Impact of surgeon and anaesthesiologist sex on patient outcomes after cardiac surgery: a population-based study.
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ABSTRACT: Background
Effective teamwork between anaesthesiologists and surgeons is essential for optimising patient safety in the cardiac operating room. While many factors may influence the relationship between these two physicians, the role of sex and gender have yet to be investigated.Objectives
We sought to determine the association between cardiac physician team sex discordance and patient outcomes.Design
We performed a population-based, retrospective cohort study.Participants and setting
Adult patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and/or aortic, mitral or tricuspid valve surgery between 2008 and 2018 in Ontario, Canada.Primary and secondary outcome measures
The primary outcome was all-cause 30-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included major adverse cardiovascular events at 30 days and hospital and intensive care unit lengths of stay (LOS). Mixed effects logistic regression was used for categorical outcomes and Poisson regression for continuous outcomes.Results
79 862 patients underwent cardiac surgery by 98 surgeons (11.2% female) and 279 anaesthesiologists (23.3% female); 19 893 (24.9%) were treated by sex-discordant physician teams. Physician sex discordance was not associated with overall patient mortality or LOS; however, patients who underwent isolated CABG experienced longer hospital LOS when treated by an all-male physician team as compared with an all-female team (adjusted OR=1.07; p=0.049). When examining the impact of individual physician sex, the length of hospital stay was longer when isolated CABG procedures were attended by a male surgeon (OR=1.10; p=0.004) or anaesthesiologist (OR=1.02; p=0.01).Conclusions
Patient mortality and length of stay after cardiac surgery may vary by sex concordance of the attending surgeon-anaesthesiologist team. Further research is needed to examine the underlying mechanisms of these observed relationships.
SUBMITTER: Sun LY
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8388286 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Background Little attention has been paid to the importance of sex in the long-term prognosis of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Methods and Results We conducted a retrospective cohort study of Ontario residents, aged ?40 years, who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and/or aortic, mitral, or tricuspid valve surgery between October 1, 2008, and December 31, 2016. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. The mortality rate in each surgical group was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The risk of death was assessed using multivariable Cox proportional hazard models. Sex-specific mortality risk factors were identified using multiplicative interaction terms. A total of 72 824 patients were included in the study (25% women). The median follow-up period was 5 (interquartile range, 3-7) years. The long-term age-standardized mortality rate was lowest in patients who underwent isolated CABG and highest among those who underwent combined CABG/multiple valve surgery. Women had significantly higher age-standardized mortality rate than men after CABG and combined CABG/mitral valve surgery. Men had lower rates of long-term mortality than women after isolated mitral valve repair, whereas women had lower rates of long-term mortality than men after isolated mitral valve replacement. We observed a statistically significant association between female sex and long-term mortality after adjustment for key risk factors. Conclusions Female sex was associated with long-term mortality after cardiac surgery. Perioperative optimization and long-term follow-up should be tailored to younger women with a history of myocardial infarction and percutaneous coronary intervention and older men with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and depression.
| S-EPMC6755832 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPatients may use two information sources about a health care provider's quality: online physician reviews, which are written by patients to reflect their subjective experience, and report cards, which are based on objective health outcomes.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the impact of online ratings on patient choice of cardiac surgeon compared to that of report cards.MethodsWe obtained ratings from a leading physician review platform, Vitals; report card scores from Pennsylvania Cardiac Surgery Reports; and information about patients' choices of surgeons from inpatient records on coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgeries done in Pennsylvania from 2008 to 2017. We scraped all reviews posted on Vitals for surgeons who performed CABG surgeries in Pennsylvania during our study period. We linked the average overall rating and the most recent report card score at the time of a patient's surgery to the patient's record based on the surgeon's name, focusing on fee-for-service patients to avoid impacts of insurance networks on patient choices. We used random coefficient logit models with surgeon fixed effects to examine the impact of receiving a high online rating and a high report card score on patient choice of surgeon for CABG surgeries.ResultsWe found that a high online rating had positive and significant effects on patient utility, with limited variation in preferences across individuals, while the impact of a high report card score on patient choice was trivial and insignificant. About 70.13% of patients considered no information on Vitals better than a low rating; the corresponding figure was 26.66% for report card scores. The findings were robust to alternative choice set definitions and were not explained by surgeon attrition, referral effect, or admission status. Our results also show that the interaction effect of rating information and a time trend was positive and significant for online ratings, but small and insignificant for report cards.ConclusionsA patient's choice of surgeon is affected by both types of rating information; however, over the past decade, online ratings have become more influential, while the effect of report cards has remained trivial. Our findings call for information provision strategies that incorporate the advantages of both online ratings and report cards.
