The impact of cannabis use disorder on urologic oncologic surgery morbidity, length of stay, and inpatient cost: analysis of the National Inpatient Sample from 2003 to 2014.

PURPOSE: This study examined the impact of cannabis use disorder (CUD) on inpatient morbidity, length of stay (LOS), and inpatient cost (IC) of patients undergoing urologic oncologic surgery. METHODS: The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2003 to 2014 was analyzed for patients undergoing prostatectomy, nephrectomy, or cystectomy (n = 1,612,743). CUD was identified using ICD-9 codes. Complex-survey procedures were used to compare patients with and without CUD. Inpatient major complications, high LOS (4th quartile), and high IC (4th quartile) were examined as endpoints. Univariable and multivariable analysis (MVA) were performed to compare groups. RESULTS: The incidence of CUD increased from 51 per 100,000 admissions in 2003 to 383 per 100,000 in 2014 (p < 0.001). Overall, 3,503 admissions had CUD. Patients with CUD were more frequently younger (50 vs. 61), male (86% vs. 78.4%), Black (21.7% vs. 9.2%), and had 1st quartile income (36.1% vs. 20.6%); all p < 0.001. CUD had no impact on any complication rates (all p > 0.05). However, CUD patients had higher LOS (3 vs. 2 days; p < 0.001) and IC ($15,609 vs. $12,415; p < 0.001). On MVA, CUD was not an independent predictor of major complications (p = 0.6). Conversely, CUD was associated with high LOS (odds ratio (OR) 1.31; 95% CI 1.08-1.59) and high IC (OR 1.33; 95% CI 1.12-1.59), both p < 0.01. CONCLUSION: The incidence of CUD at the time of urologic oncologic surgery is increasing. Future research should look into the cause of our observed phenomena and how to decrease LOS and IC in CUD patients.

Time-Driven Activity-based Costing and Outcomes of Same-Day Discharge vs Inpatient Robotic Partial and Radical Nephrectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the outcomes, total healthcare utilization, and cost savings for same-day discharge (SDD) vs inpatient robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) and robotic-assisted radical nephrectomy (RARN). METHODS: We compared 146 RAPNs and 65 RARNs consecutively performed as SDD (RAPN=21, RARN=9) vs inpatient (RAPN=125, RARN=56) from April 2015 to May 2023 at two academic medical centers. We collected baseline demographics, perioperative characteristics, and 30-day complications. We applied the Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing analysis to compare total costs of RAPN and PARN throughout the cycle of care, including inpatient vs SDD. RESULTS: Baseline demographics and comorbidities were similar between patients undergoing inpatient vs SDD RAPN and RARN. One Clavien-Dindo grade II complication (3.3%) requiring readmission due to wound infection for antibiotics occurred after SDD RAPN; no complications occurred after SDD RARN. Two unscheduled office or emergency department visits (6.7%) occurred after SDD RAPN for surgical-site infection and urinary retention. SDD vs inpatient RAPN and RARN demonstrated a $3091 (18%) and $4003 (25%) overall cost reduction, respectively. CONCLUSION: SDD RAPN and RARN result in cost savings of 18%-25% without a difference in complications, and thereby improves value-based care for appropriately selected patients.

Trends and Costs of Minimally Invasive Surgery for Kidney Cancer in the US: A Population-based Study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze temporal trends and costs associated with the use of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for kidney cancer in the US over the past decade. To examine the impact of social determinants of health (SDOH) on perioperative outcomes. METHODS: The PearlDiver Mariner, a national database of insurance billing records, was queried for this retrospective observational cohort analysis. The MIS population was identified and stratified according to treatment modality, using International Classification of Diseases and current procedural terminology codes. SDOH were assessed using International Classification of Diseases codes. Negative binomial regression was used to evaluate the overall number of renal MIS and Cochran-Armitage tests to compare the utilization of different treatment modalities, over the study period. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified predictors of perioperative complications. RESULTS: A total of 80,821 MIS for kidney cancer were included. Minimally invasive partial nephrectomy adoption as a fraction of total MIS increased significantly (slope of regression line, reg. = 0.026, P <.001). Minimally invasive radical nephrectomy ($26.9k ± 40.9k) and renal ablation ($18.9k ± 31.6k) were the most expensive and cheapest procedures, respectively. No statistically significant difference was observed in terms of number of complications (P = .06) and presence of SDOH (P = .07) among the treatment groups. At multivariable analysis, patients with SDOH undergoing minimally invasive radical nephrectomy had higher odds of perioperative complications, while renal ablation had a significantly lower probability of perioperative complications. CONCLUSION: This study describes the current management of kidney cancer in the US, offering a socioeconomic perspective on the impact of this disease in everyday clinical practice.

