OBJECTIVE:To explore hospital-level variation in postoperative delirium using a multi-institutional data source.
BACKGROUND:Postoperative delirium is closely related to serious morbidity, disability, ...and death in older adults. Yet, surgeons and hospitals rarely measure delirium rates, which limits quality improvement efforts.
METHODS:The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) Geriatric Surgery Pilot (2014 to 2015) collects geriatric-specific variables, including postoperative delirium using a standardized definition. Hierarchical logistic regression models, adjusted for case mix Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code and patient risk factors, yielded risk-adjusted and smoothed odds ratios (ORs) for hospital performance. Model performance was assessed with Hosmer-Lemeshow (HL) statistic and c-statistics, and compared across surgical specialties.
RESULTS:Twenty thousand two hundred twelve older adults (≥65 years) underwent inpatient operations at 30 hospitals. Postoperative delirium occurred in 2427 patients (12.0%) with variation across specialties, from 4.7% in gynecology to 13.7% in cardiothoracic surgery. Hierarchical modeling with 20 risk factors (HL = 9.423, P = 0.31; c-statistic 0.86) identified 13 hospitals as statistical outliers (5 good, 8 poor performers). Per hospital, the median risk-adjusted delirium rate was 10.4% (range 3.2% to 27.5%). Operation-specific risk and preoperative cognitive impairment (OR 2.9, 95% confidence interval 2.5–3.5) were the strongest predictors. The model performed well across surgical specialties (orthopedic, general surgery, and vascular surgery).
CONCLUSION:Rates of postoperative delirium varied 8.5-fold across hospitals, and can feasibly be measured in surgical quality datasets. The model performed well with 10 to 12 variables and demonstrated applicability across surgical specialties. Such efforts are critical to better tailor quality improvement to older surgical patients.
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) NSQIP Surgical Risk Calculator (SRC) plays an important role in risk prediction and decision-making. We sought to enhance the existing ACS NSQIP SRC with ...functionality to predict geriatric-specific outcomes and assess the predictive value of geriatric-specific risk factors by comparing performance in outcomes prediction using the traditional ACS NSQIP SRC with models that also included geriatric risk factors.
Data were collected from 21 ACS NSQIP Geriatric Surgery Pilot Project hospitals between 2014 and 2017. Hierarchical regression models predicted 4 postoperative geriatric outcomes (ie pressure ulcer, delirium, new mobility aid use, and functional decline) using the traditional 21-variable ACS NSQIP SRC models and 27-variable models that included 6 geriatric risk factors (ie living situation, fall history, mobility aid use, cognitive impairment, surrogate-signed consent, and palliative care on admission).
Data from 38,048 patients 65 years or older undergoing 197 unique operations across 10 surgical subspecialties were used. Stable model discrimination and calibration between developmental and validation datasets confirmed predictive validity. Models with and without geriatric risk factors demonstrated excellent performance (C statistic >0.8) with inclusion of geriatric risk factors improving performance. Of the 21 ACS NSQIP variables, CPT code, COPD, age, functional dependence, sex, disseminated cancer, diabetes, and sepsis were the strongest risk predictors, and impaired cognition, fall history, and mobility aid use were the strongest geriatric predictors.
The ACS NSQIP SRC can predict 4 unique outcomes germane to geriatric surgical patients, with improvement of predictive capability after accounting for geriatric risk factors. Augmentation of ACS NSQIP SRC can enhance shared decision-making to improve the quality of surgical care in older adults.
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IMPORTANCE: Functional outcomes have value for older adults who undergo surgical procedures. Preventing postoperative functional decline in this patient population necessitates the identification of ...the factors associated with this outcome and minimizing their implications. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of functional decline 30 days after a surgical procedure among older adults 80 years or older, examine the risk factors of this decline, and identify ways to minimize this decline by addressing its mutable factors. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective cohort study used patient data from the Geriatric Surgery Pilot Project, a multi-institutional data registry of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Inclusion criteria were patients 80 years or older who underwent a surgical procedure that required an inpatient stay at 1 of 23 hospitals enrolled in the Geriatric Surgery Pilot Project from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2018, and had preoperative and postoperative functional health status data. Data analysis was performed from January 7, 2019, to December 2, 2019. EXPOSURES: Adults 80 years or older who underwent an inpatient surgical procedure. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative functional decline defined by a change in functional health status from admission or before the surgical procedure (ie, from independent to partially or totally dependent, or from partially dependent to totally dependent). Functional health status was measured by a patient’s ability to perform activities of daily living. Secondary outcomes were hospital readmission and 30-day postoperative living location. RESULTS: Of the 2013 patients analyzed in this study, 1128 were women (56.0%) and the mean (SD) age was 84.9 (3.9) years. Functional decline at 30 days after the surgical procedure was present in 406 patients (20.2%). Prevalence of this outcome increased with age, with 337 of 1751 patients aged 80 to 89 years (19.2%) experiencing decline compared with 69 of 262 patients 90 years or older (26.3%). In a risk-adjusted model, the geriatric-specific risk factors statistically significantly associated with this outcome included preoperative mobility aid use (odds ratio OR 1.76; 95% CI, 1.39-2.22; P < .001) and malnutrition (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.04-3.43; P = .04) as well as postoperative delirium (OR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.60-3.02; P < .001), pressure ulcer (OR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.02-3.30; P = .04), and mobility aid at discharge (OR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.72-3.59; P < .001). Among patients with a 30-day functional decline, 106 (26.1%) required hospital readmission and only 219 (53.9%) were living at home compared with 388 patients (95.6%) living at home before the procedure. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this study, 1 in 5 older adults experienced a functional decline that persisted 30 days after a surgical procedure, an outcome that appeared to be associated with several geriatric-specific risk factors. Future trials are needed to evaluate whether the prevention or mitigation of these factors can decrease the rates of postoperative functional decline in this patient population.
