Emergency general surgery in geriatric patients: A statewide analysis of surgeon and hospital volume with outcomes

Does practice make perfect? The impact of hospital and surgeon volume on complications after intra-abdominal procedures

BACKGROUND

There is increasing interest in the regionalization of surgical procedures. However, evidence on the volume-outcome relationship for emergency intra-abdominal surgery is not well-synthesized. This systematic review and meta-analysis summarize evidence regarding the impact of hospital and surgeon volume on complications.

METHODS

We identified cohort studies assessing the impact of hospital/surgeon volume on postoperative complications after emergency intra-abdominal procedures, with data collected after the year 2000 through a literature search without language restriction in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases. A weighted overall complication rate was calculated, and a random effect regression model was used for a summary odds ratio. A sensitivity analysis with the removal of studies contributing to heterogeneity was performed (PROSPERO: CRD42022358879).

RESULTS

The search yielded 2,153 articles, of which 9 cohort studies were included and determined to be good quality according to the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. These studies reported outcomes for the following procedures: cholecystectomy, colectomy, appendectomy, small bowel resection, peptic ulcer repair, adhesiolysis, laparotomy, and hernia repair. Eight studies (2,358,093 patients) with available data were included in the meta-analysis. Low hospital volume was not significantly associated with higher complications. In the sensitivity analysis, low hospital volume was significantly associated with higher complications when appropriate heterogeneity was achieved. Low surgeon volume was associated with higher complications, and these findings remained consistent in the sensitivity analysis.

CONCLUSION

We found that hospital and surgeon volume was significantly associated with higher complications in patients undergoing emergency intra-abdominal surgery when appropriate heterogeneity was achieved.

National Cohort Study of Resource Utilization in Older Adults With Emergency General Surgery Conditions

INTRODUCTION

Prior studies have sought to describe Emergency General Surgery (EGS) burden, but a detailed description of resource utilization for both operative and nonoperative management of EGS conditions has not been undertaken.

METHODS

Patient and hospital characteristics were extracted from Medicare data, 2015-2018. Operations, nonsurgical procedures, and other resources (i.e., radiology) were defined using Current Procedural Terminology codes.

RESULTS

One million eight hundred two thousand five hundred forty-five patients were included in the cohort. The mean age was 74.7 y and the most common diagnoses were upper gastrointestinal. The majority of hospitals were metropolitan (75.1%). Therapeutic radiology services were available in 78.4% of hospitals and operating rooms or endoscopy suites were available in 92.5% of hospitals. There was variability in resource utilization across EGS subconditions, with hepatobiliary (26.4%) and obstruction (23.9%) patients most frequently undergoing operation.

CONCLUSIONS

Treatment of EGS diseases in older adults involves several interventional resources. Changes in EGS models, acute care surgery training, and interhospital care coordination may be beneficial to the treatment of EGS patients.

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) Society Consensus Guidelines for Emergency Laparotomy Part 3: Organizational Aspects and General Considerations for Management of the Emergency Laparotomy Patient

BACKGROUND

This is Part 3 of the first consensus guidelines for optimal care of patients undergoing emergency laparotomy using an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) approach. This paper addresses organizational aspects of care.

METHODS

Experts in management of the high-risk and emergency general surgical patient were invited to contribute by the International ERAS® Society. PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and MEDLINE database searches were performed for ERAS elements and relevant specific topics. Studies were selected with particular attention to randomized clinical trials, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and large cohort studies, and reviewed and graded using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. Recommendations were made on the best level of evidence, or extrapolation from studies on elective patients when appropriate. A modified Delphi method was used to validate final recommendations.

RESULTS

Components of organizational aspects of care were considered. Consensus was reached after three rounds of a modified Delphi process.

CONCLUSIONS

These guidelines are based on best current available evidence for organizational aspects of an ERAS® approach to patients undergoing emergency laparotomy and include discussion of less common aspects of care for the surgical patient, including end-of-life issues. These guidelines are not exhaustive but pull together evidence on important components of care for this high-risk patient population. As much of the evidence is extrapolated from elective surgery or emergency general surgery (not specifically laparotomy), many of the components need further evaluation in future studies.

Complexity of Transferred Geriatric Adults Requiring Emergency General Surgery: A Rural Tertiary Center Experience

INTRODUCTION

As the American population ages, the number of geriatric adults requiring emergency general surgery (EGS) care is increasing. EGS regionalization could significantly affect the pattern of care for rural older adults. The aim of this study was to determine the current pattern of care for geriatric EGS patients at our rural academic center, with a focus on transfer status.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed a retrospective chart review of patients aged ≥65 undergoing EGS procedures within 48 h of admission from 2014 to 2019 at our rural academic medical center. We collected demographic, admission, operative, and outcomes data. The primary outcomes of interest were mortality and nonhome discharge. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Over the 5-y study period, 674 patients underwent EGS procedures, with 407 (60%) transferred to our facility. Transfer patients (TPs) had higher American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) scores (P < 0.001), higher rates of open abdomen (13% versus 5.6%, P = 0.001), and multiple operations (24 versus 11%, P < 0.001) than direct admit patients. However, after adjustment there was no difference in mortality (OR 1.64; 95% CI, 0.82-3.38) or nonhome discharge (OR 1.49; 95% CI, 0.95-2.36).

CONCLUSIONS

At our institution, the majority of rural geriatric EGS patients were transferred from another hospital for care. These patients had higher medical and operative complexity than patients presenting directly to our facility for care. After adjustment, transfer status was not independently associated with in-hospital mortality or nonhome discharge. These patients were appropriately transferred given their level of complexity.

