Surgical outcomes and healthcare expenditures among patients with dementia undergoing major surgery.

BACKGROUND: We sought to define surgical outcomes among elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) following major thoracic and gastrointestinal surgery. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was used to identify patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair, pneumonectomy, pancreatectomy, and colectomy. Individuals were identified from the Medicare Standard Analytic Files and multivariable regression was utilized to assess the association of ADRD with textbook outcome (TO), expenditures, and discharge disposition. RESULTS: Among 1,175,010 Medicare beneficiaries, 19,406 (1.7%) patients had a preoperative diagnosis of ADRD (CABG: n = 1,643, 8.5%; AAA repair: n = 5,926, 30.5%; pneumonectomy: n = 590, 3.0%; pancreatectomy: n = 181, 0.9%; and colectomy: n = 11,066, 57.0%). After propensity score matching, patients with ADRD were less likely to achieve a TO (ADRD: 31.2% vs. no ADRD: 40.1%) or be discharged to home (ADRD: 26.7% vs. no ADRD: 46.2%) versus patients who did not have ADRD (both p < 0.001). Median index surgery expenditures were higher among patients with ADRD (ADRD: $28,815 [IQR $14,333-$39,273] vs. no ADRD: $27,101 [IQR $13,433-$38,578]; p < 0.001) (p < 0.001). On multivariable analysis, patients with ADRD had higher odds of postoperative complications (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.25-1.40), extended length-of-stay (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.21-1.32), 90-day readmission (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.31-1.43), and 90-day mortality (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.66-1.86) (all p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Preoperative diagnosis of ADRD was an independent risk factor for poor postoperative outcomes, discharge to non-home settings, as well as higher healthcare expenditures. These data should serve to inform discussions and decision-making about surgery among the growing number of older patients with cognitive deficits.

Association of Neighborhood Deprivation and Transplant Center Quality with Liver Transplantation Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Social determinants of health can impact the quality of liver transplantation (LT) care. We sought to assess whether the association between neighborhood deprivation and transplant outcomes can be mitigated by receiving care at high-quality transplant centers. STUDY DESIGN: In this population-based cohort study, patients who underwent LT between 2004 and 2019 were identified in the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. LT-recipient neighborhoods were identified at the county level and stratified into quintiles relative to Area Deprivation Index (ADI). Transplant center quality was based on the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients 5-tier ranking using standardized transplant rate ratios. Multivariable Cox regression was used to assess the relationship between ADI, hospital quality, and posttransplant survival. RESULTS: A total of 41,333 recipients (median age, 57.0 [50.0 to 63.0] years; 27,112 [65.4%] male) met inclusion criteria. Patients residing in the most deprived areas were more likely to have nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, be Black, and travel further distances to reach a transplant center. On multivariable analysis, post-LT long-term mortality was associated with low- vs high-quality transplant centers (hazard ratio [HR] 1.19, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.32), as well as among patients residing in high- vs low-ADI neighborhoods (HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.34; both p ≤ 0.001). Of note, individuals residing in high- vs low-ADI neighborhoods had a higher risk of long-term mortality after treatment at a low-quality (HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.62, p = 0.011) vs high-quality (HR 1.12, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.52, p = 0.471) LT center. CONCLUSIONS: LT at high-quality centers may be able to mitigate the association between posttransplant survival and neighborhood deprivation. Investments and initiatives that increase access to referrals to high-quality centers for patients residing in higher deprivation may lead to better outcomes and help mitigate disparities in LT.