Mortality differences by surgical volume among patients with stomach cancer: a threshold for a favorable volume-outcome relationship

Urban-Rural Differences in Receipt of Cancer Surgery at High-Volume Hospitals and Sensitivity to Hospital Volume Thresholds

Methods for identifying high-volume hospitals affect conclusions about rural cancer care access.

Understanding Variation in In-hospital Mortality After Major Surgery in the United States

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to quantify the contributions of patient characteristics (PC), hospital structural characteristics (HC), and hospital operative volumes (HOV) to in-hospital mortality (IHM) after major surgery in the United States (US).

BACKGROUND

The volume-outcome relationship correlates higher HOV with decreased IHM. However, IHM after major surgery is multifactorial, and the relative contribution of PC, HC, and HOV to IHM after major surgery is unknown.

STUDY DESIGN

Patients undergoing major pancreatic, esophageal, lung, bladder, and rectal operations between 2006 and 2011 were identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample linked to the American Hospital Association survey. Multilevel logistic regression models were constructed using PC, HC, and HOV to calculate attributable variability in IHM for each.

RESULTS

Eighty thousand nine hundred sixty-nine patients across 1025 hospitals were included. Postoperative IHM ranged from 0.9% for rectal to 3.9% for esophageal surgery. Patient characteristics contributed most of the variability in IHM for esophageal (63%), pancreatic (62.9%), rectal (41.2%), and lung (44.4%) operations. HOV explained < 25% of variability for pancreatic, esophageal, lung, and rectal surgery. HC accounted for 16.9% and 17.4% of the variability in IHM for esophageal and rectal surgery. Unexplained variability in IHM was high in the lung (44.3%), bladder (39.3%), and rectal (33.7%) surgery subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite recent policy focus on the volume-outcome relationship, HOV was not the most important contributor to IHM for the major organ surgeries studied. PC remains the largest identifiable contributor to hospital mortality. Quality improvement initiatives should emphasize patient optimization and structural improvements, in addition to investigating the yet unexplained sources contributing to IHM.

In France, distance from hospital and health care structure impact on outcome after arthroplasty of the hip for proximal fractures of the femur

BACKGROUND

Hip arthroplasty is a frequently performed procedure in orthopedic surgery, carried out in almost all health structures for two main issues: fracture and coxarthrosis. Even if volume-outcome relationship appeared associated in many surgeries recently, data provided are not sufficient to set surgical thresholds neither than closing down low-volumes centers.

QUESTION

With this study, we wanted to identify surgical, health care-related and territorial factors influencing patient' mortality and readmission after a HA for a femoral fracture in 2018 in France.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Data were anonymously collected from French nationwide administrative databases. All patients who underwent a hip arthroplasty for a femoral fracture through 2018 were included. Patient outcome was 90-day mortality and 90-day readmission rate after surgery.

RESULTS

Of the 36,252 patients that underwent a HA for fracture in France in 2018, 0.7% died within 90-day year and 1.2% were readmitted. Male and Charlson comorbidity index were associated with a higher 90-day mortality and readmission rate in multivariate analysis. High volume was associated with a lower mortality rate. Neither time of travel nor distance upon health facility were associated with mortality nor with readmission rate in the analysis.

CONCLUSION

Even if volume appears to be associated with lower mortality rate even for longer distance and time of travel, the persistence of exogenous factors not documented in the French databases suggests that regionalization of hip arthroplasty should be organized with caution.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

As volume-outcome relationship must be interpreted with caution, policy makers should not regionalize such surgery without further investigation.

Current Trends in Volume and Surgical Outcomes in Gastric Cancer

Gastric cancer is ranked as the fifth most frequently diagnosed type of cancer. Complete resection with adequate lymphadenectomy represents the goal of treatment with curative intent. Quality assurance is a crucial factor in the evaluation of oncological surgical care, and centralization of healthcare in referral hospitals has been proposed in several countries. However, an international agreement about the setting of “high-volume hospitals” as well as “minimum volume standards” has not yet been clearly established. Despite the clear postoperative mortality benefits that have been described for gastric cancer surgery conducted by high-volume surgeons in high-volume hospitals, many authors have highlighted the limitations of a non-composite variable to define the ideal postoperative period. The textbook outcome represents a multidimensional measure assessing the quality of care for cancer patients. Transparent and easily available hospital data will increase patients’ awareness, providing suitable elements for a more informed hospital choice.