Outcomes and Cost Comparison of 3 Different Laparoscopic Approach for Living Donor Nephrectomy: A Retrospective, Single-Center, Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting Analysis of 551 Cases.

BACKGROUND: At our institution, we switched from hand-assisted retroperitoneal laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (HRN) to hand-assisted transperitoneal laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (HTN); we later switched to standard retroperitoneal laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (SRN). This study was performed to evaluate outcomes and hospital costs among the 3 techniques. METHODS: This retrospective, observational, single-center, inverse probability of treatment weighting analysis study compared the outcomes among 551 cases of living donor kidney transplantation between 2014 and 2022. RESULTS: After the inverse probability of treatment weighting analysis, there were 114 cases in the HRN group, 204 cases in the HTN group, and 213 cases in the SRN group. Donor complication rates were lowest in the SRN group but did not differ between the HRN and HTN groups (1.1 vs 4.4 and 5.9%, P = .021). Donors in the SRN group had the lowest serum C-reactive protein concentrations on postoperative day 1 (4.3 vs 10.5 and 7.8 mg/dL, P < .001) and the shortest postoperative stay (4.3 vs 7.4 and 8.4 days, P < .001). Donors in the SRN group had the lowest total cost among the 3 groups (8868 vs 9709 and 10,592 USD, P < .0001). Donors in the SRN group also had the lowest costs in terms of "basic medical fees," "medication and injection fees," "Intraoperative drug and material costs," and "testing fees." Furthermore, the presence of complications was significantly correlated with higher total hospital costs (P < .001). CONCLUSION: SRN appeared to have the least invasive and complication, and a potential cost savings compared with the HRN and HTN.

Living Kidney Donors' Financial Expenses and Mental Health.

BACKGROUND: Living kidney donors incur donation-related expenses, but how these expenses impact postdonation mental health is unknown. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, the association between mental health and donor-incurred expenses (both out-of-pocket costs and lost wages) was examined in 821 people who donated a kidney at one of the 12 transplant centers in Canada between 2009 and 2014. Mental health was measured by the RAND Short Form-36 Health Survey along with Beck Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: A total of 209 donors (25%) reported expenses of >5500 Canadian dollars. Compared with donors who incurred lower expenses, those who incurred higher expenses demonstrated significantly worse mental health-related quality of life 3 months after donation, with a trend towards worse anxiety and depression, after controlling for predonation mental health-related quality of life and other risk factors for psychological distress. Between-group differences for donors with lower and higher expenses on these measures were no longer significant 12 months after donation. CONCLUSIONS: Living kidney donor transplant programs should ensure that adequate psychosocial support is available to all donors who need it, based on known and unknown risk factors. Efforts to minimize donor-incurred expenses and to better support the mental well-being of donors need to continue. Further research is needed to investigate the effect of donor reimbursement programs, which mitigate donor expenses, on postdonation mental health.

Percutaneous Cryoablation versus Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomy of Renal T1A Tumors: a Single-Center Retrospective Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of percutaneous cryoablation (PCA) versus robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RPN) in patients with small renal tumors (T1a stage), considering perioperative complications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective study from November 2008 to April 2017 of 122 patients with a T1a renal mass who after being analyzed by a multidisciplinary board underwent to PCA (59 patients) or RPN (63 patients). Hospital costs in US dollars, and clinical and tumor data were compared. Non-complicated intervention was considered as an effective outcome. A hypothetical model of possible complications based on Clavien-Dindo classification (CDC) was built, grouping them into mild (CDC I and II) and severe (CDC III and IV). A decision tree model was structured from complications of published data. RESULTS: Patients who underwent PCA were older (62.5 vs. 52.8 years old, p < 0.001), presented with more coronary disease and previous renal cancer (25.4% vs. 10.1%, p = 0.023 and 38% vs. 7.2%, p < 0.001, respectively). Patients treated with PCA had a higher preoperative risk (American Society of Anesthesiologists-ASA ≥ 3) than those in the RPN group (25.4% vs. 0%, p < 0.001). Average operative time was significantly lower with PCA than RPN (99.92 ± 29.05 min vs. 129.28 ± 54.85 min, p < 0.001). Average hospitalization time for PCA was 2.2 ± 2.95 days, significantly lower than RPN (mean 3.03 ± 1.49 days, p = 0.04). The average total cost of PCA was significantly lower than RPN (US$12,435 ± 6,176 vs. US$19,399 ± 6,047, p < 0.001). The incremental effectiveness was 5% higher comparing PCA with RPN, resulting a cost-saving result in favor of PCA. CONCLUSION: PCA was the dominant strategy (less costly and more effective) compared to RPN, considering occurrence of perioperative complications.

