Risk of comorbidities on postoperative outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Variation in surgical outcomes for adolescents and young adults with inflammatory bowel disease

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether hospital type (children's hospital or generalist hospital) and surgeon specialty are associated with variations in surgical outcomes for hospitalized adolescents and young adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) requiring surgery.

METHODS

The 2007-2009 Perspective Data Warehouse was used to identify a retrospective cohort study of all inpatients 16 to 25 years old who received surgery for IBD. Multivariate regression, clustered at the hospital level, examined the association of hospital type and surgical specialty with surgical complications and 30-day readmissions.

RESULTS

Surgery was performed in 917 hospitalizations of 598 patients across 20 children's hospitals and 198 general hospitals by 566 general surgeons, 46 pediatric surgeons, and 305 colorectal surgeons. After adjustment, children's hospitals had higher predicted probabilities of surgical complication (predicted probability [PP]: 35% [95% confidence interval (CI): 28-42]) compared with general hospitals (PP: 26% [95% CI: 23-29]). Despite higher complications among children's hospitals, pediatric surgeons had lowest predicated probabilities of surgical complication or 30-day readmission (PP: 24% [95% CI: 10-39]) compared with general surgeons (PP: 39% [95% CI: 35-43]) and colorectal surgeons (PP: 35% [95% CI: 28-42]).

CONCLUSIONS

Disparate outcomes for adolescents and young adults receiving care in children's versus generalist hospitals and from different types of surgeons reveal the need to better understand how practice setting and surgical specialty may modify outcomes for a population that traverses a variety of health care settings.

Contemporary trends in necrotizing soft-tissue infections in the United States

BACKGROUND

Necrotizing soft-tissue infections (NSTI) are rare, potentially fatal, operative emergencies. We studied a national cohort of patients to determine recent trends in incidence, treatment, and outcomes for NSTI.

METHODS

We queried the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (1998-2010) for patients with a primary diagnosis of NSTI. Temporal trends in patient characteristics, treatment (debridement, amputation, hyperbaric oxygen therapy [HBOT]), and outcomes were determined with Cochran-Armitage trend tests and linear regression. To account for trends in case mix (age, sex, race, insurance, Elixhauser index) or receipt of HBOT on outcomes, multivariable analyses were conducted to determine the independent effect of year of treatment on mortality, any major complication, and hospital length of stay (LOS) for NSTI.

RESULTS

We identified 56,527 weighted NSTI admissions, with an incidence ranging from approximately 3,800-5,800 cases annually. The number of cases peaked in 2004 and then decreased between 1998 and 2010 (P < .0001). The percentage of female patients decreased slightly over time (38.6-34.1%, P < .0001). Patients were increasingly in the 18- to 34-year-old (8.8-14.6%, P < .0001) and 50- to 64-year-old age groups (33.2-43.5, P < .0001), Hispanic (6.8-10.5%, P < .0001), obese (8.9-24.6%, P < .0001), and admitted with >3 comorbidities (14.5-39.7%, P < .0001). The percentage of patients requiring only one operative debridement increased somewhat (43.2-46.2%, P < .0001), whereas the use of HBOT was rare and decreasing (1.6-0.8%, P < .0001). The percentage of patients requiring operative wound closure decreased somewhat (23.5-20.8%, P < .0001). Although major complication rates increased (30.9-48.2%, P < .0001), hospital LOS remained stable (18-19 days) and mortality decreased (9.0-4.9%, P < .0001) on univariate analyses. On multivariable analyses each 1-year incremental increase in year was associated with a 5% increased odds of complication (odds ratio 1.05), 0.4 times decrease in hospital LOS (coefficient -0.41), and 11% decreased odds of mortality (odds ratio 0.89).

CONCLUSION

There were potentially important national trends in patient characteristics and treatment patterns for NSTI between 1998 and 2010. Importantly, though patient acuity worsened and complication rates increased, but LOS remained relatively stable and mortality decreased. Improvements in early diagnosis, wound care, and critical care delivery may be the cause.

Undiagnosed medical comorbidities in the uninsured: a significant predictor of mortality following trauma

BACKGROUND

Lack of health care insurance has been correlated with increased mortality after trauma. Medical comorbidities significantly affect trauma outcomes. Access to health care and thereby being diagnosed with a pretrauma comorbidity is highly dependent on insurance status. The objective of this study was to determine whether rates of diagnosed or undiagnosed preexisting comorbidities significantly contribute to disparities in mortality rates observed between insured and uninsured trauma patients.