Surgical quality datasets can be better tailored toward older adults. The American College of Surgeons (ACS) NSQIP Geriatric Surgery Pilot collected risk factors and outcomes in 4 geriatric-specific ...domains: cognition, decision-making, function, and mobility. This study evaluated the contributions of geriatric-specific factors to risk adjustment in modeling 30-day outcomes and geriatric-specific outcomes (postoperative delirium, new mobility aid use, functional decline, and pressure ulcers).
Using ACS NSQIP Geriatric Surgery Pilot data (January 2014 to December 2016), 7 geriatric-specific risk factors were evaluated for selection in 14 logistic models (morbidities/mortality) in general-vascular and orthopaedic surgery subgroups. Hierarchical models evaluated 4 geriatric-specific outcomes, adjusting for hospitals-level effects and including Bayesian-type shrinkage, to estimate hospital performance.
There were 36,399 older adults who underwent operations at 31 hospitals in the ACS NSQIP Geriatric Surgery Pilot. Geriatric-specific risk factors were selected in 10 of 14 models in both general-vascular and orthopaedic surgery subgroups. After risk adjustment, surrogate consent (odds ratio OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.3 to 1.8) and use of a mobility aid (OR 1.3; 95% CI 1.1 to 1.4) increased the risk for serious morbidity or mortality in the general-vascular cohort. Geriatric-specific factors were selected in all 4 geriatric-specific outcomes models. Rates of geriatric-specific outcomes were: postoperative delirium in 12.1% (n = 3,650), functional decline in 42.9% (n = 13,000), new mobility aid in 29.7% (n = 9,257), and new or worsened pressure ulcers in 1.7% (n = 527).
Geriatric-specific risk factors are important for patient-centered care and contribute to risk adjustment in modeling traditional and geriatric-specific outcomes. To provide optimal patient care for older adults, surgical datasets should collect measures that address cognition, decision-making, mobility, and function.
Although volume-outcome literature supports regionalization for complex procedures, travel may be burdensome. We assessed the relationship between overall survival and travel distance for patients ...undergoing pancreatic resection for adenocarcinoma.
We analyzed the Fall 2018 National Cancer Database Public Use File. We defined distance traveled as a categorical variable (<12.5 miles, 12.5–50mi, and >50mi). We analyzed overall survival (OS) as a function of distance traveled using the log rank test and Cox proportional hazards models; we estimated stratified models to assess for interaction between distance and other relevant covariates.
In adjusted analysis of 39,089 patients, greater distance was associated with decreased OS (p = 0.0029). We found interactions between distance and center type, comorbidities, and age. Distance traveled was a negative factor for patients treated at low-volume academic centers (but not high-volume academic or non-academic centers). Additionally, distance traveled was a negative factor for OS in young, healthy patients but not geriatric, ill patients.
Traveling more than 12.5 miles for pancreatic resection was associated with worse OS. Prior to regionalization, evaluation of local resources may be necessary.
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•Increased travel distance was associated with worse survival after pancreas resection.•Young, healthy patients were more affected by travel than older, sicker patients.•Travel to a low volume center was associated with poor survival.•Travel distance was not associated with survival for patients treated at high volume centers.
Higher center-level operative volume is associated with lower mortality after complex elective surgeries, but this relationship has not been robustly demonstrated for operative trauma. We ...hypothesized that trauma centers in Pennsylvania with higher operative trauma volumes would have lower risk-adjusted mortality rates than lower volume institutions.