Percutaneous cryoablation vs. open partial nephrectomy in small kidney cancers: the Italian experience.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the present work was to analyze the economic impact of PCA (percutaneous cryoablation) vs. OPN (open partial nephrectomy), as it represents the most common standard of care for SRMs (small renal masses), namely T1a renal cancers (<4 cm), in Italy. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A cost analysis was performed to compare the difference of the total perioperative costs between PCA and OPN, both from the perspective of the National Healthcare System and the hospital. Clinical and resources consumption inputs were retrieved by a non-systematic literature search on scientific databases, complemented by a grey literature research, and validated by expert opinion. Costs calculation for the NHS perspective were based on reference tariffs published by the National Ministry of Health, while for the hospital perspective, unit costs published in the grey literature were used to compare the two alternatives. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Assuming the NHS perspective, the cost analysis shows there is an economic advantage in using PCA vs. OPN (€4080 vs. €7541) for the treatment of SRMs. Hospitalization time is the driver of the total costs, while the costs of complications are quite negligible in both groups. From the hospital perspective the costs of PCA is slightly higher (+€737) than OPN, with cryoprobes contributing as the greatest cost component. However, this increase is quite restrained and is offset by an inferior use of healthcare resources (surgery room, healthcare personnel, length of stay in the hospital). CONCLUSIONS: According to our analysis, PCA results an advantageous technique compared to OPN respectively in terms of costs and resource consumption from both the NHS and the hospital perspective.

Simple Nephrectomy in a Tertiary Care Safety Net Hospital-Patient Characteristics, Causes, Cost, and Renal Function Implications.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate factors associated with simple nephrectomy at a safety net hospital with a diverse patient population and large catchment area. Simple nephrectomy is an underreported surgery. Performance of simple nephrectomy may represent a failure of management of underlying causes. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of simple nephrectomies performed at a major urban safety net hospital from 2014 to 2019. Detailed demographic, surgical, and renal functional outcomes were abstracted. We assessed the medical and social factors leading to performance of simple nephrectomy and report contemporaneous perception of preventability of the simple nephrectomy by the surgeon. RESULTS: Eighty-five patients underwent simple nephrectomy during the study period; 55% were non-white, 77% were women, and the median age at time of surgery was 46 years. The most common medical factors contributing to simple nephrectomy were stone disease in 55.3%, followed by retained ureteral stent (30.6%) and stricture (30.6%). The most common social factors were lack of insurance (58.5%), substance abuse issues (32.3%), mental health issues (24.6%), and immigration status (18.5%). In 38.8% of cases, the provider felt the surgery was preventable if medical factors leading to simple nephrectomy were properly addressed. CONCLUSIONS: Simple nephrectomy is a common surgery in the safety net hospital setting. Both medical and sociologic factors can lead to simple nephrectomy, and awareness of these factors can lead efforts to mitigate them. This review has led to the implementation of strategies to minimize occurrences of retained stents in our patients.

Single-port robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy: initial clinical experience and lessons learned for successful outcomes.