Minimum surgical volume to ensure 5-year survival probability for six cancer sites in Japan

BACKGROUND

In Japan, the government designates hospitals specialized in cancer care, requiring them to perform 400 surgeries annually without requiring surgical volume per cancer site. This study aimed to estimate the site-specific minimum surgical volume per year based on its associations with 5-year survival probability.

METHODS

The data of 64,402 patients who had undergone surgery for six types of cancers (including esophageal, stomach, colorectal, pancreatic, lung, and breast cancers) at designated cancer care hospitals in Osaka between 2007 and 2011 were analyzed. The hospitals were categorized by the average annual surgical volume per cancer type (e.g., 0-4, 5-9, 10-14…). We estimated the adjusted 5-year survival probability per surgical volume category using multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression. Furthermore, we identified inflection points for the trend of adjusted survival probability per increase of five surgical volumes using the joinpoint regression model and considered them as the suggested minimum surgical volume.

RESULTS

The estimated minimum surgical volumes were 35-39, 20-25, 25-29, 10-14, 10-14, and 25-29 for esophageal, stomach, colorectal, pancreatic, lung, and breast cancers, respectively. The percentage change in the adjusted 5-year survival probability per increase of five surgical volumes before and after the suggested surgical volume were +2.23 and +0.39 for the esophagus, +9.68 and +0.34 for the stomach, +8.11 and +0.05 for the colorectum, +3.82 and +0.87 for the pancreas, +9.46 and +0.23 for the lung, and +1.27 and +0.03 for the breast.

CONCLUSIONS

The suggested surgical volume based on the association with survival probability varies with cancer sites, some of which are close to the existing surgical volume standards used in Japan. These evidence-based minimum surgical volumes may help improve the quality of cancer surgeries.

Surgical volume threshold to improve 3-year survival in designated cancer care hospitals in 2004-2012 in Japan

In Japan, cancer care hospitals designated by the national government have a surgical volume requirement of 400 annually, which is not necessarily defined based on patient outcomes. This study aimed to estimate surgical volume thresholds that ensure optimal 3‐year survival for three periods. In total, 186 965 patients who had undergone surgery for solid cancers in 66 designated cancer care hospitals in Osaka between 2004 and 2012 were examined using data from a population‐based cancer registry. These hospitals were categorized by the annual surgical volume of each 50 surgeries (eg, 0‐49, 50‐99, and so on). Using multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression, we estimated the adjusted 3‐year survival probability per surgical volume category for 2004‐2006, 2007‐2009, and 2010‐2012. Using the joinpoint regression model that computes inflection points in a linear relationship, we estimated the points at which the trend of the association between surgical volume and survival probability changes, defining them as surgical volume thresholds. The adjusted 3‐year survival ranges were 71.7%‐90.0%, 68.2%‐90.0%, and 79.2%‐90.3% in 2004‐2006, 2007‐2009, and 2010‐2012, respectively. The surgical volume thresholds were identified at 100‐149 in 2004‐2006 and 2007‐2009 and 200‐249 in 2010‐2012. The extents of change in the adjusted 3‐year survival probability per increase of 50 surgical volumes were +4.00%, +6.88%, and +1.79% points until the threshold and +0.41%, +0.30%, and +0.11% points after the threshold in 2004‐2006, 2007‐2009, and 2010‐2012, respectively. The existing surgical volume requirements met our estimated thresholds. Surgical volume thresholds based on the association with patient survival may be used as a reference to validate the surgical volume requirement.

Assessing the hospital volume-outcome relationship in surgery: a scoping review

Introduction

Many recent studies have investigated the hospital volume-outcome relationship in surgery. In some cases, the results have prompted the centralization of surgical activity. However, the methodologies and interpretations differ markedly from one study to another. The objective of the present scoping review was to describe the various features used to assess the volume-outcome relationship: the analyzed datasets, study population, outcome, covariates, confounders, volume modalities, and statistical methods.

