and 5 cm, not 4 cm. Results from the validation cohort were largely consistent with our primary findings. CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant high-risk features confer worse survival than large tumor size alone, and a 4 cm cutoff is not associated with the greatest increase in risk. These findings support a more nuanced approach to tumor size in the management of WDTC.

Surgeon and Surgical Trainee Experiences After Adverse Patient Events.

Importance: Adverse patient events are inevitable in surgical practice. Objectives: To characterize the impact of adverse patient events on surgeons and trainees, identify coping mechanisms, and assess whether current forms of support are sufficient. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this mixed-methods study, a validated survey instrument was adapted and distributed to surgical trainees from 7 programs, and qualitative interviews were conducted with faculty from 4 surgical departments in an urban academic health system. Main Outcomes and Measures: The personal impact of adverse patient events, current coping mechanisms, and desired forms of support. Results: Of 216 invited trainees, 93 (43.1%) completed the survey (49 [52.7%] male; 60 [64.5%] in third postgraduate year or higher; 23 [24.7%] Asian or Pacific Islander, 6 [6.5%] Black, 51 [54.8%] White, and 8 [8.6%] other race; 13 [14.0%] Hispanic or Latinx ethnicity). Twenty-three of 29 (79.3%) invited faculty completed interviews (13 [56.5%] male; median [IQR] years in practice, 11.0 [7.5-20.0]). Of the trainees, 77 (82.8%) endorsed involvement in at least 1 recent adverse event. Most reported embarrassment (67 of 79 trainees [84.8%]), rumination (64 of 78 trainees [82.1%]), and fear of attempting future procedures (51 of 78 trainees [65.4%]); 28 of 78 trainees (35.9%) had considered quitting. Female trainees and trainees who identified as having a race and/or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic White consistently reported more negative consequences compared with male and White trainees. The most desired form of support was the opportunity to discuss the incident with an attending physician (76 of 78 respondents [97.4%]). Similarly, faculty described feelings of guilt and shame, loss of confidence, and distraction after adverse events. Most described the utility of confiding in peers and senior colleagues, although some expressed unwillingness to reach out. Several suggested designating a departmental point person for event debriefing. Conclusions and Relevance: In this mixed-methods study of the personal impact of adverse events on surgeons and trainees, these events were nearly universally experienced and caused significant distress. Providing formal support mechanisms for both surgical trainees and faculty may decrease stigma and restore confidence, particularly for underrepresented groups.

How low is too low? Intraoperative parathyroid hormone decline in normohormonal primary hyperparathyroidism.

BACKGROUND: In normohormonal primary hyperparathyroidism, parathyroid hormone levels are normal but inappropriately elevated for the degree of hypercalcemia. The study goals were to determine intraoperative parathyroid hormone parameters predictive of (1) cure and (2) hypocalcemia in this subgroup. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study comparing patients who underwent parathyroidectomy (2002-2019) for normohormonal and classic primary hyperparathyroidism. The primary outcomes were cure (calcium <10.3 mg/dL) and hypocalcemia (≤8.4 mg/dL) ≥6 months postoperatively. RESULTS: In the study, 127 of 1,087 patients (11.7%) had normohormonal primary hyperparathyroidism. The groups experienced similar rates of cure (91.3% vs 94.1%, P = .23) and hypocalcemia (3.9% vs 2.9%, P = .53). However, intraoperative parathyroid hormone decline in cured patients was lower in those with normohormonal primary hyperparathyroidism (66.4% vs 84.5%, P < .0001). Receiver operating characteristic curves provided Youden's indices of 52% and 75% (cure) and 75% and 88% (hypocalcemia) for patients with normohormonal and classic primary hyperparathyroidism, respectively. Cure rates with ≥50% intraoperative parathyroid hormone decline were similar (94.1% vs 95.0%, P = .72), but hypocalcemia was more prevalent in patients with normohormonal primary hyperparathyroidism and ≥70% intraoperative parathyroid hormone decline (10.4% vs 3.3%, P = .01). CONCLUSION: In patients with normohormonal primary hyperparathyroidism, intraoperative parathyroid hormone declines of ≥50% and ≥70% were predictive of postoperative cure and hypocalcemia, respectively. These parameters may inform intraoperative decision making and postoperative management.

Thyroid cancer pathologic upstaging: Frequency and related factors.

INTRODUCTION: Histopathologic assessment of thyroid tumors can lead to stage migration. We assessed frequency of pathologic upstaging, and associations with patient and tumor factors. METHODS: Primary thyroid cancers treated between 2013 and 2015 were included from our institutional cancer registry. For tumor, nodal, and summary stage, upstaging was present when final pathologic stage was greater than clinical staging. Multivariate logistic regression and Chi-squared tests were performed. RESULTS: 5,351 resected thyroid tumors were identified. Upstaging rates for tumor, nodal, and summary stage were 17.5% (n = 553/3156), 18.0% (n = 488/2705), and 10.9% (n = 285/2607), respectively. Age, Asian race, days to surgery, lymphovascular invasion, and follicular histology were significantly associated. Upstaging was significantly more common after total vs partial thyroidectomy, for tumor (19.4% vs 6.2%, p < 0.001), nodal (19.3% vs 6.4%, p < 0.001), and summary stages (12.3% vs 0.7%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Pathologic upstaging occurs in a considerable proportion of thyroid tumors, most commonly after total thyroidectomy. These findings can inform patient counseling.

