Identifying and Codifying Complications after Radical Cystectomy: Comparison of Administrative Diagnostic and Procedure Codes, and Clinical Chart Review.

PURPOSE: To our knowledge the reliability of administrative claims codes to report postoperative radical cystectomy complications has not been examined. We compared complications identified by claims data to those abstracted from clinical chart review following radical cystectomy. METHODS: We manually reviewed the charts of 268 patients treated with radical cystectomy between 2014 and 2016 for 30-day complications and queried administrative complication coding using 805 ICD-9/10 codes. Complications were categorized. Using Cohen κ statistics we assessed agreement between the 2 methods of complication reporting for 1 or more postoperative complications overall, categorical complications and complications stratified by the top quartile length of hospital stay and patients who were readmitted. RESULTS: At least 1 or more complications were recorded in 122 patients (45.5%) through manual chart review and 80 (29.9%) were recorded via claim coding data with a concordance rate of κ=0.16, indicating weak agreement. Concordance was generally weak for categorical complication rates (range 0.05 to 0.36). However, when examining only the top length of stay quartile, 1 or more complications were reported in 32 patients (65%) by the manual chart review and in 12 (25%) via coding data with a concordance rate of κ=-0.2. Agreement was weak, similar to the total cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Manual chart review and claim code identification of complications are not highly concordant even when stratified by patients with an extended length of stay, who are known to have more frequent complications. Researchers and administrators should be aware of these differences and exercise caution when interpreting complication reports.

Enhanced REVENUE After Surgery? A Cost-Standardized Enhanced Recovery Pathway for Mastectomy Decreases Length of Stay.

BACKGROUND: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols have been shown to improve surgical, anesthetic, and economic outcomes in intermediate-to-high-risk surgeries. Its influence on length of stay and cost of low-risk surgeries has yet to be robustly studied. As value-based patient care comes to the forefront of anesthesiology research, the focus shifts to strategies that maintain quality while effectively containing cost. METHODS: In July 2016, we implemented an ERAS for mastectomy protocol consisting of limiting fasting state, preoperative multimodal analgesia, and pectoralis I and II blocks. After 1 year, patient records were retrospectively reviewed for length of stay, opioid consumption, pain scores, and hospital charges. RESULTS: Implementation of an ERAS protocol for mastectomies led to a decrease in opioid consumption, and statistically significant decrease in length of stay (1.19 vs. 1.44, p = 0.01). No significant change in hospital charges was observed ($25,787 vs. $25,863, p = 0.97); however, the variance of charges was significantly decreased (6.8 × 107 vs. 1.5 × 108, p = 0.002). The decrease in length of stay translated to an extra 100 hospital bed days which can provide up to an additional $2,100,000 in gross patient service revenue from additional mastectomy volume. CONCLUSION: ERAS protocols for mastectomies may prove beneficial by allowing growing hospitals to increase bed capacity and consequently surgical volume. Despite no change in hospital charges, we predict a potential increase in gross patient service revenue of $2.1 million due to saved hospital bed days.

Improved Outcomes of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Protocol for Radical Cystectomy with Addition of a Multidisciplinary Care Process in a US Comprehensive Cancer Care Center.

INTRODUCTION: Although enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) components include both anesthesia and surgical care processes, it is unclear whether a multidisciplinary approach to implementing ERAS care processes improves clinical outcomes. The addition of multidisciplinary care with anesthesiology-related components to an existing ERAS protocol for radical cystectomy at a US comprehensive cancer center provided an opportunity to compare short- and long-term outcomes. METHODS: We retrospectively compared the outcomes of 116 consecutive patients who underwent cystectomy after implementation of a multidisciplinary ERAS protocol with those of a historical control group of 143 consecutive patients who had been treated with a surgical ERAS protocol. Length of stay, return of bowel function, rate of blood transfusion, nausea, pain, and readmission rates were examined. RESULTS: Implementation of a multidisciplinary ERAS protocol was associated with better postsurgical symptom control, as indicated by lower rates of patient-reported nausea (P < .05). Multivariate Poisson regression analysis showed a decrease in estimated intraoperative transfusions (P ≤ .001) after adjusting for the effects of potential confounding variables. There were no statistically significant differences noted in length of stay, return of bowel function, 30- and 90-day complications, or readmissions. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to investigate the effects of adding anesthesia ERAS components to an existing surgical ERAS protocol for radical cystectomy. We found that with the addition of anesthesia-related interventions, there was a decrease in transfusions and nausea.

