Corrigendum: Surgical Rates for Crohn's Disease Are Decreasing: A Population-Based Time Trend Analysis and Validation Study.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/ajg.2017.394.

Surgical Rates for Crohn's Disease are Decreasing: A Population-Based Time Trend Analysis and Validation Study.

OBJECTIVES: Temporal changes for intestinal resections for Crohn's disease (CD) are controversial. We validated administrative database codes for CD diagnosis and surgery in hospitalized patients and then evaluated temporal trends in CD surgical resection rates. METHODS: First, we validated International Classification of Disease (ICD)-10-CM coding for CD diagnosis in hospitalized patients and Canadian Classification of Health Intervention coding for surgical resections. Second, we used these validated codes to conduct population-based surveillance between fiscal years 2002 and 2010 to identify adult CD patients undergoing intestinal resection (n=981). Annual surgical rate was calculated by dividing incident surgeries by estimated CD prevalence. Time trend analysis was performed and annual percent change (APC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) in surgical resection rates were calculated using a generalized linear model assuming a Poisson distribution. RESULTS: In the validation cohort, 101/104 (97.1%) patients undergoing surgery and 191/200 (95.5%) patients admitted without surgery were confirmed to have CD on chart review. Among the 116 administrative database codes for surgical resection, 97.4% were confirmed intestinal resections on chart review. From 2002 to 2010, the overall CD surgical resection rate was 3.8 resections per 100 person-years. During the study period, rate of surgery decreased by 3.5% per year (95% CI: -1.1%, -5.8%), driven by decreasing emergent operations (-10.1% per year (95% CI: -13.4%, -6.7%)) whereas elective surgeries increased by 3.7% per year (95% CI: 0.1%, 7.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Overall surgical resection rates in CD are decreasing, but a paradigm shift has occurred whereby elective operations are now more commonly performed than emergent surgeries.

Hospital performance reports based on severity adjusted mortality rates in patients with cirrhosis depend on the method of risk adjustment .

BACKGROUND: Hospital outcome report cards are used to judge provider performance, including for liver transplantation. We aimed to determine the impact of the choice of risk adjustment method on hospital rankings based on mortality rates in cirrhotic patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We identified 68,426 cirrhotic patients hospitalized in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database. Four risk adjustment methods (the Charlson/Deyo and Elixhauser algorithms, Disease Staging, and All Patient Refined Diagnosis Related Groups) were used in logistic regression models for mortality. Observed to expected (O/E) death rates were calculated for each method and hospital. Statistical outliers with higher or lower than expected mortality were identified and rankings compared across methods. RESULTS: Unadjusted mortality rates for the 553 hospitals ranged from 1.4 to 30% (overall, 10.6%). For 163 hospitals (29.5%), observed mortality differed significantly from expected when judged by one or more, but not all four, risk adjustment methods (25.9% higher than expected mortality and 3.6% lower than expected mortality). Only 28% of poor performers and 10% of superior performers were consistently ranked as such by all methods. Agreement between methods as to whether hospitals were flagged as outliers was moderate (kappa 0.51-0.59), except the Charlson/Deyo and Elixhauser algorithms which demonstrated excellent agreement (kappa 0.75). CONCLUSIONS: Hospital performance reports for patients with cirrhosis require sensitivity to the method of risk adjustment. Depending upon the method, up to 30% of hospitals may be flagged as outliers by one, but not all methods. These discrepancies could have important implications for centers erroneously labeled as high mortality outliers.

Predicting in-hospital mortality in patients with cirrhosis: results differ across risk adjustment methods.

UNLABELLED: Risk-adjusted health outcomes are often used to measure the quality of hospital care, yet the optimal approach in patients with liver disease is unclear. We sought to determine whether assessments of illness severity, defined as risk for in-hospital mortality, vary across methods in patients with cirrhosis. We identified 258,731 patients with cirrhosis hospitalized in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample between 2002 and 2005. The performance of four common risk adjustment methods (the Charlson/Deyo and Elixhauser comorbidity algorithms, Disease Staging, and All Patient Refined Diagnosis Related Groups [APR-DRGs]) for predicting in-hospital mortality was determined using the c-statistic. Subgroup analyses were conducted according to a primary versus secondary diagnosis of cirrhosis and in homogeneous patient subgroups (hepatic encephalopathy, hepatocellular carcinoma, congestive heart failure, pneumonia, hip fracture, and cholelithiasis). Patients were also ranked according to the probability of death as predicted by each method, and rankings were compared across methods. Predicted mortality according to the risk adjustment methods agreed for only 55%-67% of patients. Similarly, performance of the methods for predicting in-hospital mortality varied significantly. Overall, the c-statistics (95% confidence interval) for the Charlson/Deyo and Elixhauser algorithms, Disease Staging, and APR-DRGs were 0.683 (0.680-0.687), 0.749 (0.746-0.752), 0.832 (0.829-0.834), and 0.875 (0.873-0.878), respectively. Results were robust across diagnostic subgroups, but performance was lower in patients with a primary versus secondary diagnosis of cirrhosis. CONCLUSION: Mortality analyses in patients with cirrhosis require sensitivity to the method of risk adjustment. Because different methods often produce divergent severity rankings, analyses of provider-specific outcomes may be biased depending on the method used.

