The long-term influence of hospital and surgeon volume on local control and survival in the randomized German Rectal Cancer Trial CAO/ARO/AIO-94

BackgroundThe association of treatment volume and oncological outcome of rectal cancer patients undergoing multidisciplinary treatment is subject of an ongoing debate. Prospective data on long-term local control and overall survival (OS) are not available so far. This study investigated the long-term influence of hospital and surgeon volume on local recurrence (LR) and OS in patients with locally advanced rectal cancers.MethodsIn a post-hoc analysis of the randomized phase III CAO/ARO/AIO-94 trial after a follow-up of more than 10 years, 799 patients with stage II/III rectal cancers were evaluated. LR-rates and OS were stratified by hospital recruitment volume (≤20 vs. 21–90 vs. >90 patients) and by surgeon volume (≤10 vs. 11–50 vs. >50 procedures).ResultsPatients treated in high-volume hospitals had a longer OS than those treated in hospitals with medium or low treatment volume (p = 0.03). The surgeon volume was adversely associated with LR (p = 0.01) but had no influence on overall survival. The positive effect of neoadjuvant chemoradiation (CRT) on local control was the strongest in patients being operated by medium-volume surgeons, less in patients being operated by high-volume surgeons and missing in those being operated by low-volume surgeons.ConclusionsPatients with locally advanced rectal cancers might benefit from treatment in specialized high-volume hospitals. In particular, the surgeon volume had significant influence on long-term local tumour control. The effect of neoadjuvant CRT on local tumour control may likewise depend on the surgeon volume.     

Effects of hospital and surgeon case-volumes on postoperative complications and length of stay after esophagectomy in Japan

Purpose  The exact relationship between larger caseload volume and lower morbidity following esophagectomy has not been established. This study investigates the effect of surgical volumes on reducing postoperative complications and length of stay after esophagectomy. Methods  Patient and hospital data were collected electronically via a web-based questionnaire sent to surgeons in the Japan Surgical Society. Data were based on 642 patients treated with esophagectomy at 183 hospitals between November 1, 2006 and February 28, 2007. Multivariate analysis revealed that postoperative morbidity and length of stay regressed against hospital and surgeon volumes, patient characteristics, and details of the procedures. Results  In a logistic regression model, esophagectomies by surgeons performing a high volume of operations (>100 cases; “high case-volume surgeons”) were followed by a significantly lower rate of postoperative complications (odds ratio [OR], 0.49; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.24–0.98, P = 0.04). In a proportional hazard model, high-volume surgeons reduced the length of stay significantly: the hazard ratio for medium casevolume surgeons (50–99 cases) was 1.53 [95% CI, 1.14–2.06, P = 0.00], whereas that for the highest case-volume surgeons was 1.34 [95% CI, 1.00–1.79, P = 0.05] vs the lowest case-volume surgeons. Neither postoperative complications nor length of stay were significantly associated with hospital volume. Conclusion  These findings indicate that morbidity after esophagectomy is more dependent on individual surgeon-specific skill than on hospital-based factors.     

Toward quality improvement of thoracic aortic surgery: estimating volume-outcome effect from nationwide survey

Background: Although understanding the association between surgical volume and outcome has been the focus of much research, no study has yet reported the volume-outcome effect for thoracic aortic surgery. Methods: From the clinical database, we identified and analyzed 2875 procedures that took place across 36 centers between 2003 and 2005. The effect of hospital procedural volume was assessed for each outcome measure using a hierarchical mixed-effects logistic regression model. Clinical risk factors, procedural year, clinical processes, range of replacement, hospital volume and surgeon volume were set as fixed effects and sites were used as random intercepts. Results: The logistic regression model revealed that hospital thoracic aortic surgery volume was linked to statistically significant decreases in both 30-day mortality (p = 0.127: OR 0.988–0.999) and operative mortality (p = 0.022: 0.989–0.999). In addition, subgroup analysis showed that increased hospital volume was associated with reduced mortality rates in patients under 65 years of age (p = 0.038: 0.982–0.999) and in high-risk surgical candidates (p = 0.019: 0.989–0.999). Thoracic aortic surgery volume of surgeons, hospital adult cardiovascular surgery volume and surgeons adult cardiovascular surgery volume did not significantly impact these outcomes. Conclusions: In this study higher annual hospital thoracic aortic surgery volume of hospitals is associated with reduced mortality rates for thoracic aortic surgery. In Japan it is not the hospital general adult cardiovascular surgery volume, but the hospital specific thoracic aortic surgery volume that might be preferable for quality indicator of thoracic aortic surgery.     