We queried the Pennsylvania Trauma Outcomes Study database (2017-2019) for injured patients 18 years or older at Level I and II trauma centers who underwent an International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), procedure code -defined operative procedure within 6 hours of admission. The primary exposure was tertile of center-level operative volume. The primary outcome of interest was inpatient mortality. We entered factors associated with mortality in univariate analysis (age, injury severity, mechanism, physiology) into multivariable logistic regression models with tertiles of volume accounting for center-level clustering. We conducted secondary analyses varying the form of the association between the volume and mortality to including dichotomous and fractional polynomial models.
We identified 3,650 patients at 29 centers meeting the inclusion criteria. Overall mortality was 15.9% (center-level range, 6.7-34.2%). Operative procedure types were cardiopulmonary (7.3%), vascular (20.1%), abdominopelvic (24.3%), and multiple (48.3%). The mean annual operative volume over the 3 years of data was 10 to 21 operations for low-volume centers, 22 to 47 for medium-volume centers, and 47 to 158 for high-volume centers. After controlling for patient demographics, physiology, and injury characteristics, there was no significant difference in mortality between highest and lowest tertile centers (odds ratio, 0.92; confidence interval, 0.57-1.49). Secondary analyses similarly demonstrated no relationship between center operative volume and mortality in key procedure subgroups.
In a mature trauma system, we found no association between center-level operative volume and mortality for patients who required early operative intervention for trauma. Efforts to standardize the care of seriously injured patients in Pennsylvania may ensure that even lower-volume centers are prepared to generate satisfactory outcomes.
Prognostic and Epidemiological; Level III.
Racial disparities in medical treatment for seriously injured patients across the spectrum of care are well established, but racial disparities in end of life decision making practices have not been ...well described. When time from admission to time to withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (WLST) increases, so does the potential for ineffective care, health care resource loss, and patient and family suffering. We sought to determine the existence and extent of racial disparities in late WLST after severe injury.
We queried the American College of Surgeons' Trauma Quality Improvement Program (2013-2016) for all severely injured patients (Injury Severity Score, > 15; age, > 16 years) with a WLST order longer than 24 hours after admission. We defined late WLST as care withdrawn at a time interval beyond the 75th percentile for the entire cohort. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using descriptive statistics, and t tests and χ tests where appropriate. Multivariable regression analysis was performed with random effects to account for institutional-level clustering using late WLST as the primary outcome and race as the primary predictor of interest.
A total of 13,054 patients from 393 centers were included in the analysis. Median time to WLST was 5.4 days (interquartile range, 2.6-10.3). In our unadjusted analysis, African-American patients (10.1% vs. 7.1%, p < 0.001) and Hispanic patients (7.8% vs. 6.8%, p < 0.001) were more likely to have late WLST as compared to early WLST. After adjustment for patient, injury, and institutional characteristics, African-American (odds ratio, 1.42; 95% confidence interval, 1.21-1.67) and Hispanic (odds ratio, 1.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.46) race were significant predictors of late WLST.
African-American and Hispanic race are both significant predictors of late WLST. These findings might be due to patient preference or medical decision making, but speak to the value in assuring a high standard related to identifying goals of care in a culturally sensitive manner.
Prognostic and epidemiologic study, level III.
Damage control laparotomy emphasizes physiologic stabilization of critically injured patients and allows staged surgical management. However, there is little consensus on the optimal criteria for ...damage control laparotomy. We examined variability between centers and over time in Pennsylvania.
We analyzed the Pennsylvania Trauma Outcomes Study data between 2000 and 2018, excluding centers performing <10 laparotomies/year. Laparotomy was defined using International Classification of Diseases codes, and damage control laparotomy was defined by a code for “reopening of recent laparotomy” or a return to the operating room >4 hours from index laparotomy that was not unplanned. We examined trends over time and by center. Multivariable logistic regression models were developed to predict both damage control laparotomy and mortality, generate observed:expected ratios, and identify outliers for each. We compared risk-adjusted mortality rates to center-level damage control laparotomy rates.
In total, 18,896 laparotomies from 22 centers were analyzed; 3,549 damage control laparotomies were performed (18.8% of all laparotomies). The use of damage control laparotomy in Pennsylvania varied from 13.9% to 22.8% over time. There was wide variation in center-level use of damage control laparotomy, from 11.1% to 29.4%, despite adjustment. Factors associated with damage control laparotomy included injury severity and admission vital signs. Center identity improved the model as demonstrated by likelihood ratio test (P < .001), suggesting differences in center-level practices. There was minimal correlation between center-level damage control laparotomy use and mortality.
There is wide center-level variation in the use of damage control laparotomy among centers, despite adjustment for patient factors. Damage control laparotomy is both resource intensive and highly morbid; regional resources should be allocated to address this substantial practice variation to optimize damage control laparotomy use.
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