Epidural anesthesia and cancer outcomes in bladder cancer patients: is it the technique or the medication? A matched-cohort analysis from a tertiary referral center.

BACKGROUND: The perioperative period can be a critical period with long-term implications on cancer-related outcomes. In this study, we evaluate the influence of regional anesthesia on cancer-specific outcomes in a radical cystectomy (RC) cohort of patients. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with clinically-nonmetastatic urothelial carcinoma of the bladder who underwent RC at our institution from 2008 to 2012. Patients were retrospectively registered and stratified based on two anesthetic techniques: perioperative epidural analgesia with general anesthesia (epidural) versus general anesthesia alone (GA). Epidural patients received a sufentanil-based regimen (median intraoperative sufentanil dose 50 mcg (45,85). Propensity-score was used to make 1:1 case-control matching. Cumulative risk of recurrence with competing risks was calculated based on anesthetic technique. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to compare recurrence-free (RFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed with Cox proportional hazard regression models for RFS and CSS. RESULTS: Only patients with complete data on anesthetic technique were included. Out of 439 patients, 215-pair samples with complete follow-up were included in the analysis. Median follow-up was 41.4 months (range: 0.20-101). Patients with epidurals received higher median total intravenous morphine equivalents (ivMEQ) versus those in the GA group (75 (11-235) vs. 50 ivMEQ (7-277), p < 0.0001). Cumulative risk of recurrence at two years was 25.2% (19.6, 31.2) for epidural patients vs. 20.0% (15.0, 25.7) for GA patients (Gray test p = 0.0508). Epidural analgesic technique was a significant predictor of worse RFS (adjusted HR = 1.67, 1.14-2.45; p = 0.009) and CSS (HR = 1.53, 1.04-2.25; p = 0.030) on multivariable analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Epidural anesthesia using sufentanil was associated with worse recurrence and disease-free survival in bladder cancer patients treated with surgery. This may be due use of epidural sufentanil or due to the increased total morphine equivalents patient received as a consequence of this drug.

Emerging Therapeutic Strategies in Breast Cancer.

The field of medical oncology is experiencing a period of rapid evolution owing to advances in the fields of genomics, tumor biology, and immunology. These disciplines have provided valuable insights into the heterogeneity between breast tumors, key oncogenic drivers, and the role of the immune system in the natural history of breast cancer. This knowledge is translating into many novel therapeutic strategies using personalized medicines, targeted drug delivery systems, and immunomodulatory agents in the treatment of both the early and metastatic stages of the disease. This review article attempts to cover the major developments in experimental therapeutics and how they relate to our understanding of breast cancer and its various biologic subtypes.

Preoperative immunonutrition and carbohydrate loading associated with improved bowel function after radical cystectomy.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative malnourishment has been consistently associated with poor outcomes after radical cystectomy and other major abdominal surgeries. Most enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) studies have examined preoperative nutrition and its relationship to outcomes after gastrointestinal surgery. Although numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of using an ERAS protocol, this study in unique in comparing 2 ERAS protocols, with and without a nutrition component. METHODS: A formalized preoperative nutrition protocol (PNP) recommending use of preoperative immunonutrition and carbohydrate drink was introduced in June 2018. A total of 78 consecutive patients who drank both beverages were compared with 92 historical controls. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were sequentially performed to determine if preoperative nutrition was associated with binary outcome variables (30-day complication, infectious complication, and readmission within 30 days). RESULTS: The preoperative nutrition group and control group were statistically similar in distribution of age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification, clinical stage, and body mass index. Return of bowel function was found to occur earlier in the preoperative nutrition group than in the control group (3.12 vs 3.74 days; relative risk, 0.82; CI, 0.73-0.93; P = .0029). Complications within 30 days were similar in both groups (63.6% vs 55.4%; P = 0.36). Infectious complications (42.9% vs 37%; P = .53) and readmission within 30 days (22.1% vs 15.2%; P = .34) were also similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Use of a PNP including immunonutrition and carbohydrate drink may be associated with earlier return of bowel function after radical cystectomy.