Effect of the Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Margin Consensus Guideline Implementation on Re-Excision Rates, Satisfaction, and Cost.

INTRODUCTION: The 2016 consensus guideline on margins for breast-conserving surgery (BCS) with whole-breast irradiation (WBI) for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) recommended 2 mm margins to decrease local recurrence rates. We examined re-excision rates, cost, and patient satisfaction before and after guideline implementation. METHODS: From an Institutional Review Board-approved database, patients with DCIS who underwent BCS with over 1 year of follow-up at one academic institution and one community cancer center were evaluated. Two groups were compared based on when they received treatment, i.e. before (pre-consensus [PRE]) and after November 2016 (post consensus [POST]), with respect to outcome and cost parameters. RESULTS: After consensus guideline implementation, re-excision rate (32.1% vs. 20.0%) and mastectomy conversion (8.3% vs. 2.3%) significantly increased, although total resection volume, operative cost per patient, and satisfaction with breast scores did not differ. Not all patients with <2 mm margins were re-excised, although the re-excision rate among this subset significantly increased (62.4% vs. 31.3%). On multivariable analysis controlling for age, estrogen receptor status, WBI use, and margin status, surgery after consensus guideline publication was independently associated with a higher re-excision rate (odds ratio [OR] 1.97, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-3.59, p = 0.03) and a higher rate of conversion to mastectomy (OR 6.84, 95% CI 1.67-28.00, p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of the 2016 margin consensus guideline for DCIS resulted in an increase in re-excisions and mastectomy conversions at two institutions. Research is needed for operative tools and strategies to decrease DCIS re-excision rates.

Select Choices in Benign Breast Disease: An Initiative of the American Society of Breast Surgeons for the American Board of Internal Medicine Choosing Wisely® Campaign.

BACKGROUND: Up to 50% of all women encounter benign breast problems. In contrast to breast cancer, high-level evidence is not available to guide treatment. Management is therefore largely based on individual physician experience/training. The American board of internal medicine (ABIM) initiated its Choosing Wisely® campaign to promote conversations between patients and physicians about challenging the use of tests or procedures which may not be necessary. The American society of breast surgeons (ASBrS) Patient safety and quality committee (PSQC) chose to participate in this campaign in regard to the management of benign breast disease. METHODS: The PSQC solicited initial candidate measures. PSQC surgeons represent a wide variety of practices. The resulting measures were ranked by modified Delphi appropriateness methodology in two rounds. The final list was approved by ASBrS and endorsed by the ABIM. RESULTS: The final five measures are as follows. (1) Don't routinely excise areas of pseuodoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia (PASH) of the breast in patients who are not having symptoms from it. (2) Don't routinely surgically excise biopsy-proven fibroadenomas that are < 2 cm. (3) Don't routinely operate for a breast abscess without an initial attempt to percutaneously aspirate. (4) Don't perform screening mammography in asymptomatic patients with normal exams who have less than a 5-years life expectancy. (5) Don't routinely drain nonpainful, fluid-filled cysts. CONCLUSIONS: The ASBrS Choosing Wisely® measures that address benign breast disease management are easily accessible to patients via the internet. Consensus was reached by PSQC regarding these recommendations. These measures provide guidance for shared decision-making.

Benchmarking the American Society of Breast Surgeon Member Performance for More Than a Million Quality Measure-Patient Encounters.

BACKGROUND: Nine breast cancer quality measures (QM) were selected by the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Payment Programs (QPP) and other performance improvement programs. We report member performance. STUDY DESIGN: Surgeons entered QM data into an electronic registry. For each QM, aggregate "performance met" (PM) was reported (median, range and percentiles) and benchmarks (target goals) were calculated by CMS methodology, specifically, the Achievable Benchmark of Care™ (ABC) method. RESULTS: A total of 1,286,011 QM encounters were captured from 2011-2015. For 7 QM, first and last PM rates were as follows: (1) needle biopsy (95.8, 98.5%), (2) specimen imaging (97.9, 98.8%), (3) specimen orientation (98.5, 98.3%), (4) sentinel node use (95.1, 93.4%), (5) antibiotic selection (98.0, 99.4%), (6) antibiotic duration (99.0, 99.8%), and (7) no surgical site infection (98.8, 98.9%); all p values < 0.001 for trends. Variability and reasons for noncompliance by surgeon for each QM were identified. The CMS-calculated target goals (ABC™ benchmarks) for PM for 6 QM were 100%, suggesting that not meeting performance is a "never should occur" event. CONCLUSIONS: Surgeons self-reported a large number of specialty-specific patient-measure encounters into a registry for self-assessment and participation in QPP. Despite high levels of performance demonstrated initially in 2011 with minimal subsequent change, the ASBrS concluded "perfect" performance was not a realistic goal for QPP. Thus, after review of our normative performance data, the ASBrS recommended different benchmarks than CMS for each QM.

Measures of Appropriateness and Value for Breast Surgeons and Their Patients: The American Society of Breast Surgeons Choosing Wisely (®) Initiative.