Training curriculum in minimally invasive emergency digestive surgery: 2022 WSES position paper

BACKGROUND

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS), including laparoscopic and robotic approaches, is widely adopted in elective digestive surgery, but selectively used for surgical emergencies. The present position paper summarizes the available evidence concerning the learning curve to achieve proficiency in emergency MIS and provides five expert opinion statements, which may form the basis for developing standardized curricula and training programs in emergency MIS.

METHODS

This position paper was conducted according to the World Society of Emergency Surgery methodology. A steering committee and an international expert panel were involved in the critical appraisal of the literature and the development of the consensus statements.

RESULTS

Thirteen studies regarding the learning curve in emergency MIS were selected. All but one study considered laparoscopic appendectomy. Only one study reported on emergency robotic surgery. In most of the studies, proficiency was achieved after an average of 30 procedures (range: 20-107) depending on the initial surgeon's experience. High heterogeneity was noted in the way the learning curve was assessed. The experts claim that further studies investigating learning curve processes in emergency MIS are needed. The emergency surgeon curriculum should include a progressive and adequate training based on simulation, supervised clinical practice (proctoring), and surgical fellowships. The results should be evaluated by adopting a credentialing system to ensure quality standards. Surgical proficiency should be maintained with a minimum caseload and constantly evaluated. Moreover, the training process should involve the entire surgical team to facilitate the surgeon's proficiency.

CONCLUSIONS

Limited evidence exists concerning the learning process in laparoscopic and robotic emergency surgery. The proposed statements should be seen as a preliminary guide for the surgical community while stressing the need for further research.

Gastro-intestinal emergency surgery: Evaluation of morbidity and mortality. Protocol of a prospective, multicenter study in Italy for evaluating the burden of abdominal emergency surgery in different age groups. (The GESEMM study)

Gastrointestinal emergencies (GE) are frequently encountered in emergency department (ED), and patients can present with wide-ranging symptoms. more than 3 million patients admitted to US hospitals each year for EGS diagnoses, more than the sum of all new cancer diagnoses. In addition to the complexity of the urgent surgical patient (often suffering from multiple co-morbidities), there is the unpredictability and the severity of the event. In the light of this, these patients need a rapid decision-making process that allows a correct diagnosis and an adequate and timely treatment. The primary endpoint of this Italian nationwide study is to analyze the clinicopathological findings, management strategies and short-term outcomes of gastrointestinal emergency procedures performed in patients over 18. Secondary endpoints will be to evaluate to analyze the prognostic role of existing risk-scores to define the most suitable scoring system for gastro-intestinal surgical emergency. The primary outcomes are 30-day overall postoperative morbidity and mortality rates. Secondary outcomes are 30-day postoperative morbidity and mortality rates, stratified for each procedure or cause of intervention, length of hospital stay, admission and length of stay in ICU, and place of discharge (home or rehabilitation or care facility). In conclusion, to improve the level of care that should be reserved for these patients, we aim to analyze the clinicopathological findings, management strategies and short-term outcomes of gastrointestinal emergency procedures performed in patients over 18, to analyze the prognostic role of existing risk-scores and to define new tools suitable for EGS. This process could ameliorate outcomes and avoid futile treatments. These results may potentially influence the survival of many high-risk EGS procedure.

Surgery for acute cholecystitis in severely comorbid patients: a population-based study on acute cholecystitis

Background

International guidelines recommend emergency cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis in patients who are healthy or have mild systemic disease (ASA1-2). Surgery is also an option for patients with severe systemic disease (ASA3) in clinical practice. The study aimed to investigate the risk of complications in ASA3 patients after surgery for acute cholecystitis.

Method

1 634 patients treated for acute cholecystitis at three Swedish centres between 2017 and 2020 were included in the study. Data was gathered from electronic patient records and the Swedish registry for gallstone surgery, Gallriks. Logistic regression was used to assess the risk of complications adjusted for confounding factors: sex, age, BMI, Charlson comorbidity index, cholecystitis grade, smoking and time to surgery.

Results

725 patients had emergency surgery for acute cholecystitis, 195 were ASA1, 375 ASA2, and 152 ASA3. Complications occurred in 9% of ASA1, 13% of ASA2, and 24% of ASA3 patients. There was no difference in 30-day mortality. ASA3 patients stayed on average 2 days longer after surgery. After adjusting for other factors, the risk of complications was 2.5 times higher in ASA3 patients than in ASA1 patients. The risk of complications after elective surgery was 5% for ASA1, 13% for ASA2 and 14% for ASA3 patients. Regardless of ASA 18% of patients treated non-operatively had a second gallstone complication within 3 months.

Conclusion

Patients with severe systemic disease have an increased risk of complications but not death after emergency surgery. The risk is lower for elective procedures, but a substantial proportion will have new gallstone complications before elective surgery.

Trial registration: Not applicable.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12876-022-02453-0.