Simulated data-driven hospital selection for surgical treatment of well-differentiated thyroid cancer in older adults.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid surgery at high-quality hospitals is associated with fewer complications. We evaluated the impact of referring older adults with thyroid cancer to higher-performing local hospitals. METHODS: We performed a simulation study of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare patients, aged ≥66 years, who underwent a thyroidectomy for well-differentiated thyroid cancer (2013-2017). An 80% sample was used to calculate each hospital's risk-standardized 30-day serious adverse event rate, dividing hospitals into quartiles by performance. Hospitals located ≤30 miles of the remaining 20% of patients were compared, and 30-day serious adverse event rates and costs were simulated as if patients were treated at higher-quality hospitals using logistic regression with each alternative hospital's fixed-effect. RESULTS: We identified 8,946 patients who underwent thyroid resection at 843 hospitals. Average risk-adjusted serious adverse event rates ranged from 13.9% to 52.9% between quartile 1 and 4 hospitals (P < .001). We identified higher-quality hospitals for 43.7% of patients. Simulating care at the best local hospital reduced predicted serious adverse event rates from 25.6% (95% confidence interval, 24.7-26.4) to 16.2% (95% confidence interval, 15.5-16.8; P < .001), while modestly lowering average costs from $12,883 (95% confidence interval, 12,500-13,267) to $12,679 (95% confidence interval, 12,304-13,056; P = .029). CONCLUSION: Simulated care at higher-performing hospitals decreased serious adverse event rates after thyroid resection. Optimizing hospital selection may reduce postoperative morbidity without compromising preferences for local treatment.

Effect of Serious Mental Illness on Surgical Consultation and Operative Management of Older Adults with Acute Biliary Disease: A Nationwide Study.

BACKGROUND: Mental illness is associated with worse outcomes after emergency general surgery. To understand how preoperative processes of care may influence disparate outcomes, we examined rates of surgical consultation, treatment, and operative approach between older adults with and without serious mental illness (SMI). STUDY DESIGN: We performed a nationwide, retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65.5 years or more hospitalized via the emergency department for acute cholecystitis or biliary colic. SMI was defined as schizophrenia spectrum, mood, and/or anxiety disorders. The primary outcome was surgical consultation. Secondary outcomes included operative treatment and surgical approach (laparoscopic vs open). Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine outcomes with adjustment for potential confounders related to patient demographics, comorbidities, and rates of imaging. RESULTS: Of 85,943 included older adults, 19,549 (22.7%) had SMI. Before adjustment, patients with SMI had lower rates of surgical consultation (78.6% vs 80.2%, p < 0.001) and operative treatment (68.2% vs 71.7%, p < 0.001), but no significant difference regarding laparoscopic approach (92.0% vs 92.1%, p = 0.805). In multivariable regression models with adjustment for confounders, there was no difference in odds of receiving a surgical consultation (odds ratio 0.98 [95% CI 0.93 to 1.03]) or undergoing operative treatment (odds ratio 0.98 [95% CI 0.93 to 1.03]) for patients with SMI compared with those without SMI. CONCLUSIONS: Older adults with SMI had similar odds of receiving surgical consultation and operative treatment as those without SMI. As such, differences in processes of care that result in SMI-related disparities likely occur before or after the point of surgical consultation in this universally insured patient population.

Development of a Machine Learning Model to Identify Colorectal Cancer Stage in Medicare Claims.

PURPOSE: Staging information is essential for colorectal cancer research. Medicare claims are an important source of population-level data but currently lack oncologic stage. We aimed to develop a claims-based model to identify stage at diagnosis in patients with colorectal cancer. METHODS: We included patients age 66 years or older with colorectal cancer in the SEER-Medicare registry. Using patients diagnosed from 2014 to 2016, we developed models (multinomial logistic regression, elastic net regression, and random forest) to classify patients into stage I-II, III, or IV on the basis of demographics, diagnoses, and treatment utilization identified in Medicare claims. Models developed in a training cohort (2014-2016) were applied to a testing cohort (2017), and performance was evaluated using cancer stage listed in the SEER registry as the reference standard. RESULTS: The cohort of patients with 30,543 colorectal cancer included 14,935 (48.9%) patients with stage I-II, 9,203 (30.1%) with stage III, and 6,405 (21%) with stage IV disease. A claims-based model using elastic net regression had a scaled Brier score (SBS) of 0.45 (95% CI, 0.43 to 0.46). Performance was strongest for classifying stage IV (SBS, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.59 to 0.64; sensitivity, 93%; 95% CI, 91 to 94) followed by stage I-II (SBS, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.47; sensitivity, 86%; 95% CI, 85 to 76) and stage III (SBS, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.30 to 0.33; sensitivity, 62%; 95% CI, 61 to 64). CONCLUSION: Machine learning models effectively classified colorectal cancer stage using Medicare claims. These models extend the ability of claims-based research to risk-adjust and stratify by stage.