Benchmarking rectal cancer care: institutional compliance with a longitudinal checklist

Travel Time to a High Volume Center Negatively Impacts Timing of Care in Rectal Cancer

BACKGROUND

Regionalization of rectal cancer surgery may lead to worse disease free survival owing to longer travel time to reach a high volume center yet no study has evaluated this relationship at a single high volume center volume center.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a retrospective review of rectal cancer patients undergoing surgery from 2009 to 2019 at a single high volume center. Patients were divided into two groups based on travel time. The primary outcome was disease-free survival (DFS). Additional outcomes included treatment within 60 d of diagnosis, completeness of preoperative staging, and evaluation by a colorectal surgeon prior to initiation of treatment.

RESULTS

A lower proportion of patients with long travel time began definitive treatment within 60 d of diagnosis (74.0% versus 84.0%, P= 0.01) or were seen by the treating colorectal surgeon before beginning definitive treatment (74.8% versus 85.4%, P < 0.01). On multivariable logistic regression analysis, patients with long travel time were significantly less likely to begin definitive treatment within 60 d of diagnosis (OR = 0.54; 95% CI = 0.31-0.93) or to be evaluated by a colorectal surgeon prior to initiating treatment (OR = 0.45; 95% CI = 0.25-0.80). There were no significant differences in DFS based on travel time.

CONCLUSIONS

Although patients with long travel times may be vulnerable to delayed, lower quality rectal cancer care, there is no difference in DFS when definitive surgery is performed at a high volume canter. Ongoing research is needed to identify explanations for delays in treatment to ensure all patients receive the highest quality care.

Fragmented Care in the Treatment of Rectal Cancer and Time to Definitive Therapy

BACKGROUND

The National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC) emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach for treating rectal cancer and has developed performance measures to ensure that patients receive standardized care. We hypothesized that rectal cancer patients receiving care at multiple centers would be less likely to receive timely and appropriate care.

STUDY DESIGN

A single institution retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database was performed. All patients undergoing proctectomy and ≤1 other treatment modality (eg radiation and/or chemotherapy) for Stage II/III rectal adenocarcinoma were included. Unified care was defined as receiving all modalities of care at our institution, and fragmented care was defined as having at least 1 treatment modality at another institution.

RESULTS

From 2009 to 2019, 415 patients met inclusion criteria, with 197 (47.5%) receiving fragmented care and 218 (52.5%) receiving unified care. The unified cohort patients were more likely to see a colorectal surgeon before starting treatment (89.0% vs 78.7%, p < 0.01) and start definitive treatment within 60 days of diagnosis (89.0% vs 79.7%, p = 0.01). On adjusted analysis, unified care patients were 2.78 times more likely to see a surgeon before starting treatment (95% CI 1.47-5.24) and 2.63 times more likely to start treatment within 60 days (95% CI 1.35-5.13). There was no difference in 90-day mortality or 5-year disease-free survival.

CONCLUSIONS

This retrospective cohort study suggests patients with rectal cancer receiving fragmented care are at an increased risk of delays in care without any impact on disease-free survival. These findings need to be considered within the context of ongoing regionalization of rectal cancer care to ensure all patients receive optimal care, irrespective of whether care is delivered across multiple institutions.

Compliance With Preoperative Elements of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Rectal Cancer Surgery Checklist Improves Pathologic and Postoperative Outcomes

BACKGROUND

In 2016, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons published a rectal cancer surgery checklist composed of the essential elements of preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care for patients undergoing rectal cancer surgery.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to assess whether compliance with preoperative checklist elements was associated with improved pathologic and 30-day postoperative outcomes after rectal cancer surgery.

DESIGN

This was a retrospective cohort study.

SETTINGS

The study involved North American hospitals contributing to the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.

PATIENTS

Adult patients who underwent elective rectal cancer surgery from 2016 to 2017 were included.

INTERVENTION

The study encompassed checklist compliance with 6 preoperative elements from the checklist.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Pathologic outcomes (circumferential resection margin status, distal resection margin status, and adequate lymph node harvest ≥12), 30-day surgical morbidity, and length of stay were measured.