Methods and analysis

The review was conducted according to a study protocol published in BMJ Open in 2020. Two authors (both of whom had helped to design the study protocol) screened publications independently according to the title, the abstract and then the full text. To ensure exhaustivity, all the papers included by each reviewer went through to the next step.

Interpretation

The 403 included studies covered 90 types of surgery, 61 types of outcome, and 72 covariates or potential confounders. 191 (47.5%) studies focussed on oncological surgery and 37.8% focussed visceral or digestive tract surgery. Overall, 86.6% of the studies found a statistically significant volume-outcome relationship, although the findings differed from one type of surgery to another. Furthermore, the types of outcome and the covariates were highly diverse. The majority of studies were performed in Western countries, and oncological and visceral surgical procedures were over-represented; this might limit the generalizability and comparability of the studies’ results.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12874-021-01396-6.

Do star employees help or hinder department performance: the case of surgeons in South Korean hospitals

Based on strategic human capital theory, this study examines the effects of star surgeons on two different types of healthcare outcomes (i.e., number of surgical patients and length of patients’ in-hospital stay after surgery) in the surgery department. We also explore whether the relationship between star surgeons and healthcare outcomes is contingent on the expertise disparity between star and non-star surgeons. The results of an empirical analysis on colorectal cancer surgeons in 80 departments in South Korean hospitals show that the number of star surgeons increases the number of surgical patients and reduces the length of patients' stay after surgery. Moreover, the positive relationship between star surgeons and the number of surgical patients is strengthened when the expertise disparity between star and non-star surgeons is low. The implications of these findings for research and practice are also discussed.

Do Patients Residing in Provincial Areas Transport and Spend More on Cancer Treatment in Korea?

Background: With the increasing burden of cancer worldwide, a need exists to investigate patterns of healthcare utilization and costs. This study aimed to investigate whether the area of residence is associated with the likelihood of a patient receiving treatment at an institution located outside their residing region. This study also analyzed whether medical travel was related to levels of healthcare utilization and costs. Methods: This study used the 2007 to 2015 National Health Insurance (NHI) claims data. The residing area was categorized into capital area, metropolitan cities, and provincial area. Healthcare utilization was measured based on days of care and costs based on direct, covered medical costs. Chi-square test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to investigate the general characteristics of the study population. The relationship between the dependent and independent variables were analyzed using the generalized estimating equation (GEE) model. Results: Of the 64,505 participants included in this study, 19,975 (31.0%) visited medical institutions located outside their residing area. Compared to individuals residing in the capital area, those living in provincial regions (OR 2.202, 95% CI 2.068–2.344) were more likely to visit medical institutions outside their residing area. Healthcare costs were higher in individuals receiving treatment at hospitals located elsewhere (RR 1.054, 95% CI 1.017–1.093). Conclusion: Cancer patients residing in provincial areas were likely to visit institutions located outside their residing area for treatment. Medical travel was associated with higher levels of spent healthcare costs. Policies should focus on preventing possible related regional cancer disparity and promoting optimal configuration of cancer services.

Validation of Cancer Diagnosis Based on the National Health Insurance Service Database versus the National Cancer Registry Database in Korea

Purpose

This study aimed to assess the feasibility of operational definitions of cancer patients in conducting cancer-related studies using the claims data from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS).

Materials and Methods

Cancer incidence data were obtained from The Korean Central Cancer Registry (KCCR), NHIS primary diagnosis, and from the rare and intractable disease (RID) registration program.

Results

The operational definition with higher sensitivity for cancer patient verification was different by cancer type. Using primary diagnosis, the lowest sensitivity was found in colorectal cancer (91.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 91.7 to 92.0) and the highest sensitivity was found in breast cancer (97.9%; 95% CI, 97.8 to 98.0). With RID, sensitivity was the lowest in liver cancer (91.9%; 95% CI, 91.7 to 92.0) and highest in breast cancer (98.1%; 95% CI, 98.0 to 98.2). In terms of the difference in the date of diagnosis in the cancer registration data, > 80% of the patients showed a < 31-day difference from the RID definition.

Conclusion

Based on the health claims data, the operational definition of cancer incidence is more accurate when using the RID registration program claims compared to using the primary diagnosis despite the relatively less concordance by cancer type requires additional definitions such as treatment.