Factors determining the need for operative reduction in children with intussusception: a population-based study

Aim

The objective of this study is to determine if children presenting to a nonteaching hospital were at greater risk for operative reduction of intussusception than those presenting to a teaching hospital.

Methods

This population-based 8-year study included all children younger than 6 years with intussusception in the province of Ontario, Canada. Multiple logistic regression was used to model markers for operative reduction including age, sex, coexisting conditions, hospital type, and interhospital transfers.

Results

Of the 961 children with intussusception, 25.4% had operative reduction. Risk factors for operative reduction were a diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum and transfer from one institution to another after the initial diagnosis. One hundred forty-eight (15.4%) were transferred. Of those transferred and initially admitted to a nonteaching hospital, 87.4% (125/143) were transferred to a teaching hospital. Risk of operative reduction was higher in children transferred more than 1 day after admission (52.0% vs 39.0%). Odds ratios after adjusting for age, sex, and hospital type were 1.95 (95% confidence interval, 1.28-2.98; P < . 001) for those transferred on the same day and 3.31 (95% confidence interval, 1.34-7.28; P < .01) for those transferred after 24 hours.

Conclusion

Children who were presented to a nonteaching hospital and later transferred to a teaching hospital were at greater risk for operative reduction of intussusception, in particular, those who were transferred more than 1 day after admission. These data underline the importance of early diagnosis and timely management of intussusception.     

Surgeon and hospital volume outcomes in bariatric surgery: a population-level study

BackgroundOutcomes after bariatric surgery are tied to surgical volume; however, this relationship is not clearly established for each procedure.ObjectivesTo evaluate the impact of surgeon/hospital volumes on morbidity after bariatric surgery and identify volume cutoffs.SettingMulti-centric population-level study, province of Quebec, Canada.MethodsWe studied a population-based cohort of all morbidly obese patients who underwent bariatric surgery in Quebec, Canada during 2006 to 2012. We evaluated only the most common procedures in North America, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG). Multilevel, cross-classified logistic regressions were used to test the effects of annual surgeon volume (SV) and hospital volume (HV) on a composite 90-day postoperative outcome. Receiver operator curve was used to identify volume thresholds.ResultsOverall, 821 patients had RYGB and 1802 underwent SG by 34 surgeons in 15 centers. For RYGB, 10-case increase in SV was associated with adjusted odds ratio of .82 (95% confidence interval: .71–.94). Similar increase in HV resulted in odds ratio of .86 (95% confidence interval: .77–.96). Annual SV threshold of 21 RYGBs and HV of 25 cases were identified (area under the curve = .60 and .61, respectively). For SV, being in the higher volume category translated into an absolute risk reduction of 12.5% for 90-day major morbidity. For SG, annual 10-case increase in SV and HV was not significantly associated with a decrease in 90-day postoperative morbidity.ConclusionSV and HV are significant independent predictors of 90-day major morbidity after RYGB. This study further supports establishing minimum surgical volume requirements for more complex anastomotic procedures like RYGB. However, the role of volume targets in SG remains unclear.     

Effect of subspecialty training on outcome after pediatric appendectomy

Background/Purpose

There have been few studies documenting the effect of subspecialty training on outcomes after appendectomy in children. Some studies have suggested a better outcome in patients managed by pediatric surgeons as compared with general surgeons.

Methods

We studied the effect of subspecialty training on clinical outcome and negative appendectomy rate after pediatric appendectomy. Children less than 19 years in Ontario who underwent appendectomy were identified. Outcomes were compared between pediatric and general surgeons. Subanalyses were conducted for the age groups 0 to 5, 6 to 12, and 13 to 18 years.

Results

Over 8 years, 24,019 children underwent appendectomy with a preoperative diagnosis of appendicitis. Of these, 21,027 had appendicitis. General surgeons performed 81.2% of the operations. Negative appendectomy rates were 8.3% and 13.4% (P < .0001) in the pediatric and general surgeon groups, respectively. Children operated on by pediatric surgeons were younger (10.5 ± 3.6 vs 12.8 ± 3.8; P < .05), more likely to be perforated (36.6% vs 32.0%; P < .0001), and had a longer postoperative stay (3.8 vs 3.0 days; P < .0001). There was no difference between groups with respect to wound infection or readmission rate when age and perforation status were accounted for.

Conclusions

Pediatric surgeons performed significantly fewer negative appendectomies than general surgeons. Although pediatric surgeons kept their patients longer in the hospital, their patients' wound infection and readmission rates were not different from that of the patients of general surgeons.     