Characteristics of patients with cirrhosis who are discharged from the hospital against medical advice.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Patients discharged from hospital against medical advice are at risk of adverse health outcomes. The frequency and predictors of self-discharge in cirrhotic patients have not been examined. METHODS: By using the 1993-2005 US Nationwide Inpatient Sample, we identified 581,380 cirrhotic patients who had been admitted to hospitals. The proportion discharged against medical advice and predictors of self-discharge were analyzed by using regression models with adjustments for clinical factors, including illness severity. RESULTS: Of the patients with cirrhosis identified, 2.8% left their hospital against medical advice. Self-discharge was most common in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis (4.2%) and hepatitis B or C ( approximately 3%) and least common among those with chronic cholestasis (0.4%). Independent predictors of self-discharge included male sex, younger age, non-private insurance, and admission to urban, nonteaching hospitals. Patients undergoing surgery and those with more comorbidities were less likely to leave against medical advice, whereas those with human immunodeficiency virus, drug and alcohol abuse, or psychosis were more likely to leave against medical advice. Self-discharge was less common among patients with hepatic decompensation (odds ratio [OR], 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76-0.82), primary liver cancer (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.41-0.59), or prior transplantation (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.25-0.55). Length of stay and hospital charges were lower in patients discharged against medical advice (P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 1 in 36 hospitalized cirrhotic patients leave hospital against medical advice. Self-discharge is most common among patients with alcoholic cirrhosis, lower socioeconomic status, psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, and less severe liver disease. These findings might assist in the prevention of self-discharge and, ultimately, improve health outcomes in patients with cirrhosis.

Morbidity and mortality following coronary artery bypass graft surgery in patients with cirrhosis: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: The risk of cardiac surgery in patients with cirrhosis is poorly defined. Our objective was to describe outcomes of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in cirrhotic patients from a population-based perspective. METHODS: We analysed the 1998-2004 Nationwide In-patient Sample to identify patients hospitalized for CABG surgery. The effect of cirrhosis on mortality, complications, length of stay (LOS) and charges was evaluated using logistic regression models. RESULTS: Between 1998 and 2004, there were 403 094 CABG admissions; 711 patients (0.2%) had cirrhosis. The average annual number of surgeries increased 4.2% [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.7-7.8] in cirrhotic patients, but decreased 5.5% (3.4-7.5) in non-cirrhotic patients. Patients with cirrhosis had an increased risk of mortality [17 vs. 3%; adjusted odds ratio (OR) 6.67; 95% CI 5.31-8.31], complications [43 vs. 28%; OR 1.99 (95% CI 1.72-2.30)] and greater LOS and charges (P<0.0001). Predictors of mortality included age over 60 (OR 2.21; 95% CI 1.31-3.73), female gender (OR 1.92; 95% CI 1.08-3.41), ascites (OR 3.80; 95% CI 1.95-7.39) and congestive heart failure (OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.08-2.84). Hospital volume and off-pump CABG did not affect mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with cirrhosis have an increased risk of morbidity and mortality following CABG surgery. Additional studies are necessary to refine risk stratification in this high-risk patient population.

Inflammatory bowel disease patients who leave hospital against medical advice: predictors and temporal trends.

BACKGROUND: Leaving hospital against medical advice (AMA) may have consequences with respect to health-related outcomes; however, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients have been inadequately studied. Thus, we determined the prevalence of self-discharge, assessed predictors of AMA status, and evaluated time trends. METHODS: We analyzed the 1995-2005 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to identify 93,678 discharges with a primary diagnosis of IBD admitted to the hospital emergently and did not undergo surgery. We described the proportion of IBD patients who left AMA. Predictors of AMA status were evaluated using a multivariate logistic regression model and temporal trend analyses were performed with Poisson regression models. RESULTS: Between 1995 and 2005, 1.31% of IBD patients left hospitals AMA. Crohn's disease (CD) patients were more likely to leave AMA (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.53; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.30-1.79). Characteristics associated with leaving AMA included: ages 18-34 (aOR, 7.77, 95% CI: 4.34-13.89); male (aOR, 1.75; 95% CI: 1.55-1.99); Medicaid (aOR, 4.55; 95% CI: 3.81-5.43) compared to private insurance; African Americans (aOR, 1.34; 95% CI: 1.09-1.64) compared to white; substance abuse (aOR, 2.75; 95% CI: 2.14-3.54); and psychosis (aOR, 1.55; 95% CI: 1.13-2.14). The incidence rates of self-discharge for CD patients were stable (P > 0.05) between 1995 and 1999, while they significantly (P < 0.0001) increased after 1999. In contrast, AMA rates for UC patients remained stable during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 1 in 76 IBD patients admitted emergently for medical management leave the hospital AMA. These were primarily disenfranchised patients who may lack adequate outpatient follow-up.