Failure to Rescue (FTR) and Pitfalls in the Management of Complex Enteric Fistulas (CEF): From Rescue Surgery to Rescue Strategy

Purpose: Complex enteric fistulas (CEF) represent general surgeons’ nightmare. This paper aims to explore the impact on failure-to-rescue (FTR) rate of a standardised and integrated surgical and critical care step-up approach. Methods: This was a retrospective observational cohort study. Patients treated for CEF from 2009 to 2019 at Niguarda Hospital were included. Each patient was approached following a three-step approach: study phase, sepsis control and strategy definition phase, and surgical rescue phase. Results: Sixteen patients were treated for CEF. Seven fistulas were classified as complex entero-cutaneous (ECF) and nine as entero-atmospheric fistula (EAF). Median number of surgical procedures for fistula control before definitive surgical attempt was 11 (IQR 2–33.5). The median time from culprit surgery and the first access at Niguarda Hospital to definitive surgical attempt were 279 days (IQR 231–409) and 120 days (IQR 34–231), respectively. Median ICU LOS was 71 days (IQR 28–101), and effective hospital LOS was 117 days, (IQR 69.5–188.8). Three patients (18.75%) experienced spontaneous fistula closure after conversion to simple ECF, whereas 13 (81.25%) underwent definitive surgery for fistula takedown. Surgical rescue was possible in nine patients. Nine patients underwent multiple postoperative revision for surgical complications. Four patients failed to be rescued. Conclusion: An integrated step-up rescue strategy is crucial to standardise the approach to CEF and go beyond the basic surgical rescue procedure. The definition of FTR is dependent from the examined population. CEF patients are a unique cluster of emergency general surgery patients who may need a tailored definition of FTR considering the burden of postoperative events influencing their outcome.

Predictors of hospital readmission within 30 days after surgery for thoracolumbar fractures: A mixed approach

BACKGROUND

Readmission followed by surgery to treat spinal fractures has a substantial impact on patient care costs and reflects a hospital's quality standards. This article analyzes the factors associated with hospital readmission followed by surgery to treat spinal fractures.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study with time-series analysis. For prediction analysis, we used Cox proportional hazards and machine-learning models, using data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, Inpatient Database from Florida (USA).

RESULTS

The sample comprised 215,999 patients, 8.8% of whom were readmitted within 30 days. The factors associated with a risk of readmission were male sex (1.1 [95% confidence interval 1.06-1.13]) and >60 years of age (1.74 [95% CI: 1.69-1.8]). Surgeons with a higher annual patient volume presented a lower risk of readmission (0.61 [95% CI: 0.59-0.63]) and hospitals with an annual volume >393 presented a lower risk (0.92 [95% CI: 0.89-0.95]).

CONCLUSION

Surgical procedures and other selected predictors and machine-learning models can be used to reduce 30-day readmissions after spinal surgery. Identification of patients at higher risk for readmission and complications is the first step to reducing unplanned readmissions.

Emergency General Surgery Procedures and Cost of Care for Older Adults in the State of Maryland

BACKGROUND

Older adults (OAs) ≥ 65 years of age, representing the fastest growing segment in the United States, are anticipated to require a greater percentage of emergency general surgery procedures (EGSPs) with an associated increase in health care costs. The aims of this study were to identify the frequency of EGSP and charges incurred by OA compared to their younger counterparts in the state of Maryland.

METHODS

A retrospective review of the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission from 2009 to 2018 was undertaken. Patients undergoing urgent or emergent ESGP were divided into 2 groups (18-64 years and ≥65 years). Data collected included demographics, APR-severity of illness (SOI), APR-risk of mortality (ROM), the EGSP (partial colectomy [PC], small bowel resection [SBR], cholecystectomy, operative management of peptic ulcer disease, lysis of adhesions, appendectomy, and laparotomy), length of stay (LOS), and hospital charges. P-values (P < .05) were significant.

RESULTS

Of the 181,283 patients included in the study, 55,401 (38.1%) were ≥65 years of age. Older adults presented with greater APR-SOI (major 37.7% vs 21.3%, extreme 5.2% vs 9.3%), greater APR-ROM (major 25.3% vs 8.7%, extreme 22.3% vs 5.3%), underwent PC (24.5% vs 10.9%) and SBR (12.8% vs 7.0%) more frequently, and incurred significantly higher median hospital charges for every EGSP, consistently between 2009 and 2018 due to increased LOS and complications when compared to those ≤65 years of age.

CONCLUSION

These findings stress the need for validated frailty indices and quality improvement initiatives focused on the care of OAs in emergency general surgery to maximize outcomes and optimize cost.

Structures, processes and models of care for emergency general surgery in Ontario: a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

Emergency general surgery (EGS) patients require urgent surgical evaluation and intervention for various conditions, such as infectious or obstructive diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. We aimed to characterize the structures and processes that are relevant to the delivery of EGS care across Ontario hospitals and to evaluate the availability of critical resources at hospitals with formal EGS models.

METHODS

Between August 2019 and July 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of Ontario hospitals that offered urgent general surgery (defined as the ability to provide nonelective surgical intervention within 24 to 48 hours of presentation) to adults. People with intimate knowledge of their hospital's EGS program completed a Web-based or telephone survey characterizing the program's organizational structure and staffing, operating room availability, interventional radiology and interventional endoscopy availability, intensive care unit availability and staffing, and regional participation. Their responses were compiled and comparisons were made between hospitals with and without formal EGS models of care, as well as between hospitals based on size and academic status.

RESULTS

Of the 114 Ontario hospitals identified, 109 responded (95.6% response rate). A third (34.6%; n = 37/107) of hospitals had EGS models of care. Thirty-four of these (91.9%) were large (> 100-bed) institutions that would be likely to have increased resources. However, even for hospitals of similar size, those with EGS models had increased staffing levels compared to those without (clinical associates 17.6% [n = 3/17] v. 10.0% [n = 2/20]; nurse practitioners or physician assistants 27.8% [n = 5/18] v. 14.3% [n = 3/21]). They also had better access to diagnostic and interventional equipment (24/7 access to computed tomography 94.1% [n = 16/17] v. 69.2% [n = 18/26]), interventional radiology (88.9% [n = 16/18] v. 42.3% [n = 11/26]), endoscopy (100% [n = 18/18] v. 69.2% [n = 18/26]) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (77.8% [n = 14/18] v. 42.3% [n = 11/26]), as well as dedicated operating room time (72.2% [n = 13/18] v. 0% [n = 0/25]).

