National Clinical Database (NCD) shows the trend for centralization of major surgery: Should it depend on hospital or surgeon volume ?

Volume- and quality-controlled certification system promotes centralization of complex hepato-pancreatic-biliary surgery

BACKGROUND

Centralization of complex surgeries has made little progress when it only considers the minimum number of surgical procedures. We aim to assess the impact of certification system of Japanese Society of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery (JSHBPS) on centralization and surgical quality of advanced hepato-pancreatic-biliary (HPB) surgery.

METHODS

The National Clinical Database was used to review 20 111 patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) and 9666 who underwent advanced hepatectomy defined as hepatectomy of more than one section during 2019 and 2020. JSHPBS certifies hospitals based on the annual number of advanced HPB surgeries and the surgical quality. Minimum numbers of surgeries for board-certified A and B institutions are 50 and 30, respectively. Short-term outcomes were compared among institutions.

RESULTS

In 2020, 69.4% (7007/10090) and 72.9% (3433/4710) of patients underwent PD and advanced hepatectomy at board-certified institutions. In-hospital mortality rates after PD was 0.9% at certified A institutions, 1.4% at B institutions, and 2.7% at non-certified institutions (p < .001). The odds ratio (OR) of risk-adjusted mortality after PD compared with non-certified institutions was 0.39 (confidence interval [CI]: 0.30-0.50, p < .001) at certified A institutions, and 0.54 at certified B institutions (CI: 0.40-0.73, p < .001). In-hospital mortality rates after advanced hepatectomy was 1.7% at certified A institutions, 2.3% at B institutions, and 3.2% at non-certified institutions (p < .001). The OR of risk-adjusted mortality after advanced hepatectomy compared with non-certified institutions was 0.57 at certified A institutions (CI: 0.41-0.78, p < .001).

CONCLUSION

The volume- and quality-controlled certification system of JSHBPS reduces surgical mortality after advanced HPB surgeries.

Correlation between surgical mortality for perforated peritonitis and days of the week for operations: A retrospective study using the Japanese National Clinical Database

BACKGROUND

The association between weekend interventions and poor outcomes is termed the "weekend effect." This retrospective study investigated whether the weekend effect exists in the surgical treatment of acute diffuse peritonitis due to gastrointestinal perforation.

METHODS

Patients (n = 16,209) who underwent operation for acute diffuse peritonitis during 2016-2017 were included and grouped depending on the perforation site. Using 23 variables, we performed hierarchical logistic regression analysis and calculated odds ratios for surgical mortality.

RESULTS

Surgical mortality rates were 8.8%, 15.0%, and 14.1% for patients with gastroduodenal, small bowel, and large bowel perforations, respectively. Unadjusted odds ratios for surgical mortality differed significantly on Wednesdays only for patients with large bowel perforation (odds ratio: 0.772, 95% confidence interval: 0.613-0.972, P = 0.03). However, there was no significant difference in adjusted odds ratios.

CONCLUSION

The quality of emergency surgical treatment is uniform in Japan throughout the week in terms of mortality.

Association of day of the week with mortality after elective right hemicolectomy for colon cancer: Case analysis from the National Clinical Database

AIM

We aimed to investigate whether later weekdays are related to worse short-term outcomes after elective right hemicolectomy for colon cancer.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed adult patients who underwent elective right hemicolectomy for colon cancer between 2012 and 2017. Records lacking details about surgical mortality were excluded, and multiple imputation was performed for other missing data (variables). The primary endpoint was surgical mortality, defined as the sum of 30-day mortality and in-hospital deaths within 90 days postoperatively. Using 22 clinical variables, hierarchal logistic regression modeling with clustering of patients from the same institutes was performed.