METHODS

Review of trauma patients admitted to a Level I trauma center during a 5-year period. Data extracted from the registry included age, sex, Injury Severity Score (ISS), comorbidities, mortality, and insurance status. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed using age, sex, and insurance status to predict comorbidities and age, sex, ISS, and insurance status to predict mortality.

RESULTS

Insured patients were older (54 years vs. 38, p < 0.001) and more likely female (41.3% vs. 22.5%, p < 0.001). When adjusting for age and sex, insured patients were more likely to have a pretrauma diagnosis of coronary artery disease (odds ratio [OR], 2.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.54-2.83), diabetes mellitus (OR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.61-2.72), hypertension (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.65-2.35), asthma/emphysema (OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.32-2.04), neurologic problems (OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.31-2.44), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.33-3.11), compared with patients without insurance. In the analysis to predict mortality, having insurance was protective (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.45-0.71). Among patients with no diagnosed comorbidities, insured patients had the lowest mortality risk (OR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.38-0.67). When analyzing only patients with diagnosed comorbidities, insurance status had no impact on mortality risk (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.53-1.22).

CONCLUSION

Undiagnosed preexisting comorbidities play a crucial role in determining outcomes following trauma. Diagnosis of medical comorbidities may be a marker of access to health care and may be associated with treatment, which may explain the gap in mortality rates between insured and uninsured trauma patients.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Prognostic/epidemiologic study, level III.

Older age is associated with higher rate of discontinuation of anti-TNF therapy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND

In increasingly aging populations, awareness of outcomes of older patients treated with biologics is becoming more important. However, few studies to date have investigated the safety and durability of anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy in this subgroup.

METHODS

This was a retrospective single-center study with cases comprising all IBD patients who began anti-TNF treatment at age >60 years. Cases of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) were identified from medical record review. Our controls consisted of patients younger than age 60 years on anti-TNF treatment and patients >60 years on treatment with immunomodulators. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates were used to calculate the probability of remaining on anti-TNF therapy.

RESULTS

We identified a total of 54 IBD patients who initiated anti-TNF therapy over the age of 60 years (mean 73, range 61-97 years). Among these, a total of 38 patients (70%) discontinued anti-TNF therapy after a mean of 24.1 months. At 12 months after initiation, 75% of patients older than age 60 years were still on anti-TNF agents compared to 93% among younger users and 82% among older AZA users (P < 0.05). Compared to older AZA users, older anti-TNF users remained more likely to require early therapy cessation (hazard ratio 2.21, 95% confidence interval 1.29-3.78).

CONCLUSIONS

The IBD population older than age 60 at the time of initiation of anti-TNF therapy is at higher risk for discontinuation of therapy. They may also be particularly vulnerable to infectious complications requiring hospitalization, suggesting the need for careful monitoring during therapy.

Decreasing colectomy rates for ulcerative colitis: a population-based time trend study

OBJECTIVES

Colectomy rates for ulcerative colitis (UC) have been inconsistently reported. We assessed temporal trends of colectomy rates for UC, stratified by emergent vs. elective colectomy indication.

METHODS

From 1997 to 2009, we identified adults hospitalized for a flare of UC. Medical charts were reviewed. Temporal changes were evaluated using linear regression models to estimate the average annual percent change (AAPC) in surgical rates. Logistic regression analysis compared: (i) UC patients responding to medical management in hospital to those who underwent colectomy; (ii) UC patients who underwent an emergent vs. elective colectomy; and (iii) temporal trends of drug utilization.

RESULTS

From 1997 to 2009, colectomy rates significantly dropped for elective colectomies with an AAPC of -7.4% (95% confidence interval (CI): -10.8%, -3.9%). The rate of emergent colectomies remained stable with an AAPC of -1.4% (95% CI: -4.8%, 2.0%). Azathioprine/6-mercaptopurine prescriptions increased from 1997 to 2009 (odds ratio (OR)=1.15; 95% CI: 1.09-1.22) and infliximab use increased after 2005 (OR=1.68; 95% CI: 1.25-2.26). A 13% per year risk adjusted reduction in the odds of colectomy (OR=0.87; 95% CI: 0.83-0.92) was observed in UC patients responding to medical management compared with those who required colectomy. Emergent colectomy patients had a shorter duration of flare (<2 weeks vs. 2-8 weeks, OR=5.31; 95% CI: 1.58-17.81) and underwent colectomy early after diagnosis (<1 year vs. 1-3 years, OR=5.48; 95% CI: 2.18-13.79).

CONCLUSIONS

From 1997 to 2009, use of purine anti-metabolites increased and elective colectomy rates in UC patients decreased significantly. In contrast, emergent colectomy rates were stable, which may have been due to rapid progression of disease activity.