Assessment of the value of adjuvant radiotherapy for treatment of gastric adenocarcinoma based on pattern of post-surgical progression

PURPOSE

To assess the value of adjuvant radiotherapy for treatment of gastric adenocarcinoma and to investigate subgroups of patients suitable for adjuvant radiotherapy.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Data from 785 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma who had undergone D1/D2 radical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy were collected, the site of first progression was determined, and the relationship between the rate of local recurrence and clinicopathologic features was analyzed.

RESULTS

By the end of the follow-up period, progression was observed in 405 patients. Local recurrence was observed as the first progression in 161 cases. The local recurrence rate was significantly lower than the non-local progression rate (20.5% vs 31.5%, p=0.007). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed a significant relationship among degree of differentiation, T stage, N stage, and rate of local recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

Not all patients with gastric carcinoma required adjuvant radiotherapy. However, patients with poorly differentiated cancer cells, advanced T stage (T3/T4), and positive lymph nodes, which included patients in the T4N1-2M0 subgroup, were recommended for adjuvant radiotherapy.

Hospital volume following major surgery for gastric cancer determines in-hospital mortality rate and failure to rescue: a nation-wide study based on German billing data (2009-2017)

BACKGROUND

For many cancer resections, a hospital volume-outcome relationship exists. The data regarding gastric cancer resection-especially in the western hemisphere-are ambiguous. This study analyzes the impact of gastric cancer surgery caseload per hospital on postoperative mortality and failure to rescue in Germany.

METHODS

All patients diagnosed with gastric cancer from 2009 to 2017 who underwent gastric resection were identified from nation-wide administrative data. Hospitals were grouped into five equal caseload quintiles (I-V in ascending caseload order). Postoperative deaths and failure to rescue were determined.

RESULTS

Forty-six thousand one hundred eighty-seven patients were identified. There was a significant shift from partial resections in low-volume hospitals to more extended resections in high-volume centers. The overall in-house mortality rate was 6.2%. The crude in-hospital mortality rate ranged from 7.9% in quintile I to 4.4% in quintile V, with a significant trend between volume categories (p < 0.001). In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, quintile V hospitals (average of 29 interventions/year) had a risk-adjusted odds ratio of 0.50 (95% CI 0.39-0.65), compared to the baseline in-house mortality rate in quintile I (on average 1.5 interventions/year) (p < 0.001). In an analysis only evaluating hospitals with more than 30 resections per year mortality dropped below 4%. The overall postoperative complication rate was comparable between different volume quintiles, but failure to rescue (FtR) decreased significantly with increasing caseload.

CONCLUSION

Patients who had gastric cancer surgery in hospitals with higher volume had better outcomes and a reduced failure to rescue rates for severe complications.

Does Delaying Time in Cancer Treatment Affect Mortality? A Retrospective Cohort Study of Korean Lung and Gastric Cancer Patients

The aim of this study is to investigate the association between delays in surgical treatment and five- and one- year mortality in patients with lung or gastric cancer. The National Health Insurance claims data from 2006 to 2015 were used. The association between time to surgical treatment, in which the cut-off value was set at average time (30 or 50 days), and five year mortality was analyzed using the Cox proportional hazard model. Subgroup analysis was performed based on treatment type and location of medical institution. A total of 810 lung and 2659 gastric cancer patients were included, in which 74.8% of lung and 71.2% of gastric cancer patients received surgery within average. Compared to lung cancer patients who received treatment within 50 days, the five-year (HR 1.826, 95% CI 1.437–2.321) mortality of those who received treatment afterwards was higher. The findings were not significant for gastric cancer based on the after 30 days standard (HR: 1.003, 95% CI: 0.822–1.225). In lung cancer patients, time-to-treatment and mortality risk were significantly different depending on region. Delays in surgical treatment were associated with mortality in lung cancer patients. The findings imply the importance of monitoring and assuring timely treatment in lung cancer patients.

Hospital characteristics associated with better 'quality of surgery' and survival following oesophagogastric cancer surgery in Queensland: a population-level study

BACKGROUND

The impact of hospital characteristics on the quality of surgery and survival following oesophagogastric cancer surgery has not been well established in Australia. We assessed the interaction between hospital volume, service capability and surgical outcomes, with the hypothesis that both the quality of surgery and survival are better following treatment in high-volume, high service capability hospitals.