INTERPRETATION

The structures and processes available to care for patients requiring EGS in Ontario were highly variable between hospitals. Hospitals with formal EGS models were more likely to have access to key resources.

Emergency general surgery: Impact of hospital and surgeon admission case volume on mortality

BACKGROUND

Emergency general surgery (EGS) is a high-volume and high-risk surgical service. Interhospital variation in EGS outcomes exists, but there is disagreement in the literature as to whether hospital admission volume affects in-hospital mortality. Scotland collects high-quality data on all admitted patients, whether managed operatively or nonoperatively. Our aim was to determine the relationship between hospital admission volume and in-hospital mortality of EGS patients in Scotland. Second, to investigate whether surgeon admission volume affects mortality.

METHODS

This national population-level cohort study included EGS patients aged 16 years and older, who were admitted to a Scottish hospital between 2014 and 2018 (inclusive). A logistic regression model was created, with in-hospital mortality as the dependent variable, and admission volume of hospital per year as a continuous covariate of interest, adjusted for age, sex, comorbidity, deprivation, surgeon admission volume, surgeon operative rate, transfer status, diagnosis, and operation category.

RESULTS

There were 376,076 admissions to 25 hospitals, which met our inclusion criteria. The EGS hospital admission rate per year had no effect on in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR], 1.000; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.000-1.000). Higher average surgeon monthly admission volume increased the odds of in-hospital mortality (>35 admissions: OR, 1.139; 95% CI, 1.038-1.250; 25-35 admissions: OR, 1.091; 95% CI, 1.004-1.185; <25 admissions was the referent).

CONCLUSION

In Scotland, in contrast to other settings, EGS hospital admission volume did not influence in-hospital mortality. The finding of an association between individual surgeons' case volume and in-hospital mortality warrants further investigation.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Care management, Level IV.

Increasing Frailty in Geriatric Emergency General Surgery: A Cause for Concern

BACKGROUND

Emergency general surgery (EGS) presents a challenge for frail, geriatric individuals who often have extensive comorbidities affecting postoperative recovery. Previous studies have shown an association between increasing frailty and adverse outcomes following elective and EGS; no study has explored the same for the geriatric patient population using the modified 5-item frailty index (mFI-5) score.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was performed using the 2012-2017 American College of Surgeons - National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database to identify geriatric patients (≥65 years) undergoing EGS procedures within 48 h of admission. The previously validated mFI-5 score was used to assess preoperative frailty. The study cohort was divided into four groups: mFI-5 = 0, mFI-5 = 1, mFI-5 = 2, and mFI-5 ≥ 3; the impact of increasing mFI-5 score on failure-to-rescue (FTR), 30-day complications, readmissions, reoperations, and mortality was assessed.

RESULTS

A total of 47,216 patients were included: 27.4% with mFI-5 = 0, 45% with mFI-5 = 1, 22.1% with mFI-5 = 2, and 5.5% with mFI-5 ≥ 3. Following multivariate analyses, increasing mFI-5 score was associated with higher odds of FTR (mFI-5 = 1: odds ratio (OR) 1.48, p=0.003; mFI-5 = 2: OR 2.66, p <0.001; mFI-5 ≥ 3: OR 3.97, p <0.001), 30-day complications (mFI-5 = 1: OR 1.46, p <0.001; mFI-5 = 2: OR 2.48, p <0.001; mFI-5≥3: OR 5.01, p <0.001), reoperation (mFI-5 = 1: OR 1.42, p = 0.020; mFI-5 = 2: OR 1.70, p = 0.021; mFI-5 ≥ 3: OR 2.18, p = 0.009) and all-cause mortality (mFI-5 = 1: OR 1.49, p=0.001; mFI-5 = 2: OR 2.67, p <0.001; mFI-5 ≥ 3: 3.96, p <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Increasing frailty in geriatric EGS patients is associated with significantly higher rates of FTR, 30-day complications, reoperations, and all-cause mortality. The mFI-5 score can be used to assess frailty and better anticipate the postoperative course of vulnerable geriatric patients.

AT II Receptor Blockade and Renal Denervation: Different Interventions with Comparable Renal Effects?

BACKGROUND

Angiotensin II (Ang II) and the renal sympathetic nervous system exert a strong influence on renal sodium and water excretion. We tested the hypothesis that already low doses of an Ang II inhibitor (candesartan) will result in similar effects on tubular sodium and water reabsorption in congestive heart failure (CHF) as seen after renal denervation (DNX).

METHODS

Measurement of arterial blood pressure, heart rate (HR), renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), renal plasma flow (RPF), urine volume, and urinary sodium. To assess neural control of volume homeostasis, 21 days after the induction of CHF via myocardial infarction rats underwent volume expansion (0.9% NaCL; 10% body weight) to decrease RSNA. CHF rat and controls with or without DNX or pretreated with the Ang II type-1 receptor antagonist candesartan (0.5 ug i.v.) were studied.

RESULTS

CHF rats excreted only 68 + 10.2% of the volume load (10% body weight) in 90 min. CHF rats pretreated with candesartan or after DNX excreted from 92 to 103% like controls. Decreases of RSNA induced by volume expansion were impaired in CHF rats but unaffected by candesartan pointing to an intrarenal drug effect. GFR and RPF were not significantly different in controls or CHF.

