A regional quality improvement effort does not exist for thoracic surgery in the United States. To initiate the development of one, we sought to describe temporal trends and hospital-level ...variability in associated outcomes and costs of pulmonary resection in Washington (WA) State.
A cohort study (2000-2011) was conducted of operated-on lung cancer patients. The WA State discharge database was used to describe outcomes and costs for operations performed at all nonfederal hospitals within the state.
Over 12 years, 8,457 lung cancer patients underwent pulmonary resection across 49 hospitals. Inpatient deaths decreased over time (adjusted p-trend=0.023) but prolonged length of stay did not (adjusted p-trend=0.880). Inflation-adjusted hospital costs increased over time (adjusted p-trend<0.001). Among 24 hospitals performing at least 1 resection per year, 5 hospitals were statistical outliers in rates of death (4 lower and 1 higher than the state average), and 13 were outliers with respect to prolonged length of stay (7 higher and 6 lower than the state average) and costs (5 higher and 8 lower than the state average). When evaluated for rates of death and costs, there were hospitals with fewer deaths/lower costs, fewer deaths/higher costs, more deaths/lower costs, and more deaths/higher costs.
Variability in outcomes and costs over time and across hospitals suggest opportunities to improve the quality and value of thoracic surgery in WA State. Examples from cardiac surgery suggest that a regional quality improvement collaborative is an effective way to meaningfully and rapidly act upon these opportunities.
Complications after pulmonary resection lead to higher costs of care. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for lobectomy is associated with fewer complications, but lower inpatient costs for ...VATS have not been uniformly demonstrated. Because some complications occur after discharge, we compared 90-day costs of VATS lobectomy versus open lobectomy and explored whether differential health care use after discharge might account for any observed differences in costs.
A cohort study (2007-2011) of patients with lung cancer who had undergone resection was conducted using MarketScan-a nationally representative sample of persons with employer-provided health insurance. Total costs reflect payments made for inpatient, outpatient, and pharmacy claims up to 90 days after discharge.
Among 9,962 patients, 31% underwent VATS lobectomy. Compared with thoracotomy, VATS was associated with lower rates of prolonged length of stay (PLOS) (3.0% versus 7.2%; p<0.001), 90-day emergency department (ED) use (22% versus 24%; p=0.005), and 90-day readmission (10% versus 12%; p=0.026). Risk-adjusted 90-day costs were $3,476 lower for VATS lobectomy (p=0.001). Differential rates of PLOS appeared to explain this cost difference. After adjustment for PLOS, costs were $1,276 lower for VATS, but this difference was not significant (p=0.125). In the fully adjusted model, PLOS was associated with the highest cost differential (+$50,820; p<0.001).
VATS lobectomy is associated with lower 90-day costs--a relationship that appears to be mediated by lower rates of PLOS. Although VATS may lead to lower rates of PLOS among patients undergoing lobectomy, observational studies cannot verify this assertion. Strategies that reduce PLOS will likely result in cost-savings that can increase the value of thoracic surgical care.
Objective Inhibition of cytokines offers modest protection from injury in animal models of lung ischemia–reperfusion. Improved strategies would selectively inhibit the transcriptional activation ...response to oxidative stress. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38, c-jun N-terminal kinase, extracellular signal–regulated kinase) have been shown to be activated after oxidative stress and in animal models of acute inflammatory lung injury. We hypothesized that mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibition would block downstream transcriptional activation, providing robust protection from lung ischemia–reperfusion injury. Methods Experimental rats received inhibitors of p38, c-jun kinase, or extracellular signal–regulated kinase before in situ left lung ischemia–reperfusion. Immunohistochemistry localized cellular sites of mitogen-activated protein kinase activation. Several markers of lung injury were assessed. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay measured soluble cytokine and chemokine contents. Western blotting assessed mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation. Electromobility shift assays measured transcription factor nuclear translocation. Results Immunohistochemistry localized p38 and c-jun kinase activations in positive controls to alveolar macrophages. Extracellular signal–regulated kinase was activated in endothelial and epithelial cells. Animals treated with p38 or c-jun kinase inhibitor demonstrated significant reductions in transcription factor activation and markers of lung injury. Extracellular signal–regulated kinase inhibition was not protective. Western blotting confirmed inhibitor specificity. Conclusion Inhibition of p38 and c-jun kinase provided significant protection from injury. The alveolar macrophage appears to be the key coordinator of injury in response to oxidative stress. Therapeutically targeting specific cell population (macrophage) responses to oxidative stress has the potential benefit of reducing lung reperfusion injury severity while leaving host immune responses intact.