METHODS

All patients undergoing oesophagectomy and gastrectomy for cancer in Queensland, between 2001 and 2015, were included. Demographic, pathology and outcome data were collected. Hospitals were categorized into high (HV) (≥5 gastrectomies; ≥6 oesophagectomies) and low volume (LV). Hospital service capability was defined as high (HS) and low (LS), and then linked to hospital volume: HVHS, LVHS and LVLS. Higher quality surgery was defined using six perioperative parameters. Univariable comparisons of quality of surgery between hospital groups used chi-squared tests. The 5-year overall survival was compared using log-rank tests and Cox proportional hazard models.

RESULTS

For both gastrectomy and oesophagectomy, higher quality surgery occurred more frequently in HVHS hospitals (gastrectomy: HVHS = 44.2%, LVHS = 23.1%, LVLS = 29.1% (P < 0.01); oesophagectomy: HVHS = 34.5%, LVHS = 24.4%, LVLS = 21.7% (P = 0.01)). Following oesophagectomy, the 3- and 5-year overall survival was better following treatment in HVHS (P < 0.01). There was no difference between the groups following gastrectomy.

CONCLUSION

In Queensland, the quality of surgery was higher in HVHS hospitals performing gastrectomy and oesophagectomy; however, the impact on cancer survival was only seen following oesophagectomy.

Assessing the hospital volume-outcome relationship in surgery: a scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION

Even if a positive volume-outcome correlation in surgery is mostly admitted in many surgical fields, the various ways to assess this relationship make it difficult for researchers and policymakers to use it. Our aim is therefore to provide an overview of the way hospital volume-outcome relationship was assessed. Through this overview, our goal is to identify potential gaps in the assessment of this relationship, to help researchers who want to pursue work in this field and, ultimately, to help policy makers interpret such analyses.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This review will be conducted using the six stages of the scoping review method: identifying the research question, searching for relevant studies, selecting studies, data extraction, collating, summarising and reporting the results and concluding. This review will address all the key questions used to assess the volume-outcome relationship in surgery.Primary research papers investigating the hospital volume-outcome relationship from 2009 will be included. Studies only looking at surgeons' volume-outcome relationship or studies were the volume variable is not individualisable will be excluded.Both MEDLINE and Scopus will be searched along with grey literature. Two researchers will perform all the stages of the review: screen the titles and abstracts, review the full text of selected articles to determine final inclusions and extract the data. The results will be summarised quantitatively using numerical counts.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND DISSEMINATION

Reviews of published articles are considered secondary analysis and do not need ethical approval. The findings will be disseminated through multiple channels like conferences and peer-reviewed journals.

Association between volume of surgery for acute hemorrhagic stroke and mortality

This study aimed to investigate the association between volume of surgery and mortality in relation to interventions for acute hemorrhagic stroke, namely craniotomy and trephination.We obtained data on acute hemorrhagic stroke patients for a 5-year period (2009-2013) from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Hospitals were classified into 3 categories according to volume of surgery (low, medium, high). To avoid intentionally setting a cutoff, we placed the hospitals in order from those with high volume of surgery to those with low volume of surgery and divided them into 3 groups (tertile) according to the number of patients. The covariates were age, sex, hemorrhagic stroke site, type of health insurance, intensive care unit admission, history of hypertension, and Charlson comorbidity index. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed with statistical significance set at 5%.A total of 41,917 patients who underwent craniotomy (n = 20,982) or trephination (n = 20,935) for acute hemorrhagic stroke were analyzed according to hemorrhage site (subarachnoid and others). The results showed that mortality from acute hemorrhagic stroke decreased with increasing volume of surgery. For subarachnoid hemorrhage, the odds ratios of the medium- and high-volume surgery groups were significantly lower (0.74 and 0.59, respectively) for mortality within 7 days of admission, and were also significantly lower (0.78 and 0.68) for mortality within 30 days of admission than that of the low-volume surgery group. The results for other hemorrhage sites were similar. The association between mortality and volume of surgery was more evident in the craniotomy group. Although this study was limited to a single country (South Korea), it partially addressed the shortcomings of previous studies by analyzing a nationwide database and examining all types of hemorrhagic strokes.