Effect of subspecialty training and volume on outcome after pediatric inguinal hernia repair

Background/Purpose

Inguinal hernia repair is the most common operation performed in children. The aim of this study was to determine if there are any differences in outcome when this procedure is performed by subspecialist pediatric surgeons when compared with general surgeons.

Methods

All pediatric inguinal hernias repaired in the province of Ontario between 1993 and 2000 were reviewed using a population-based database. Children with complex medical conditions or prematurity were excluded. Cases done by general surgeons were compared with those done by pediatric surgeons. The χ² test was used for nominal data and the Student's t test was used for continuous variables. Probabilities were calculated based on a logistic regression model.

Results

Of 20,545 eligible hernia repairs, 50.3% were performed by pediatric surgeons and 49.7% were performed by general surgeons. Pediatric surgeons operated on 62.4% of children younger than 2 years, 51.8% of children aged 26 years, and 37% of children older than 7 years. Duration of operation, length of hospital stay, and incidence of early postoperative complications were similar among pediatric and general surgeons. The rate of recurrent inguinal hernia was higher in the general surgeon group compared with pediatric surgeons (1.10% vs 0.45%, P < .001). Among pediatric surgeons, the estimated risk of hernia recurrence was independent of surgical volume. There was a significant inverse correlation between surgeon volume and recurrence risk among general surgeons, with the highest volume general surgeons achieving recurrence rates similar to pediatric surgeons.

Conclusions

Pediatric surgeons have a lower rate of recurrence after inguinal hernia repair in children. General surgeons with high volumes have similar outcomes to pediatric surgeons.     

Overcoming bias in estimating the volume-outcome relationship

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of hospital volume on 30-day mortality for patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) using administrative and clinical data in conventional regression and instrumental variables (IV) estimation models. DATA SOURCES: The primary data consisted of longitudinal information on comorbid conditions, vital signs, clinical status, and laboratory test results for 21,555 Medicare-insured patients aged 65 years and older hospitalized for CHF in northeast Ohio in 1991-1997. STUDY DESIGN: The patient was the primary unit of analysis. We fit a linear probability model to the data to assess the effects of hospital volume on patient mortality within 30 days of admission. Both administrative and clinical data elements were included for risk adjustment. Linear distances between patients and hospitals were used to construct the instrument, which was then used to assess the endogeneity of hospital volume. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: When only administrative data elements were included in the risk adjustment model, the estimated volume-outcome effect was statistically significant (p=.029) but small in magnitude. The estimate was markedly attenuated in magnitude and statistical significance when clinical data were added to the model as risk adjusters (p=.39). IV estimation shifted the estimate in a direction consistent with selective referral, but we were unable to reject the consistency of the linear probability estimates. CONCLUSIONS: Use of only administrative data for volume-outcomes research may generate spurious findings. The IV analysis further suggests that conventional estimates of the volume-outcome relationship may be contaminated by selective referral effects. Taken together, our results suggest that efforts to concentrate hospital-based CHF care in high-volume hospitals may not reduce mortality among elderly patients.     

Evaluation of minimum volume standards for surgery in the Netherlands (2003–2017): A successful policy?

Purpose

To evaluate the introduction and implications of minimum volume standards for surgery in Dutch health care from 2003 to 2017 and formulate policy lessons for other countries.

Volume-outcome relationship in rectal cancer surgery: A new perspective

Purpose  Numerous studies on the volume-outcome relationships in rectal cancer surgery have assessed surgical mortality. However, little is known about the association between hospital/surgeon volumes and postoperative complications, including anastomotic leakage and infection, following rectal cancer surgery. Methods  Using a web-based patient registration system, data were collected on inpatients who underwent rectal cancer surgery between November 1, 2006 and February 28, 2007 in Japan. Using multivariate analyses, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative complications and length of stay were independently compared against the provider volumes and covariates. Results  No significant association was identified between the blood loss and hospital volume, while surgeons with the highest volume (≥500 procedures) were likely to demonstrate a reduced blood loss (odds ratio, 0.67; 95% confidence interval, 0.46–0.99; P = 0.043). No significant relationship was found between the incidence of postoperative complications and the provider volume. A higher hospital volume significantly decreased the length of stay (hazard ratio, 1.41; 95% confidence interval, 1.23–1.62; P < 0.01), but the surgeon volume was not associated with the length of hospital stay. Conclusion  The present study did not find any significant relationship between the volume and postoperative complications. These results do not support the effectiveness of regionalizing rectal cancer surgery to high-volume centers, at least in the Japanese clinical setting.