Abstract Objective Failure to rescue is defined as death after an acute inpatient event and has been observed among hospitals that perform general, vascular, and cardiac surgery. This study aims to ...evaluate variation in complication and failure to rescue rates among hospitals that perform pulmonary resection for lung cancer. Methods By using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Database, a retrospective, multicenter cohort study was performed of adult patients with lung cancer who underwent pulmonary resection. Hospitals participating in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Database were ranked by their risk-adjusted, standardized mortality ratio (using random effects logistic regression) and grouped into quintiles. Complication and failure to rescue rates were evaluated across 5 groups (very low, low, medium, high, and very high mortality hospitals). Results Between 2009 and 2012, there were 30,000 patients cared for at 208 institutions participating in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Database (median age, 68 years; 53% were women, 87% were white, 71% underwent lobectomy, 65% had stage I). Mortality rates varied over 4-fold across hospitals (3.2% vs 0.7%). Complication rates occurred more frequently at hospitals with higher mortality (42% vs 34%, P < .001). However, the magnitude of variation (22%) in complication rates dwarfed the 4-fold magnitude of variation in failure to rescue rates (6.8% vs 1.7%, P < .001) across hospitals. Conclusions Variation in hospital mortality seems to be more strongly related to rescuing patients from complications than to the occurrence of complications. This observation is significant because it redirects quality improvement and health policy initiatives to more closely examine and support system-level changes in care delivery that facilitate early detection and treatment of complications.
Ischemia-reperfusion injury impairs lung transplant outcomes. The transcription factors, activator protein-1, and nuclear factor kappa B, are activated early in reperfusion and drive the development ...of injury. Thrombin inhibition with hirudin, and calcineurin inhibition with tacrolimus have independently been shown to ameliorate lung ischemia-reperfusion injury by reducing activator protein-1 and nuclear factor kappa B activation, respectively. However, high doses were required to achieve protection using individual agents, raising concerns about potential toxicities. We sought to determine if low-dose combination therapy reduced injury through synergistic inhibition of pretranscriptional signaling events.
Rats were pretreated with either intravenous hirudin or tacrolimus at low doses or high doses, or both at low doses, prior to undergoing left lung ischemia and reperfusion. Lungs were assessed for markers of lung injury, including bronchoalveolar lavage cytokine-chemokine content and transcription factor transactivation of activator protein-1 and nuclear factor kappa B.
High-dose monotherapy with hirudin or tacrolimus reduced lung injury and transactivation of activator protein-1 and nuclear factor kappa B activation, respectively, whereas low-dose monotherapy with either agent did not alter transcription factor activation or lung injury compared with positive controls. Low-dose combination therapy was more protective than high-dose monotherapy with either drug, and correlated with a reduction in activation of both transcription factors and their associated cytokines.
The significant decrease in lung injury severity and transcription factor activation with combined pathway inhibition suggests pretranscriptional signaling redundancy between the calcineurin and thrombin dependent pathways in lung reperfusion injury.
Despite best efforts, postoperative complications such as postoperative respiratory failure may occur and prompt recognition of the process and management is required. Postoperative respiratory ...failure, such as postoperative pneumonia, postpneumonectomy pulmonary edema, acute respiratory distress-like syndromes, and pulmonary embolism, are associated with high morbidity and mortality. The causes of these complications are multifactorial and depend on preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative factors, some of which are modifiable. The article identifies some of the risk factors, causes, and treatment strategies for successful management of the patient with postoperative respiratory failure.
Surgical repair or drainage is the standard treatment for benign esophageal perforation. The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of esophageal stents for the management of ...malignant esophageal stricture or fistula, or both. We hypothesize that increasing enthusiasm and experience with esophageal stents has led to greater use of stents for the management of benign esophageal perforation.
We performed a retrospective cohort study (2007 to 2014) of patients with benign esophageal perforation using MarketScan (Thomson Reuters, New York, NY), a commercial claims database. Patients had 6 months of follow-up. Regression was used for risk-adjustment.
Benign esophageal perforation was treated in 659 patients (mean age, 49 years; 41% women), comprising surgical repair in 449 (69%), surgical drainage in 110 (17%), and stent in 100 (15%). Stent use increased from 7% in 2007 to 30% in 2014 (p < 0.001 for trend). Over the same period, surgical repair decreased from 71% to 53% (p = 0.001 for trend), but surgical drainage did not change (p = 0.24). After adjustment for other factors that could vary over time, stent use increased by 28% per year (incidence rate ratio, 1.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.17 to 1.39). Changes in risk-adjusted deaths, discharges home, readmissions, or costs over the same period were not significant (all p > 0.05 for trend).
