Dataset Information

Variation in structure and delivery of care between kidney transplant centers in the United States.

ABSTRACT: Although the United States possesses one of the most comprehensive transplant registries in the world, nationally representative data on how transplant care is structured and delivered is lacking. Therefore, we surveyed all 208 adult kidney transplant centers in the United States, excluding 37 pediatric and 58 inactive adult centers. Respondents were asked about the characteristics of their kidney transplant programs (25 items), the structure and process of care (18 items), coordination of care (10 items), and the characteristics of transplant physicians and surgeons (9 items). The survey was completed by directors of 156 transplant centers (75% response). The results demonstrated significant variation between centers in several domains. Sixty-five percent of transplant centers do not have a dedicated transplant pharmacist in outpatient care. Two thirds of transplant centers do not see the kidney transplant recipients at least monthly during the first year. Less than 30% of centers perform joint sit-down or walking rounds between nephrology and transplant surgery. There was significant variation in the structure and process of care in kidney transplantation. This implies variation in the use of resources at the transplant centers. This variation should be studied to determine best practices associated with optimal kidney allograft and patient survival.

SUBMITTER: Israni A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4149821 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Variation in structure and delivery of care between kidney transplant centers in the United States.

Israni Ajay A Dean Carl E CE Salkowski Nicholas N Li Suying S Ratner Lloyd E LE Rabb Hamid H Powe Neil R NR Kim S Joseph SJ

Transplantation 20140901 5

Although the United States possesses one of the most comprehensive transplant registries in the world, nationally representative data on how transplant care is structured and delivered is lacking. Therefore, we surveyed all 208 adult kidney transplant centers in the United States, excluding 37 pediatric and 58 inactive adult centers. Respondents were asked about the characteristics of their kidney transplant programs (25 items), the structure and process of care (18 items), coordination of care ...[more]

PMID: 24825518

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Project description:BackgroundGeographic disparities in access to deceased donor kidney transplantation persist in the United States under the Kidney Allocation System (KAS) introduced in 2014, and the effect of transplant center practices on the probability of transplantation for wait-listed patients remains unclear.MethodsTo compare probability of transplantation across centers nationally and within donation service areas (DSAs), we conducted a registry study that included all United States incident adult kidney transplant candidates wait listed in 2011 and 2015 (pre-KAS and post-KAS cohorts comprising 32,745 and 34,728 individuals, respectively). For each center, we calculated the probability of deceased donor kidney transplantation within 3 years of wait listing using competing risk regression, with living donor transplantation, death, and waiting list removal as competing events. We examined associations between center-level and DSA-level characteristics and the adjusted probability of transplant.ResultsCandidates received deceased donor kidney transplants within 3 years of wait listing more frequently post-KAS (22%) than pre-KAS (19%). Nationally, the probability of transplant varied 16-fold between centers, ranging from 4.0% to 64.2% in the post-KAS era. Within DSAs, we observed a median 2.3-fold variation between centers, with up to ten-fold and 57.4 percentage point differences. Probability of transplantation was correlated in the post-KAS cohort with center willingness to accept hard-to-place kidneys (r=0.55, P<0.001) and local organ supply (r=0.44, P<0.001).ConclusionsLarge differences in the adjusted probability of deceased donor kidney transplantation persist under KAS, even between centers working with the same local organ supply. Probability of transplantation is significantly associated with organ offer acceptance patterns at transplant centers, underscoring the need for greater understanding of how centers make decisions about organs offered to wait-listed patients and how they relate to disparities in access to transplantation.