The Intuitive Surgical DaVinci SP ("Single Port") robotic platform was approved in 2014, but, recently, there has been a dissemination of the technology with multiple urological procedures successfully adapted to this robot. There are some important differences from prior models. We aimed to share our early outcomes and lessons learned for performing successful single-port robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy (SP-RAPN). This study is a retrospective review of sequential SP-RAPN cases between 7/2019 and 3/2020. We extracted patient characteristics and early surgical outcomes. Surgical tips and tricks were recorded during these cases and compiled. SP-RAPN was successfully completed in 12 patients. Patients mean age was 57.8 ± 11.0 years and median ASA score was 2. Mean tumor size was 3.1 ± 2.2 cm. The average OR Time was 172 ± 41 min and EBL was 68 ± 75 mL. All cases had warm ischemia time < 25 min. Tumor pathology included 8 RCC (6 pT1a, 1 pT1b, 1 pT2a), 2 AML, and 2 oncocytoma. There were no complications. Our top surgical tips involved: (1) patient positioning, (2) port placement, (3) insufflation, (4) air docking, (5) assistant port placement, (6) dynamic arm control, (7) hilar clamping, (8) camera relocation, (9) tumor excision, and (10) extraction and port closure. SP-RAPN is safe and feasible in this series. There are advantages and disadvantages to this platform. As the technology matures and techniques evolve, SP-RAPN may become more appealing. Future studies should focus on long-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness of the SP system.

Relapsed Wilms' tumor in pediatric patients: challenges in low- to middle-income countries-a single-center experience.

BACKGROUND: Wilms' tumor (WT) affects one in 10,000 children and accounts for 5% of all childhood cancers. Although the overall relapse rate for children with WT has decreased to less than 15 %, the overall survival for patients with recurrent disease remains poor at approximately 50 %. The aim of the study to evaluate the outcome of relapsed Wilms' tumor pediatric patients treated at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Egypt, between January 2008 and December 2015. RESULTS: One hundred thirty (130) patients diagnosed with WT during the study period, thirty (23%) patients had relapsed. The median follow up period was 22.3 months (range 3.6-140 months). The Overall Survival (OS) was 30.9% while the event-free survival (EFS) was 29.8% at a 5-year follow up period. Median time from diagnosis to relapse was 14.4 months. A second complete remission was attained in 18/30 patients (60%). The outcome of the 30 patients; 11 are alive and 19 had died. Three factors in our univariate analysis were prognostically significant for survival after relapse. The first was radiotherapy given after relapse (p = 0.012). The 5-year EFS and OS for the group that received radiotherapy were 41.9% versus 16.7% and 11.1% respectively for those that did not. The second was the state of lymph nodes among patients with local stage III (p = 0.004). Lastly, when risk stratification has been applied retrospectively on our study group, it proved to be statistically significant (p = 0.029). CONCLUSION: Among relapsed pediatric WT, radiotherapy improved survival at the time of relapse and local stage III with positive lymph nodes had the worst survival among other stage III patients.

Is there a clinical role for frozen section analysis during partial nephrectomy? A multicenter experience over 10 years.

BACKGROUND: Frozen section analysis (FSA) is frequently performed during partial nephrectomy (PN). We investigate the utility of intraoperative FSA by evaluating its impact on final surgical margin (SM) status. METHODS: Between January 1995 and December 2005, a series of patients who were treated with open PN for renal cell carcinoma was prospectively analyzed. During PN, each patient underwent a FSA on renal parenchyma distal margin. If FSA was positive for infiltration a deeper excision was performed till obtaining a negative FSA. SM outcome of the FSA was compared with the final pathology report. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and cost analysis on the FSA performed were analyzed. RESULTS: A total number of 373 patients were enrolled. FSA was performed in all the patients considered for PN. Fifteen patients had a conversion to radical nephrectomy. Positive SMs at the definitive pathological outcome were found in 36 patients (9.6%). FSA was positive in eight patients (2.1%). In that eight cases after a deeper excision the definitive pathological outcome on SM was still positive in two cases. FSA revealed just 14.3% of the positive SM. Patients with positive SM had a worse follow up considering RFS (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that FSA did not considerably contribute to prevent recurrence (P=0.35). 1438 euros was the mean cost of performing a FSA during PN. CONCLUSIONS: FSA during PN does not reduce the risk of positive SMs. The use of FSA has also a higher cost related to the procedure.

The Association of Robot-assisted Versus Pure Laparoscopic Radical Nephrectomy with Perioperative Outcomes and Hospital Costs.