CONCLUSION

The prominent function of increased RSNA - retaining salt and water - could no longer be observed after renal Ang II receptor blockade in CHF rats.

EAES rapid guideline: appendicitis in the elderly

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of trustworthy evidence-informed guidelines on the diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis in elderly patients.

METHODS

We developed a rapid guideline in accordance with GRADE and AGREE II standards. The steering group consisted of general surgeons, members of the EAES Research Committee/Guidelines Subcommittee with expertise and experience in guideline development, advanced medical statistics and evidence synthesis, biostatisticians, and a guideline methodologist. The guideline panel consisted of three general surgeons, an intensive care physician, a geriatrician and a patient advocate. We conducted systematic reviews and the results of evidence synthesis were summarized in evidence tables. Recommendations were authored and published through an online authoring and publication platform (MAGICapp), with the guideline panel making use of an evidence-to-decision framework and a Delphi process to arrive at consensus.

RESULTS

This rapid guideline provides a weak recommendation against the use of clinical scoring systems to replace cross-sectional imaging in the diagnostic approach of suspected appendicitis in elderly patients. It provides a weak recommendation against the use of antibiotics alone over surgical treatment in patients who are deemed fit for surgery, and a weak recommendation for laparoscopic over open surgery. Furthermore, it provides a summary of surgery-associated risks in elderly patients. The guidelines, with recommendations, evidence summaries and decision aids in user-friendly formats can also be accessed in MAGICapp: https://app.magicapp.org/#/guideline/4494 .

CONCLUSIONS

This rapid guideline provides evidence-informed trustworthy recommendations on the diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis in elderly patients.

Mitigating the stress response to improve outcomes for older patients undergoing emergency surgery with the addition of beta-adrenergic blockade

As population age, healthcare systems and providers are likely to experience a substantial increase in the proportion of elderly patients requiring emergency surgery. Emergency surgery, compared with planned surgery, is strongly associated with increased risks of adverse postoperative outcomes due to the short time available for diagnosis, optimization, and intervention in patients presenting with physiological derangement. These patient populations, who are often frail and burdened with a variety of co-morbidities, have lower reserves to deal with the stress of the acute condition and the required emergency surgical intervention. In this review article, we discuss topical areas where mitigation of the physiological stress posed by the acute condition and asociated surgical intervention may be feasible. We consider the impact of the adrenergic response and use of beta blockers for these high-risk patients and discuss common risk factors such as frailty and delirium. A proactive multidisciplinary approach to peri-operative care aimed at mitigation of the stress response and proactive management of common conditions in the older emergency surgical patient could yield more favorable outcomes.

The association of Hospital Medicare beneficiary payer-mix, national quality rankings and outcomes following hepatopancreatic surgery

INTRODUCTION

We sought to determine the impact of payer-mix on post-operative outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries following hepatopancreatic surgery.

METHODS

Medicare beneficiaries who underwent hepatopancreatic surgery were identified. Hospital quality markers were obtained from the Hospital General Information dataset. Hospitals were dichotomized (low/average vs. high) based on Medicare patient days versus all patient days irrespective of payer type.

RESULTS

High Medicare patient-mix hospitals were more likely to be ranked higher than the national average relative to safety of care (29.4% vs. 38.1%) and timeliness of care (15.4% vs. 26.3%) versus low burden Medicare hospitals (both p < 0.001). However, Medicare beneficiaries who had hepatopancreatic surgery at a high Medicare patient-mix hospital were at higher risk of a complication (OR = 1.13, 95%CI 1.04-1.22), and death within 30-days (OR = 1.37, 95%CI 1.23-1.53) following surgery.

CONCLUSION

While hospitals caring for higher numbers of Medicare beneficiaries generally performed better on CMS quality indicators, these rankings did not equate to improved post-operative outcomes.

Clinical Practice Variation and Outcomes for Stanford Type A Aortic Dissection Repair Surgery in Maryland: Report from a Statewide Quality Initiative

Background  Stanford Type A aortic dissection repair surgery is associated with high mortality and clinical practice remains variable among hospitals. Few studies have examined statewide practice variation.

Methods  Patients who had Stanford Type A aortic dissection repair surgery in Maryland between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2018 were identified using the Maryland Cardiac Surgery Quality Initiative (MCSQI) database. Patient demographics, comorbidities, surgery details, and outcomes were compared between hospitals. We also explored the impact of arterial cannulation site and brain protection technique on outcome.

Results  A total of 233 patients were included from eight hospitals during the study period. Seventy-six percent of surgeries were done in two high-volume hospitals (≥10 cases per year), while the remaining 24% were done in low-volume hospitals. Operative mortality was 12.0% and varied between 0 and 25.0% depending on the hospital. Variables that differed significantly between hospitals included patient age, the percentage of patients in shock, left ventricular ejection fraction, creatinine level, arterial cannulation site, brain protection technique, tobacco use, and intraoperative blood transfusion. The percentage of patients who underwent aortic valve repair or replacement procedures differed significantly between hospitals ( p  < 0.001), although the prevalence of moderate-to-severe aortic insufficiency was not significantly different ( p  = 0.14). There were no significant differences in clinical outcomes including mortality, renal failure, stroke, or gastrointestinal complications between hospitals or based on arterial cannulation site (all p  > 0.05). Patients who had aortic cross-clamping or endovascualr repair had more embolic strokes when compared with patients who had hypothermic circulatory arrest ( p  = 0.03).

Conclusion  There remains considerable practice variation in Stanford Type A aortic dissection repair surgery within Maryland including some modifiable factors such as intraoperative blood transfusion, arterial cannulation site, and brain protection technique. Continued efforts are needed within MCSQI and nationally to evaluate and employ the best practices for patients having acute aortic dissection repair surgery.