Project description:BackgroundTo improve stroke care, the Brain Attack Coalition recommended establishing primary stroke center (PSC) and comprehensive stroke center (CSC) certification. This study aimed to compare ischemic stroke care and in-hospital outcomes between CSCs and PSCs.Methods and resultsWe analyzed patients with acute ischemic stroke who were hospitalized at stroke centers participating in Get With The Guidelines-Stroke from 2013 to 2015. Multivariable logistic regression models were generated to examine the association between stroke center certification (CSC versus PSC) and performances and outcomes. This study included 722 941 patients who were admitted to 134 CSCs and 1047 PSCs. Both CSCs and PSCs had good conformity to 7 performance measures and the summary defect-free care measure. Among emergency department admissions, CSCs had higher intravenous tPA (tissue-type plasminogen activator) and endovascular thrombectomy rates than PSCs (14.3% versus 10.3%, 4.1% versus 1.0%, respectively). Door to intravenous tPA time was shorter at CSCs (median, 52 versus 61 minutes; adjusted risk ratio, 0.92; 95% confidence interval, 0.89-0.95). More patients at CSCs had door to intravenous tPA time ≤60 minutes (79.7% versus 65.1%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-1.75). For transferred patients, CSCs and PSCs had comparable overall performance in defect-free care, except higher endovascular thrombectomy therapy rates. The overall in-hospital mortality was higher at CSCs in both emergency department admissions (4.6% versus 3.8%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.29) and transferred patients (7.7% versus 6.8%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.17; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.32). In-hospital outcomes were comparable between CSCs and PSCs in patients who received intravenous tPA or endovascular thrombectomy.ConclusionsCSCs and PSCs achieved similar overall care quality for patients with acute ischemic stroke. CSCs exceeded PSCs in timely acute reperfusion therapy for emergency department admissions, whereas PSCs had lower risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality. This information may be important for acute stroke triage and targeted quality improvement.

Project description:ImportanceDifferences among pediatric transplant centers in long-term survival of pediatric recipients of heart transplants can be mostly explained by differences in 90-day mortality.ObjectiveTo understand characteristics associated with high-performing pediatric HT centers by comparing key outcomes among centers stratified by 90-day risk-adjusted mortality.Design, setting, and participantsThis retrospective cohort study included recipients of HT aged younger than 18 years in the US. Analyses included 44 US centers during 2006 to 2015 using the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network database. A risk model for 90-day mortality was developed using data from all recipients to estimate expected 90-day mortality and 90-day standardized mortality ratio (SMR; calculated as observed mortality divided by expected mortality) for each center. Centers were stratified into tertiles by SMR and compared for key outcomes. Data were analyzed from January to March 2020.ExposuresHigh-, medium-, and low-performing centers (SMR tertile).Main outcomes and measuresPosttransplant 90-day mortality across recipient risk spectrum and incidence of and mortality following early posttransplant complications.ResultsOf 3211 children analyzed, 1016 (31.6%) were infants younger than 1 year and 1459 (45.4%) were girls. The median (interquartile range) age was 4 (0-12) years. Centers were stratified by SMR tertile, and SMR was 0 to 0.71 among 15 high-performing centers, 0.79 to 1.12 among 14 medium-performing centers, and 1.19 to 3.33 among 15 low-performing centers. High-performing centers had 90-day mortality of 0.8% (95% CI, 0.3%-1.8%) in children with low risk and expected mortality of 2.0%, 2.3% (95% CI, 0.6%-5.7%) in children with intermediate risk and expected mortality of 6.5%, and 16.7% (95% CI, 7.9%-29.3%) in children with high risk and expected mortality of 30.8%. Incidence of acute rejection during transplant hospitalization was 10.3% at high-performing centers, 10.3% at medium-performing centers, and 9.7% at low-performing centers (P for trend = .68), and incidence of post-HT kidney failure requiring dialysis was 4.1% at high-performing centers, 5.2% at medium-performing centers, and 8.5% at low-performing centers (P for trend = .001). Ninety-day mortality was significantly lower at high-performing centers among children treated for rejection (high-performing: 2.0%; medium-performing: 6.9%; low-performing: 11.7%; P for trend = .006) and among recipients receiving dialysis for post-HT kidney failure (high-performing: 17.5%; medium-performing: 39.4%; low-performing: 47.6%; P for trend < .001).Conclusions and relevanceThis cohort study found that high-performing pediatric HT centers had lower 90-day mortality across the recipient risk spectrum and lower mortality among recipients who develop rejection or post-HT kidney failure during transplant hospitalization. These findings suggest presence of superior processes and systems of care at high-performing pediatric HT centers.

Dataset Information

Variation in structure and delivery of care between kidney transplant centers in the United States.

Publications

Variation in structure and delivery of care between kidney transplant centers in the United States.

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