BACKGROUND: Current breast cancer care is based on high-level evidence from randomized, controlled trials. Despite these data, there continues to be variability of breast cancer care, including overutilization of some tests and operations. To reduce overutilization, the American Board of Internal Medicine Choosing Wisely (®) Campaign recommends that professional organizations provide patients and providers with a list of care practices that may not be necessary. Shared decision making regarding these services is encouraged. METHODS: The Patient Safety and Quality Committee of the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) solicited candidate measures for the Choosing Wisely (®) Campaign. The resulting list of "appropriateness" measures of care was ranked by a modified Delphi appropriateness methodology. The highest-ranked measures were submitted to and later approved by the ASBrS Board of Directors. They are listed below. RESULTS: (1) Don't routinely order breast magnetic resonance imaging in new breast cancer patients. (2) Don't routinely excise all the lymph nodes beneath the arm in patients having lumpectomy for breast cancer. (3) Don't routinely order specialized tumor gene testing in all new breast cancer patients. (4) Don't routinely reoperate on patients with invasive cancer if the cancer is close to the edge of the excised lumpectomy tissue. (5) Don't routinely perform a double mastectomy in patients who have a single breast with cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The ASBrS list for the Choosing Wisely (®) campaign is easily accessible to breast cancer patients online. These measures provide surgeons and their patients with a starting point for shared decision making regarding potentially unnecessary testing and operations.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy versus axillary lymphadenectomy in patients treated with lumpectomy: an analysis of short-term outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has been shown to reduce many of the long-term complications associated with a traditional axillary lymph node dissection (ALND); however, short-term outcomes have yet to be characterized. This study was designed to identify trends and differences in 30-day outcomes of partial mastectomy with concurrent SLNB or complete ALND to more effectively determine which patients may be at risk for perioperative complications. METHODS: A retrospective review of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2010 to 2011 was performed to identify all female patients undergoing partial mastectomy with concurrent ALND or SLNB. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between surgical management of the axilla and 30-day complications and readmissions. RESULTS: Of the 6,841 patients identified, 1,877 (27.4 %) received a complete ALND. Overall, the ALND cohort demonstrated significantly more readmissions and reoperations, as well as longer operative times and fewer outpatient procedures. No difference was detected in postoperative complications between the two groups. However, after adjusting for potential confounders, ALND did not predict increased risk of 30-day morbidity or unplanned 30-day readmission compared with SLNB in patients undergoing partial mastectomy. CONCLUSIONS: After adjusting for potential confounders, ALND does not significantly increase the risk of 30-day postoperative overall morbidity or readmission compared with SLNB. Improvement of postoperative outcomes should focus on management of high-risk patients and perioperative complications regardless of surgical management of the axilla.

House Staff Quality Council: One Institution's Experience to Integrate Resident Involvement in Patient Care Improvement Initiatives.

BACKGROUND: Residents and fellows perform a large portion of the hands-on patient care in tertiary referral centers. As frontline providers, they are well suited to identify quality and patient safety issues. As payment reform shifts hospitals to a fee-for-value-type system with reimbursement contingent on quality outcomes, preventive health, and patient satisfaction, house staff must be intimately involved in identifying and solving care delivery problems related to quality, outcomes, and patient safety. Many challenges exist in integrating house staff into the quality improvement infrastructure; these challenges may ideally be managed by the development of a house staff quality council (HSQC). METHODS: Residents and fellows at Scott & White Memorial Hospital interested in participating in a quality council submitted an application, curriculum vitae, and letter of support from their program director. Twelve residents and fellows were selected based on their prior quality improvement experience and/or their interest in quality and safety initiatives. RESULTS: In only 1 year, our HSQC, an Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers National Initiative III project, initiated 3 quality projects and began development of a fourth project. CONCLUSION: Academic medical centers should consider establishing HSQCs to align institutional quality goals with residency training and medical education.

Complication rates of radiation on tissue expander and autologous tissue breast reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate risk factors for complications of tissue expander/implant and autologous tissue breast reconstructions and determine if radiation increases complication rates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of patients who underwent mastectomy plus autologous tissue or expander/implant reconstruction at the Cleveland Clinic. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed in each group to evaluate for risk factors for complications. A complication was considered major if it required reoperation. A predictive model was used to compare the 2 groups to one another. RESULTS: A total of 1037 patients were included in the study. In the tissue expander/implant population, there was a total complication rate of 31.8% and overall major complication rate of 24.4%. Radiation increased the major complication rate from 21.2 to 45.4%. However, 70.1% of the radiated patients ultimately had a successful implant-based reconstruction while an additional 10.3% went on to have autologous reconstruction. Age and body mass index (BMI) > 30 also led to higher major complication rates in tissue expander/implant reconstruction while smoking, hypertension, and chemotherapy had no impact. In the autologous reconstruction group, there was a total complication rate of 31.5% and a major complication rate of 19.7%. There was no statistically significant difference between the radiated and nonradiated autologous tissue reconstructions with major complication rates of 17.9 and 20.5%, respectively. BMI > 30 was the only significant factor leading to higher major complications in the autologous reconstructions. CONCLUSION: Total complication rates were similar between tissue expander and autologous reconstructions. Increased major complication rates in patients with tissue expander reconstructions occurred in those with radiation, but was still successful in the majority of patients. Radiation had no influence on autologous tissue reconstruction major complication rates.