Emergency general surgery in geriatric patients: How should we evaluate hospital experience?

INTRODUCTION

As the aging American population poses unique challenges to acute care services, we determined if either hospital proportion or annual volume of geriatric patients undergoing emergency general surgery (EGS) procedures is associated with outcomes.

METHODS

Using criteria from the American Association of the Surgery of Trauma, we identified five EGS procedures in the 2012-2015 Nationwide Inpatient Sample common in geriatric patients (65+ years). We defined hospital proportion as the fraction of geriatric EGS patients divided by all EGS patients, where volume was the raw number of geriatric EGS patients. We then divided hospitals into quartiles both by proportion and then by volume of geriatric patients. Multivariable logistic regressions compared four outcomes between these quartiles: mortality, complications, failure to rescue (FTR; death after a complication), and extended length of stay (LOS; procedure-specific top decile of patients).

RESULTS

We identified 25,084 complex EGS procedures in geriatric patients at 3,528 hospitals (mortality, 10.6%; complications, 30.5%; FTR, 27.7%; extended LOS, 9.1%). The median hospital proportion of geriatric patients among EGS procedures was 42.8% (interquartile range, 33.3-52.2%), whereas the median hospital geriatric EGS volume after nationwide weighting was 40 per year (interquartile range, 20-70/year). After adjustment, the lowest hospital proportion quartile relative to the highest was associated with adverse outcomes: mortality (odds ratio, 1.21 [95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.44]), complications (1.16 [1.05-1.29]), FTR (1.32 [1.08-1.63]), and extended LOS (1.30 [1.12-1.50]). The lowest volume quartile relative to the highest was not associated with adverse outcomes. As the hospital proportion of geriatric patients increased by 10%, the odds of all adverse outcomes decreased: mortality by 7%, complications by 4%, FTR by 9%, and extended LOS by 8%.

CONCLUSION

When accounting for both, hospital proportion of geriatric EGS patients but not hospital volume is associated with postoperative outcomes, having important implications for quality improvement initiatives, benchmarking endeavors, and health services research.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Care management, level IV; prognostic, level III.

Benchmarking the value of care: Variability in hospital costs for common operations and its association with procedure volume

BACKGROUND

Efforts to improve health care value (quality/cost) have become a priority in the United States. Although many seek to increase quality by reducing variability in adverse outcomes, less is known about variability in costs. In conjunction with the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Healthcare Economics Committee, the objective of this study was to examine the extent of variability in total hospital costs for two common procedures: laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC).

METHODS

Nationally weighted data for adults 18 years and older was obtained for patients undergoing each operation in the 2014 and 2016 National Inpatient Sample. Data were aggregated at the hospital-level to attain hospital-specific median index hospital costs in 2019 US dollars and corresponding annual procedure volumes. Cost variation was assessed using caterpillar plots and risk-standardized observed/expected cost ratios. Correlation analysis, variance decomposition, and regression analysis explored costs' association with volume.

RESULTS

In 2016, 1,563 hospitals representing 86,170 LA and 2,276 hospitals representing 230,120 LC met the inclusion criteria. In 2014, the numbers were similar (1,602 and 2,259 hospitals). Compared with a mean of US $10,202, LA median costs ranged from US $2,850 to US $33,381. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy median costs ranged from US $4,406 to US $40,585 with a mean of US $12,567. Differences in cost strongly associated with procedure volume. Volume accounted for 9.9% (LA) and 12.4% (LC) of variation between hospitals, after controlling for the influence of other hospital (8.2% and 5.0%) and patient (6.3% and 3.7%) characteristics and in-hospital complications (0.8% and 0.4%). Counterfactual modeling suggests that were all hospitals to have performed at or below their expected median cost, one would see a national cost savings of greater than US $301.9 million per year (95% confidence interval, US $280.6-325.5 million).

CONCLUSION

Marked variability of median hospital costs for common operations exists. Differences remained consistent across changing coding structures and database years and were strongly associated with volume. Taken together, the findings suggest room for improvement in emergency general surgery and a need to address large discrepancies in an often-overlooked aspect of value.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Epidemiological, level III.

Unplanned readmission after traumatic injury: A long-term nationwide analysis

BACKGROUND

Long-term outcomes after trauma admissions remain understudied. We analyzed the characteristics of inpatient readmissions within 6 months of an index hospitalization for traumatic injury.

METHODS

Using the 2010 to 2015 Nationwide Readmissions Database, which captures data from up to 27 US states, we identified patients at least 15 years old admitted to a hospital through an emergency department for blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, or burns. Exclusion criteria included hospital transfers, patients who died during their index hospitalizations, and hospitals with fewer than 100 trauma patients annually. After calculating the incidences of all-cause, unplanned inpatient readmissions within 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months, we used multivariable logistic regression models to identify predictors of readmissions. Analyses adjusted for patient, clinical, and hospital factors.

RESULTS

Among 2,763,890 trauma patients, the majority had blunt injuries (92.5%), followed by penetrating injuries (6.2%) and burns (1.5%). Overall, rates of inpatient readmissions were 11.1% within 1 month, 21.6% within 6 months, and 29.8% within 6 months, with limited variability by year. After adjustment, the following were associated with all-cause 6 months inpatient readmissions: male sex (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.10; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.09-1.10), comorbidities (aOR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.21-1.22), low-income quartiles (first and second) (aOR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.07-1.10 and aOR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.03-1.06, respectively), Medicare (aOR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.62-1.69), Medicaid (aOR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.48-1.53), being treated at private, investor-owned hospitals (aOR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.12-1.18), longer hospital length of stay (aOR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.01-1.01) and patient disposition to short-term hospital (aOR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.49-1.62), skilled nursing facility (aOR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.42-1.45), home health care (aOR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.25-1.28), or leaving against medical advice (aOR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.78-1.92).