RESULTS

Of the 112 658 patients undergoing elective right hemicolectomy for colon cancer, the 30-day mortality and surgical mortality were 0.6% and 1.1%, respectively. Surgery on Friday was less frequent, accounting for 17.1% of all cases. The occurrence of severe postoperative complications, anastomotic leakage, or unadjusted odds ratio for surgical mortality did not show significant differences between weekdays. A hierarchal logistic regression model identified 19 independent factors for surgical mortality. Adjusted odds ratios for surgical mortality were 1.01 (95% confidence interval: 0.83-1.22, P = .915), 0.86 (95% confidence interval: 0.71-1.05, P = .144), 0.86 (95% confidence interval: 0.71-1.05, P = .408), and 0.83 (95% confidence interval: 0.68-1.03, P = .176) for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, respectively, showing no significant differences.

CONCLUSION

This study did not identify an evident difference in surgical mortality between weekdays; a safe elective right hemicolectomy for colon cancer is being offered throughout the week in Japan.

Estimates of the effects of centralization policy for surgery in Japan: does centralization affect the quality of healthcare for esophagectomies?

PURPOSE

This study compared the quality of healthcare before and after implementation of a policy restructuring the healthcare delivery system and estimated the impact of centralization.

METHODS

We used the National Clinical Database to study patients undergoing esophagectomies from 2011 to 2016. We compared the effect of centralization based on the patient background, surgical mortality, and year of surgery. Difference-in-difference methods based on the generalized estimating equation logistic regression model were used for before-and-after comparisons after adjusting for patient-level expected surgical mortality.

RESULTS

In total, 34,640 cases were identified. More cases with risk factors were noted in ultra-low-volume hospitals, where 38.4% of cases in underpopulated areas were treated, than in higher volume facilities, and the operative mortality, readmission within 30 days and length of stay were worse among patients treated in these hospitals. In centralized prefectures, the number of cases per hospital increased over time (7.2 in 2011 to 9.5 in 2016) while the crude operative mortality tended to decrease (3.4% in 2011 to 1.8% in 2016). The difference-in-difference estimator was 0.856 (95% confidence interval: 0.639-1.147, p = 0.298).

CONCLUSION

The centralization of ultra-low-volume hospitals did not lead to a deterioration in the quality of care but rather an improving trend.

Development of gastroenterological surgery over the last decade in Japan: analysis of the National Clinical Database

The National Clinical Database (NCD) of Japan was established in 2010 with the board certification system. A joint committee of 16 gastroenterological surgery database-affiliated organizations has been nurturing this nationwide database and utilizing its data for various analyses. Stepwise board certification systems have been validated by the NCD and are used to improve the surgical outcomes of patients. The use of risk calculators based on risk models can be particularly helpful for establishing appropriate and less invasive surgical treatments for individual patients. Data obtained from the NCD reflect current developments in the surgical approaches used in hospitals, which have progressed from open surgery to endoscopic and robot-assisted procedures. An investigation of the data acquired by the NCD could answer some relevant clinical questions and lead to better surgical management of patients. Furthermore, excellent surgical outcomes can be achieved through international comparisons of the national databases worldwide. This review examines what we have learned from the NCD of gastroenterological surgery and discusses what future developments we can expect.

Essential Updates 2018/2019: Essential Updates for esophageal cancer surgery

Key papers to treatment of esophageal cancer surgery and reduction of postoperative complications after esophagectomy published between 2018 and 2019 were reviewed. Within this review there was a focus on minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE), robot-assisted MIE (RAMIE), and centralization to high-volume center. Advantages of MIE, irrespectively of hybrid or total MIE, to prevent postoperative complications, especially pneumonia, were shown in comparison to open procedure. However, whether total MIE has evident effects or not, as compared to hybrid MIEs, still remains unclear. Differences between RAMIE and MIE were reported to be marginal, though the advantage of lymphadenectomy, especially along recurrent laryngeal nerve, has been suggested. Centralization to high-volume center evidently benefits esophageal cancer patients by improving short-term outcomes. The definition of high-volume center has not been established yet, though institutional structure and quality are thought to be important. Transmediastinal esophagectomy, currently developed, has a potential to be one radical option of MIE for esophageal cancer.