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INTRODUCTION: Early operative intervention in orthopaedic injuries is associated with decreased morbidity and mortality. Relevant process measures (e.g. femoral shaft fixation <24 hours) are used in trauma quality improvement programs to evaluate performance. Currently, there is no mechanism to account for patients who are unable to undergo surgical intervention (i.e. physiologically unstable). We characterized the factors associated with patients who did not meet these orthopaedic process measures. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of patients from 35 ACS-COT verified Level 1 and Level 2 trauma centers was performed utilizing quality collaborative data (2017-2022). Inclusion criteria were adult patients (≥18 years), ISS ≥5, and a closed femoral shaft or open tibial shaft fracture classified via the Abbreviated Injury Scale version 2005 (AIS2005). Relevant factors (e.g. physiologic) associated with a procedural delay >24 hours were identified through a multivariable logistic regression and the effect of delay on inpatient outcomes was assessed. A sub-analysis characterized the rate of delay in "healthy patients". RESULTS: We identified 5,199 patients with a femoral shaft fracture and 87.5% had a fixation procedure, of which 31.8% had a delay, and 47.1% of those delayed were "healthy." There were 1,291 patients with an open tibial shaft fracture, 92.2% had fixation, 50.5% had an irrigation and debridement and 11.2% and 18.7% were delayed, respectively. High ISS, older age and multiple medical comorbidities were associated with a delay in femur fixation, and those delayed had a higher incidence of complications. CONCLUSIONS: There is a substantial incidence of surgical delays in some orthopaedic trauma process measures that are predicted by certain patient characteristics, and this is associated with an increased rate of complications. Understanding these factors associated with a surgical delay, and effectively accounting for them, is key if these process measures are to be used appropriately in quality improvement programs. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III; Therapeutic/Care Management.
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BACKGROUND: Emergency general surgery conditions are common, costly, and highly morbid. The proportion of excess morbidity due to variation in health systems and processes of care is poorly understood. We constructed a collaborative quality initiative for emergency general surgery to investigate the emergency general surgery care provided and guide process improvements. METHODS: We collected data at 10 hospitals from July 2019 to December 2022. Five cohorts were defined: acute appendicitis, acute gallbladder disease, small bowel obstruction, emergency laparotomy, and overall aggregate. Processes and inpatient outcomes investigated included operative versus nonoperative management, mortality, morbidity (mortality and/or complication), readmissions, and length of stay. Multivariable risk adjustment accounted for variations in demographic, comorbid, anatomic, and disease traits. RESULTS: Of the 19,956 emergency general surgery patients, 56.8% were female and 82.8% were White, and the mean (SD) age was 53.3 (20.8) years. After accounting for patient and disease factors, the adjusted aggregate mortality rate was 3.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.2-3.7), morbidity rate was 27.6% (95% CI, 27.0-28.3), and the readmission rate was 15.1% (95% CI, 14.6-15.6). Operative management varied between hospitals from 70.9% to 96.9% for acute appendicitis and 19.8% to 79.4% for small bowel obstruction. Significant differences in outcomes between hospitals were observed with high- and low-outlier performers identified after risk adjustment in the overall cohort for mortality, morbidity, and readmissions. The use of a Gastrografin challenge in patients with a small bowel obstruction ranged from 10.7% to 61.4% of patients. In patients who underwent initial nonoperative management of acute cholecystitis, 51.5% had a cholecystostomy tube placed. The cholecystostomy tube placement rate ranged from 23.5% to 62.1% across hospitals. CONCLUSION: A multihospital emergency general surgery collaborative reveals high morbidity with substantial variability in processes and outcomes among hospitals. A targeted collaborative quality improvement effort can identify outliers in emergency general surgery care and may provide a mechanism to optimize outcomes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic/Care Management; Level III.