CONCLUSION

Unplanned readmission after trauma is high and remains this way 6 months after discharge. Understanding the factors that increase the odds of readmissions within 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months offer a focus for quality improvement and have important implications for hospital benchmarking.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Epidemiological study, level III.

Emergency General Surgery Volume and Its Impact on Outcomes in Military Treatment Facilities

BACKGROUND

Low hospital volume for emergency general surgery (EGS) procedures is associated with worse patient outcomes within the civilian health care system. The military maintains treatment facilities (MTFs) in remote locations to provide access to service members and their families. We sought to determine if patients treated at low-volume MTFs for EGS conditions experience worse outcomes compared with high-volume centers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We analyzed TRICARE data from 2006 to 2014. Patients were identified using an established coding algorithm for EGS admission. MTFs were divided into quartiles based on annual EGS volume. Outcomes included 30-d mortality, complications, and readmissions. Logistic regression models adjusting for clinical and sociodemographic differences in case-mix including EGS condition, surgical intervention, and comorbidities were used to determine the influence of hospital volume on outcomes.

RESULTS

We identified 106,915 patients treated for an EGS condition at 79 MTFs. The overall mortality rate was 0.21%, with complications occurring in 8.55% and readmissions in 4.45%. After risk adjustment, lowest-volume MTFs did not demonstrate significantly higher odds of mortality (OR: 2.02, CI: 0.45-9.06) or readmissions (OR: 0.77, CI: 0.54-1.11) compared with the highest-volume centers. Lowest-volume facilities exhibited a lower likelihood of complications (OR: 0.76, CI: 0.59-0.98).

CONCLUSIONS

EGS patients treated at low-volume MTFs did not experience worse clinical outcomes when compared with high-volume centers. Remote MTFs appear to provide care for EGS conditions comparable with that of high-volume facilities. Our findings speak against the need to reduce services at small, critical access facilities within the military health care system.

Hospital experience predicts outcomes after high-risk geriatric surgery

BACKGROUND

Geriatric patients require specialized perioperative care, yet the impact of geriatric surgery proportion (a measure of experience) and geriatric surgery volume, on clinical outcomes is unknown. This study analyzes the association between proportion and volume and clinical outcomes after high-risk geriatric surgery.

METHODS

Using the 2014 National Inpatient Sample, hospital encounters for older adults (≥65 years) undergoing high-risk geriatric surgery were identified. Geriatric surgery volume was defined as a hospital's annual volume of geriatric patients undergoing high-risk geriatric surgery. Geriatric surgery proportion was calculated as volume divided by the sum of high-risk surgeries in all ages. Hierarchical multivariable regression models identified predictors of inpatient mortality, postoperative length of stay, and discharge to nursing facility.

RESULTS

There were an estimated 514,950 hospital encounters for older adults undergoing high-risk geriatric surgery from 3,115 hospitals. Mean proportion was 0.53 ± 0.19; median volume was 60 cases per year, ranging from 5 to 3,235. After adjustment, comparing the 90th to 10th percentiles, higher proportion was associated with decreased mortality (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 0.81 [0.73-0.88]; P < .001) and shorter postoperative length of stay (-4.44% (-5.49 to -3.39%); P < .0001). Higher volume was not associated with mortality but was associated with longer length of stay (7.76% [6.75-8.77%]; P < .0001) and decreased discharge to nursing facility (0.87 [0.79-0.95]; P= .003).

CONCLUSION

Treatment of geriatric patients at hospitals with the highest proportion of high-risk geriatric surgery, or the most experience, is associated with improved outcomes. High-proportion hospitals should be examined to understand the mechanisms by which better quality geriatric surgical care is achieved, while lower-proportion hospitals may be targets for quality improvement efforts.

High-performance acute care hospitals: Excelling across multiple emergency general surgery operations in the geriatric patient

BACKGROUND

As the geriatric population grows, the need for hospitals performing high quality emergency general surgery (EGS) on older patients will increase. Identifying clusters of high-performing geriatric emergency general surgery hospitals would substantiate the need for in-depth analyses of hospital-specific structures and practices that benefit older EGS patients. The objectives of this study were therefore to identify clusters of hospitals based on mortality performance for geriatric patients undergoing common EGS operations and to determine if hospital performance was similar for all operation types.

METHODS

Hospitals in the California State Inpatient Database were included if they performed a range of eight common EGS operations in patients 65 years or older, with a minimum requirement of three of each operation performed over 2 years. Multivariable beta regression models were created to define hospital-level risk-adjusted mortality. Centroid cluster analysis was used to identify groups of hospitals based on mortality and to determine if mortality-performance differed by operation.

RESULTS

One hundred seven hospitals were included, performing a total of 24,279 operations in older patients. Hospitals separated into three distinct clusters: high, average, and low performers. The high-performing hospitals had survival rates 1 to 2 standard deviations better than the low-performers (p < 0.001). For each cluster, high performance in any one EGS operation consistently translated into high performance across all EGS operations.

CONCLUSION

Hospitals conducting EGS operations in the geriatric patient population cluster into three distinct groups based on their survival performance. High-performing hospitals significantly outperform the average and low performers across every operation. The high-performers achieve reliable, high-quality results regardless of operation type. Further qualitative research is needed to investigate the perioperative drivers of hospital performance in the geriatric EGS population.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Study Type Prognostic, level III.