BACKGROUND: Although robot assistance can facilitate the advantages of minimally invasive surgery, it is unclear whether it offers benefits in settings in which laparoscopic surgery has been established as the standard of care. OBJECTIVE: To examine the comparative effectiveness of robot-assisted laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (RALRN) and laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN) using a nationwide data set. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: 8316 adults who underwent RALRN or LRN for non-urothelial renal cancer from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2010 to 2013. INTERVENTION: RALRN and LRN. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The associations of surgical approach with perioperative outcomes and total hospital costs were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Over the study period, utilization of RALRN increased from 46% to 69%. Compared to LRN, RALRN was associated with lower rates of intraoperative (0.9% vs 1.8%; p<0.001) and postoperative complications (20.4% vs 27.2%; p<0.001), but there were no differences in perioperative blood transfusion (5.6% vs 6.2%; p=0.27) and prolonged hospitalization (7.2% vs 7.1%; p=0.81). RALRN was also significantly associated with higher total hospital costs (median $16 207 vs $15 037; p<0.001). In multivariable analyses, RALRN remained independently associated with a lower risk of intraoperative (odds ratio [OR] 0.50; p=0.001) and postoperative complications (OR 0.72; p<0.001) but not perioperative blood transfusion (OR 1.10; p=0.34), and with a higher risk of prolonged hospitalization (OR 1.29; p=0.007) and higher mean total hospital costs (+$1468; p<0.001). There was no effect modification by hospital volume. CONCLUSIONS: Although RALRN was independently associated with a reduction in perioperative complications compared to LRN, it was associated with prolonged hospitalization and higher total hospital costs. These relationships must be interpreted in light of potential differences in case mix. PATIENT SUMMARY: Although robot-assisted laparoscopic radical nephrectomy was independently associated with a reduction in perioperative complications compared to laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, it was associated with prolonged hospitalization and higher total hospital costs.

Outcomes for urologic oncology procedures: are there differences between academic and community hospitals?

OBJECTIVE: To compare the rate of hospital-based outcomes including costs, 30-day readmission, mortality, and length of stay in patients who underwent major urologic oncologic procedures in academic and community hospitals. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the Vizient Database (Irving, Texas) from September 2014 to December 2017. Vizient includes ~ 97% of academic hospitals (AH) and more than 60 community hospitals (CH). Patients aged ≥ 18 with urologic malignancies who underwent surgical treatment were included. Chi square and Student t tests were used to compare categorical and continuous variables, respectively. RESULTS: We identified a total of 37,628 cases. There were 33,290 (88%) procedures performed in AH and 4330 (12%) in CH. These included prostatectomy (18,540), radical nephrectomy (rNx) 8059, partial nephrectomy (pNx) (5287), radical cystectomy (4421), radical nephroureterectomy (rNu) (1006), and partial cystectomy (321). There were no significant differences in 30-day readmission rates or mortality for any procedure between academic and community hospitals (Table 1), p > 0.05 for all. Length of stay was significantly lower for radical cystectomy and prostatectomy in AH (p < 0.01 for both) and lower for rNx in CH (p = 0.03). The mean direct cost for index admission was significantly higher in AH for rNx, pNx, rNu, and prostatectomy. Case mix index was similar between the community and academic hospitals. CONCLUSION: Despite academic and community hospitals having similar case complexity, direct costs were lower in community hospitals without an associated increase in readmission rates or deaths. Length of stay was shorter for cystectomy in academic centers.

Cost-effectiveness of four living-donor nephrectomy techniques from a hospital perspective.

BACKGROUND: In Europe, transplantation centres use different nephrectomy techniques: open surgery, and standard, hand-assisted and robot-assisted laparoscopies. Few studies have analysed the disparity in costs and clinical outcomes between techniques. Since donors are healthy patients expecting minimum pain and fast recovery, this study aimed to compare the cost-effectiveness of four nephrectomy techniques focusing on early surgical outcomes, an essential in the donation act. METHODS: A micro-costing approach was used to estimate the cost of implementation from a hospital perspective. Estimates took into account sterilization costs for multiple-use equipment, costs for purchasing single-use equipment, staff and analgesics. The study recruited donors in 20 centres in France. Quality of life by EuroQol-5D was assessed preoperatively, and 4 and 90 days post-operatively. Two effectiveness indicators were built: quality-of-life recovery and post-operative pain days averted (PPDA). The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02830568, on 10 June 2010. RESULTS: A total of 264 donors were included; they underwent open surgery (n = 65), and standard (n = 65), hand-assisted (n = 65) and robot-assisted laparoscopies (n = 69). Use of the nephrectomy techniques differed greatly in cost of implementation and immediate post-operative outcomes but not in clinical outcomes at 90 days. At 4 days, hand-assisted laparoscopy provided the lowest cost per quality-of-life recovery unit of effectiveness (%) and PPDA (days) (€2056/40.1%/2.3 days, respectively). Robot-assisted laparoscopy was associated with the best post-operative outcomes but with the highest cost (€3430/59.1%/2.6 days). CONCLUSION: Hand-assisted, standard and robot-assisted laparoscopies are cost-effective techniques compared with open surgery. Hand-assisted surgery is the most cost-effective procedure. Robot-assisted surgery requires more healthcare resource use but enables the best clinical outcome.