The use of stents for the management of benign esophageal perforation has increased by over fourfold in just 8 years, but short-term outcomes have not changed over time for this population of patients. A national registry for off-label use of esophageal stents may clarify the indications for and risks and benefits of stenting benign esophageal perforations.
Abstract Objective The 88-week Thoracic Surgery Curriculum is challenging to implement because of the large content in a traditional lecture format. This study investigates flipping the classroom by ...using a case-based format designed to stimulate resident preparation and engagement. Methods The didactic conference format was altered. Curricular reading assignments, case review, and conference participation prepared residents for novel formative assessment quizzes. Ten residents participated, and faculty served as controls. Scores were compared with the use of linear regression adjusted for clustering of responses for each person. A survey was administered to determine impressions of this educational technique. Results A majority of residents completed curricular readings (82%) and reviewed case presentations (79%). Resident performance initially lagged behind faculty but exceeded faculty performance by the conclusion (interaction P = .047). Junior resident overall performance was superior to senior residents over the entire analysis ( P = .026); however, both groups improved over time similarly ( P = .34) Increased reading from the curriculum (5% increase per level, P = .001) and case presentation review (6% increase per level, P < .0001) were associated with improved quiz performance. Residents presenting cases at their session performed no better than other quiz-takers for the same session ( P = .38). The majority of residents viewed this method favorably. Conclusions This method stimulated increased resident participation and engagement in this pilot study. Assessment scores increased at both resident levels, and resident performance exceeded faculty performance with time. By using experiential learning principles, flipping the classroom in this manner may improve educational culture by enhancing accountability, assessment, and feedback.
Objectives Minimally invasive endoscopic treatment of emphysema could provide palliation with less risk than lung volume reduction surgery and offer therapy to patients currently not considered for ...lung volume reduction surgery. The Intrabronchial Valve is used to block bronchial airflow in the most emphysematous areas of lung. Methods Patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heterogeneous upper lobe–predominant emphysema were eligible. Patients underwent flexible bronchoscopic placement of valves into segmental or subsegmental airways in both upper lobes. Outcomes assessed over a minimum of 6 months of follow-up included the safety, feasibility, tolerance, and success of valve placement; health-related quality of life; exercise capacity; pulmonary function; and gas exchange. Results Five centers treated 30 patients. Patient follow-up ranged from 1 to 12 months. A mean of 6.1 valves were placed per patient. Valves were positioned by means of flexible bronchoscopy in 99% of desired airways, and the procedure duration ranged from 15 to 125 minutes (mean, 65 minutes). Hospital discharge occurred within 2 days in 27 of 30 patients. There were no deaths or episodes of valve migration, tissue erosion, or significant bleeding. Eighty-three percent of patients had no adverse events judged probably or definitely related to the device. Patients experienced significant improvement in health-related quality of life, although the physiologic and exercise outcomes did not show statistically significant improvements. Conclusions These first multicenter results with the Intrabronchial Valve demonstrate significant improvements in health-related quality of life and acceptable safety, ease of use, and procedural complication rates. The valve might be a safer and less-invasive alternative to surgical therapy for patients with severe emphysema.
Toll-like receptor-4 has been implicated in modulating ischemia-reperfusion injury in cardiac, hepatic, renal, and cerebral models. However, its role in lung ischemia-reperfusion injury is unknown. ...We hypothesize that toll-like receptor-4 has a key role in initiating the inflammatory cascade in lung ischemia-reperfusion injury.
We used toll-like receptor-4 specific short interference RNA to achieve toll-like receptor-4 knockdown in rats prior to undergoing ischemia and reperfusion. Lungs were explanted and studied for protein expression and markers of lung injury. Additional animals were evaluated for cellular uptake of toll-like receptor-4 short interference RNA. Toll-like receptor-4 short interference RNA localized to the alveolar macrophage.
In animals pretreated with toll-like receptor-4 short interference RNA, toll-like receptor-4 expression and mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation were suppressed. Markers of lung injury including permeability index, myeloperoxidase content, and bronchoalveolar lavage inflammatory cell counts were all reduced with toll-like receptor-4 knockdown.
Toll-like receptor-4 is critical in the development of lung ischemia-reperfusion injury and its activation in the alveolar macrophage may be the initiating step.
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