RESULTS

In total, 2217 patients were included in the analysis. Individual compliance with the 6 available preoperative checklist items was variable, including 91.3% for pretreatment documentation of tumor location within the rectum, 86.8% for complete colonoscopy, 84.0% for appropriate preoperative stoma marking, 79.8% for appropriate use of neoadjuvant radiotherapy, 76.6% for locoregional staging, and 70.8% for distant staging. Only 836 patients (37.7%) had all 6 checklist elements complete, whereas 1381 (62.3%) did not. Compared with patients without checklist compliance, patients with checklist compliance were younger (60.0 vs 63.0 y; p < 0.001) but otherwise had similar demographic characteristics. On multivariate regression, checklist compliance was associated with lower odds of circumferential resection margin positivity (OR = 0.47 (95% CI, 0.31-0.71); p < 0.001), higher odds of an adequate lymph node harvest ≥12 (OR = 1.60 (95% CI, 1.29-2.00); p < 0.001), reduced surgical morbidity (OR = 0.78 (95% CI, 0.65-0.95); p = 0.01), and shorter length of stay (β = -0.87 (95% CI, -1.51 to -0.24); p = 0.007). The association between checklist compliance and reduced odds of circumferential resection margin positivity remained on sensitivity analysis (OR = 0.61 (95% CI, 0.42-0.88); p = 0.009) when adjusting for neoadjuvant radiation.

LIMITATIONS

This study was limited by its absence of long-term oncologic data and missing variables.

CONCLUSIONS

Compliance with 6 preoperative elements of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons rectal cancer surgery checklist was associated with significantly improved pathologic outcomes and reduced postoperative morbidity. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/B80. EL CUMPLIMIENTO CON LOS ELEMENTOS PREOPERATORIOS DE LA LISTA DE VERIFICACIÓN DE CIRUGÍA PARA CÁNCER RECTAL DE LA SOCIEDAD AMERICANA DE CIRUJANOS DE COLON Y RECTO MEJORA LOS RESULTADOS HISTOPATOLÓGICOS Y POSTOPERATORIOS: En 2016, la Sociedad Americana de Cirujanos de Colon y Recto publicó una lista de verificación de cirugía de cáncer de recto que comprende los elementos esenciales de la atención pre, intra y postoperatoria para pacientes sometidos a cirugía de cáncer de recto.Evaluar si el cumplimiento con los elementos preoperatorios de la lista de verificación se asoció con mejores resultados histopatológicos y postoperatorios a 30 días después de la cirugía de cáncer rectal.Estudio de cohorte retrospectiva.Hospitales norteamericanos que contribuyen al Programa Nacional de Mejora de la Calidad Quirúrgica del Colegio Americano de Cirujanos.Pacientes adultos que se sometieron a cirugía electiva de cáncer rectal entre 2016 y 2017.Cumplimiento de la lista de verificación con seis elementos preoperatorios de la lista de verificación.Resultados histopatológicos (estado del margen de resección circunferencial, estado del margen de resección distal, cosecha adecuada de ganglios linfáticos ≥12), morbilidad quirúrgica a 30 días y duración de la estadía.En total, 2,217 pacientes fueron incluidos en el análisis. El cumplimiento individual de los seis ítems disponibles de la lista de verificación preoperatoria fue variable: 91.3% para la documentación previa al tratamiento de la localización del tumor dentro del recto, 86.8% para colonoscopía completa, 84.0% para el marcado preoperatorio apropiado del sitio de estoma, 79.8% para el uso apropiado de radioterapia neoadyuvante, 76.6 % para estadificación locorregional y 70.8% para estadificación distante. Solo 836 (37.7%) pacientes tenían los seis elementos de la lista de verificación completos, mientras que 1,381 (62.3%) no. En comparación con los pacientes sin cumplimiento de la lista de verificación, los pacientes con cumplimiento de la lista de verificación eran más jóvenes (60.0 vs. 63.0 años, p <0.001), pero por lo demás tenían características demográficas similares. En la regresión multivariada, el cumplimiento de la lista de verificación se asoció con menores probabilidades de positividad en el margen de resección circunferencial (OR = 0.47; IC del 95%: 0.31-0.71, p <0.001), mayores probabilidades de una cosecha adecuada de ganglios linfáticos ≥12 (OR = 1.60, IC 95% 1.29-2.00, p <0.001), menor morbilidad quirúrgica (OR = 0.78, IC 95% 0.65-0.95, p = 0.01) y menor duración de estadía (β = -0.87, IC 95% -1.51 - - 0.24, p = 0.007). La asociación entre el cumplimiento de la lista de verificación y las probabilidades reducidas de positividad del margen de resección circunferencial se mantuvo en el análisis de sensibilidad (OR = 0.61; IC del 95%: 0.42-0.88, p = 0.009) al ser ajustado con radiación neoadyuvante.Ausencia de datos oncológicos a largo plazo y variables faltantes.El cumplimiento de seis elementos preoperatorios de la lista de verificación de cirugía de cáncer rectal de la Sociedad Americana de Cirujanos de Colon y Recto se asoció con resultados histopatológicos significativamente mejores y una menor morbilidad postoperatoria. Vea el resumen en video en http://links.lww.com/DCR/B80.