Partial and radical nephrectomy in children, adolescents, and young adults: Equivalent readmissions and postoperative complications.

OBJECTIVES: To compare and contrast the use of partial nephrectomy (PN) and radical nephrectomy (RN) in pediatric malignant renal tumors using a nationally representative database. METHODS: The 2010-2014 Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD) was used to obtain PN and RN select postoperative data. ICD-9-CM codes were used to identify children (<10 years), adolescents (10-19 years) and young adults (20-30 years) diagnosed with malignant renal tumors who were treated with a PN or RN. The presence of a 30-day readmission, occurrence of postoperative complications, cost, and length of stay (LOS) were studied and weighted logistic regression models were fit to test for associations. RESULTS: There were 4330 weighted encounters (1289 PNs, 3041 RNs) that met inclusion criteria: 50.8% were children, 7.2% were adolescents, and 42% were young adults. Young adults had the highest rates of PN, whereas children had the highest rates of RN (p < 0.0001). Overall, no evidence was found to suggest a difference in odds between surgical modality and the presence of a 30-day readmission or postoperative complication. While PN was on average $9000 cheaper compared to RN overall, its cost was similar to that of RN for children. Similarly, PN patients had a shorter overall LOS compared to RN patients, but their LOS was similar to that of children who underwent RN. CONCLUSION: There was no evidence of a difference in odds between RN and PN in terms of postoperative readmissions or in-hospital complication rates. Additionally, we observed descriptive differences in both cost and LOS between the surgical modalities across age groups. TYPE OF STUDY: Retrospective comparative study (administrative database analysis). LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.

Nonreimbursed Costs Incurred by Living Kidney Donors: A Case Study From Ontario, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Living donors may incur out-of-pocket costs during the donation process. While many jurisdictions have programs to reimburse living kidney donors for expenses, few programs have been evaluated. METHODS: The Program for Reimbursing Expenses of Living Organ Donors was launched in the province of Ontario, Canada in 2008 and reimburses travel, parking, accommodation, meals, and loss of income; each category has a limit and the maximum total reimbursement is $5500 CAD. We conducted a case study to compare donors' incurred costs (out-of-pocket and lost income) with amounts reimbursed by Program for Reimbursing Expenses of Living Organ Donors. Donors with complete or partial cost data from a large prospective cohort study were linked to Ontario's reimbursement program to determine the gap between incurred and reimbursed costs (n = 159). RESULTS: The mean gap between costs incurred and costs reimbursed to the donors was $1313 CAD for out-of-pocket costs and $1802 CAD for lost income, representing a mean reimbursement gap of $3115 CAD. Nondirected donors had the highest mean loss for out-of-pocket costs ($2691 CAD) and kidney paired donors had the highest mean loss for lost income ($4084 CAD). There were no significant differences in the mean gap across exploratory subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Reimbursement programs minimize some of the financial loss for living kidney donors. Opportunities remain to remove the financial burden of living kidney donors.

Association Between Hospitals' Risk-Adjusted Emergency Department Visits and Survival and Costs in Kidney Cancer Patients Undergoing Nephrectomy.

PURPOSE: To estimate the association between a hospital's risk-adjusted emergency department (ED) visit rate and its risk-adjusted mortality rate and costs among kidney cancer patients undergoing initial nephrectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Using 2007-2012 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare data, we used logistic regression to model ED visit occurrence within 30 and 365 days for all kidney cancer patients receiving initial surgery. Our model controlled for demographics, stage, histology, systemic targeted therapy, and comorbidities. Based on model predictions, we created a ratio of actual versus predicted ED visits for hospitals to identify hospitals with higher and lower than predicted ED visit rates. We estimated the association between the hospitals' ED visit ratio and hospitals' risk-adjusted 365-day mortality rates, and 6- and 12-month total costs and total costs (less ED visits). RESULTS: In our sample of 6078 patients, 15.5% had an ED visit within 30 days of surgery and 43.5% within 365 days. For hospitals with ≥ 11 patients, we found no statistically significant association between 30-day or 365-day risk-adjusted ED visit rate and their 365-day risk-adjusted mortality rate. Hospitals' 30-day ED visit rates were not significantly associated with either 6- or 12-month costs. However, hospitals' 365-day ED visit rates were significantly associated with 12-month costs, even when excluding the cost of the ED visit. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest hospitals' risk-adjusted ED visit rates capture a qualitatively different measure of quality than the more commonly reported mortality rates. Longer term ED visit rates are significantly associated with increased costs while 30-day ED visits are not.