American Association for the Surgery of Trauma emergency general surgery guidelines gap analysis

BACKGROUND

Emergency general surgery (EGS) has been rapidly adopted as one of the major components of acute care surgery. Although heterogenous, the most common disease states that comprise EGS often have published guidelines containing recommendations for their diagnosis and management. Not all diseases included within EGS however have published guidelines and existing guidelines may have important gaps in their recommendations. We present a thorough assessment of the existing guidelines for the most common EGS diseases and highlight gaps that will require additional literature review or new research to fill.

METHODS

Literature searches for existing comprehensive guidelines were performed. These guidelines were summarized based on level of supporting evidence and further subcategorized based on American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) grade of disease. Using these summaries, gaps in the exiting recommendations were then generated and refined through review by at least two authors.

RESULTS

The initial gap analysis focused on diverticulitis, acute pancreatitis, small bowel obstruction and acute cholecystitis. Despite extensive research into each of these disease processes, critical questions regarding diagnosis and management remain to be answered. Gaps were the result of either low quality research or a complete lack of research. The use of the AAST grade of disease established a framework for evaluating these guidelines and grouping the recommendations.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite extensive prior research, EGS diseases have multiple areas where additional research would likely result in improved patient care. Consensus on the most important areas for additional research can be obtained through analysis of gaps in existing guidelines. This gap analysis has the potential to inform efforts around developing a research agenda for EGS.

Characterizing the underlying diagnoses for exploratory laparotomies to improve risk-adjustment models of postoperative mortality

BACKGROUND

Surgeons perform emergent exploratory laparotomies (ex-laps) for a myriad of surgical diagnoses. We characterized common diagnoses for which emergent ex-laps were performed and leveraged these groups to improve risk-adjustment models for postoperative mortality.

METHODS

Using American Association for the Surgery of Trauma criteria, we identified hospitalizations where the primary procedure was an emergent ex-lap in the 2012 to 2014 (derivation cohort) and 2015 (validation cohort) Nationwide Inpatient Sample. After tabulating all International Classification of Diseases-9th Rev.-Clinical Modification diagnosis codes within these hospitalizations, we divided them into clinically relevant groups. Using two stepwise regression paradigms-forward selection and backward elimination-we identified diagnostic groups significantly associated with postoperative mortality in multivariable logistic regressions. We evaluated the addition of these groups as individual covariates in risk-adjustment models for postoperative mortality using the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve. All regressions additionally adjusted for clinical factors and hospital clustering.

RESULTS

We identified 4127 patients in the derivation cohort (median age, 50 years; 46.0% female; 62.1% white), with an overall mortality rate of 13.4%. Among all patients, we tabulated a total of 164 diagnosis codes, of which 27 (16.5%) may have led to an emergent ex-lap. These 27 codes clinically represented seven diagnostic categories, which captured a majority of the patients (70.4%). Backward elimination and forward selection led to four common diagnosis categories associated with mortality: bleeding, obstruction, shock, and ischemia. Adjusting for these four diagnostic groups in a multivariable logistic regression assessing postoperative mortality increased the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve from 74.5% to 88.2% in the derivation cohort and from 73.8% to 88.2% in the validation cohort.

CONCLUSION

Seven diagnostic groups account for the majority of the emergent ex-laps. Adjusting for four groups may improve the accuracy of risk-adjustment models for mortality and validating such analytic standardization may optimize best research practices for EGS procedures.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Prognostic and epidemiologic, Level III.

Surgery After an Initial Episode of Uncomplicated Diverticulitis: Does Time to Resection Matter?

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to determine whether time to surgery after an initial episode of uncomplicated diverticulitis is associated with undergoing an emergent versus an elective resection.

METHODS

In this retrospective, administrative claims database study, we identified patients at least 18 y old in the 2005-2011 California State Inpatient Database who had an initial episode of uncomplicated diverticulitis and then underwent a bowel resection within 2 y. After characterizing the distribution in time to surgery among all patients, we used a multivariable logistic regression to determine whether time to surgery was associated with undergoing an emergent resection. Next, we assessed differences in three outcomes between elective and emergent resections: at least one of eight postoperative complications, extended length of stay (defined as the top decile of hospitalizations), and 30-d inpatient readmissions. Analyses adjusted for time between initial hospitalization and resection, number of inpatient hospitalizations for diverticulitis before the resection, clinical factors, and hospital clustering.

RESULTS

We identified 4478 patients with an initial episode of uncomplicated diverticulitis followed by a bowel resection within the subsequent 2 y. One-fifth (21.1%) underwent an emergent resection. The median time from the initial episode to resection was 3.8 mo (IQR: 2.3-8.1 mo) for elective resections and 5.1 mo (IQR: 2.3-12.4 mo) for emergent resections. The adjusted odds of undergoing an emergent relative to an elective resection increased by 7% (aOR 1.07 [1.02-1.11]) for every 3 passing mo. Emergent resections were associated with greater adjusted odds of complications (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.75 [95%-CI 1.43-2.15]), extended LOS (aOR 4.52 [3.31-6.17]), and 30-d readmissions (aOR 1.49 [1.09-2.04]).

CONCLUSIONS

Among patients who experienced an initial episode of uncomplicated diverticulitis and eventually underwent a resection, the odds of having an emergent relative to elective surgery increased with every 3 passing mo. These findings may inform the management of uncomplicated diverticulitis for high-risk patients eventually needing surgery.