Contemporary National Assessment of Robot-Assisted Surgery Rates and Total Hospital Charges for Major Surgical Uro-Oncological Procedures in the United States.

Background: The role of robot assistance is increasingly gaining importance among all major surgical uro-oncological procedures (MSUPs). However, contemporary analyses showed that total hospital charges (THCGs) related to robot-assisted procedures exceed those of open procedures. Based on increasing familiarity with robot-assisted surgery, we postulated that THCGs may have decreased over the past half-decade. Thus, we tested contemporary trends and THCGs related to robot-assisted vs nonrobot-assisted MSUPs. Materials and Methods: Within the National Inpatient Sample database (2009-2015), we identified patients who underwent robot-assisted vs nonrobot-assisted (open or laparoscopic) MSUPs, which included radical prostatectomy (RP), radical nephrectomy (RN), partial nephrectomy (PN), and radical cystectomy (RC). Rates of robot-assisted MSUPs were evaluated using estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) analyses. The t-test was used to examine statistically significant differences between mean THCGs according to either robot-assisted or nonrobot-assisted approach. Finally, linear regression analyses were tested for annual variation in the mean THCGs. Results: Of 128,367 MSUPs, 47.7% were robot-assisted. Overall, robot-assisted surgery rates among MSUPs increased from 40.3% to 57.6% (EAPC: +6.3%, p < 0.001) between 2009 and 2015. The mean THCGs for robot-assisted RP, RN, PN, and RC were $13,799, $18,789, $16,574, and $33,575, respectively. The observed mean THCGs differences between robot-assisted and nonrobot-assisted MSUPs were +$1594, +$1592, and +$1829 for RP, RN, and RC, respectively (all p < 0.05). Conversely, no statistically significant difference in the mean THCGs was reported between robot-assisted and nonrobot-assisted PN (+$367, p > 0.05). Finally, the annual observed mean THCGs linearly decreased for all robot-assisted MSUPs during the study period. Conclusions: Rates of robot-assisted MSUPs exponentially increased between 2009 and 2015. Although the mean THCGs decreased in a significant manner during the study period for all MSUPs, THCGs of robot-assisted RP, RN, and RC still exceed those of their respective nonrobot-assisted counterparts. Conversely, no differences in the mean THCGs were reported between robot-assisted vs nonrobot-assisted PN.

Active Surveillance Versus Nephron-Sparing Surgery for a Bosniak IIF or III Renal Cyst: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of active surveillance (AS) versus nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) in patients with a Bosniak IIF or III renal cyst. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Markov models were developed to estimate life expectancy and lifetime costs for 60-year-old patients with a Bosniak IIF or III renal cyst (the reference cases) managed by AS versus NSS. The models incorporated the malignancy rates, reclassification rates during follow-up, treatment effectiveness, complications and costs, and short- and long-term outcomes. An incremental cost-effectiveness analysis was performed to identify management preference under an assumed $75,000 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) societal willingness-to-pay threshold, using data from studies in the literature and the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The effects of key parameters were addressed in a multiway sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of malignancy for Bosniak IIF and III renal cysts was 26% (25/96) and 52% (542/1046). Under base case assumptions for Bosniak IIF cysts, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of NSS relative to AS was $731,309 per QALY for women, exceeding the assumed societal willingness-to-pay threshold, and AS outperformed NSS for both life expectancy and cost for men. For Bosniak III cysts, AS yielded greater life expectancy (24.8 and 19.4 more days) and lower lifetime costs (cost difference of $12,128 and $11,901) than NSS for men and women, indicating dominance of AS over NSS. Superiority of AS held true in sensitivity analyses for men 46 years old or older and women 57 years old or older even when all parameters were set to favor NSS. CONCLUSION: AS is more cost-effective than NSS for patients with a Bosniak IIF or III renal cyst.