| S-EPMC8587194 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportanceEvidence suggests that the quality of some aspects of care provided by physicians may decrease during their late career stage. However, to our knowledge, data regarding the association of advancing surgeon career phase with cataract surgical outcomes have been lacking.ObjectiveTo investigate whether an increase in cataract surgical adverse events occurs during later surgeon career stages.Design, setting, and participantsThis population-based study of 499 650 cataract operations performed in Ontario, Canada, between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2013, investigated the association between late surgeon career stage and the risk of surgical adverse events. Linked health care databases were used to study cataract surgical complications while controlling for patient-, surgeon-, and institution-level covariates. All ophthalmologists who performed cataract surgery in Ontario within the study period were included in the analysis.ExposuresIsolated cataract surgery performed by surgeons at early, mid, and late career stages.Main outcomes and measuresFour serious adverse events were evaluated: dropped lens fragments, posterior capsule rupture, suspected endophthalmitis, and retinal detachment.ResultsOf 416 502 participants, 244 670 (58.7%) were women, 90 429 (21.7%) were age 66 to 70 years, 111 530 (26.8%) were age 71 to 75 years, 90 809 (21.8%) were age 76 to 80 years, and 123 734 (29.7%) were 81 years or older. Late-career surgeons performed 143 108 of 499 650 cataract operations (28.6%) during the study period. Late surgeon career stage was not associated with an increased overall risk of surgical adverse events (odds ratio [OR] vs midcareer, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.85-1.32). In a sensitivity analysis with surgeon volume removed from the model, late career stage was still not associated with overall adverse surgical events (OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.88-1.38). Among individual complications, late surgeon career stage was associated with an increased risk of dropped lens fragment (OR, 2.30; 95% CI, 1.50-3.54) and suspected endophthalmitis (OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.01-1.98). These corresponded with small absolute risk differences of 0.11% (95% CI, 0.085%-0.130%) and 0.045% (95% CI, 0.028%-0.063%) for dropped lens fragment and suspected endophthalmitis, respectively.Conclusions and relevanceThese findings suggest that later-career surgeons are performing a substantial proportion of cataract operations with overall low surgical adverse event rates. Future studies might extend evaluations to the frequency of secondary surgical interventions as additional measures of surgical care quality.
| S-EPMC6439785 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportancePostoperative complications remain common after surgery, but little is known about the extent of variation in operative technical skill and whether variation is associated with patient outcomes.ObjectivesTo examine the (1) variation in technical skill scores of practicing surgeons, (2) association between technical skills and patient outcomes, and (3) amount of variation in patient outcomes explained by a surgeon's technical skill.Design, setting, and participantsIn this quality improvement study, 17 practicing surgeons submitted a video of a laparoscopic right hemicolectomy that was then rated by at least 10 blinded peer surgeons and 2 expert raters. The association between surgeon technical skill scores and risk-adjusted outcomes was examined using data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. The association between technical skill scores and outcomes was examined for colorectal procedures and noncolorectal procedures (ie, assessed on whether technical skills demonstrated during colectomy were associated with patient outcomes across other cases). In addition, the proportion of patient outcomes explained by technical skill scores was examined using robust regression techniques. The study was conducted from September 23, 2016, to February 10, 2018; data analysis was performed from November 2018 to January 2019.ExposuresColorectal and noncolorectal procedures.Main outcomes and measuresAny complication, mortality, unplanned hospital readmission, unplanned reoperation related to principal procedure, surgical site infection, and death or serious morbidity.ResultsOf the 17 surgeons included in the study, 13 were men (76%). The participants had a range from 1 to 28 years in surgical practice (median, 11 years). Based on 10 or more reviewers per video and with a maximum quality score of 5, overall technical skill scores ranged from 2.8 to 4.6. From 2014 to 2016, study participants performed a total of 3063 procedures (1120 colectomies). Higher technical skill scores were significantly associated with lower rates of any complication (15.5% vs 20.6%, P = .03; Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient r = -0.54, P = .03), unplanned reoperation (4.7% vs 7.2%, P = .02; r = -0.60, P = .01), and a composite measure of death or serious morbidity (15.9% vs 21.4%, P = .02; r = -0.60, P = .01) following colectomy. Similar associations were found between colectomy technical skill scores and patient outcomes for all types of procedures performed by a surgeon. Overall, technical skill scores appeared to account for 25.8% of the variation in postcolectomy complication rates and 27.5% of the variation when including noncolectomy complication rates.Conclusions and relevanceThe findings of this study suggest that there is wide variation in technical skill among practicing surgeons, accounting for more than 25% of the variation in patient outcomes. Higher colectomy technical skill scores appear to be associated with lower complication rates for colectomy and for all other procedures performed by a surgeon. Efforts to improve surgeon technical skills may result in better patient outcomes.
| S-EPMC7439214 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Thirty-one states approved Medicaid expansion after implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of Medicaid expansion on cardiac surgery volume and outcomes comparing one state that expanded to one that did not. METHODS:Data from the Virginia (nonexpansion state) Cardiac Services Quality Initiative and the Michigan (expanded Medicaid, April 2014) Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons Quality Collaborative were analyzed to identify uninsured and Medicaid patients undergoing coronary bypass graft or valve operations, or both. Demographics, operative details, predicted risk scores, and morbidity and mortality rates, stratified by state and compared across era (preexpansion: 18 months before vs postexpansion: 18 months after), were analyzed. RESULTS:In Virginia, there were no differences in volume between eras, whereas in Michigan, there was a significant increase in Medicaid volume (54.4% [558 of 1,026] vs 84.1% [954 of 1,135], p < 0.001) and a corresponding decrease in uninsured volume. In Virginia Medicaid patients, there were no differences in predicted risk of morbidity or mortality or postoperative major morbidities. In Michigan Medicaid patients, a significant decrease in predicted risk of morbidity or mortality (11.9% [8.1% to 20.0%] vs 11.1% [7.7% to 17.9%], p = 0.02) and morbidities (18.3% [102 of 558] vs 13.2% [126 of 954], p = 0.008) was identified. Postexpansion was associated with a decreased risk-adjusted rate of major morbidity (odds ratio, 0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.51 to 0.91; p = 0.01) in Michigan Medicaid patients. CONCLUSIONS:Medicaid expansion was associated with fewer uninsured cardiac surgery patients and improved predicted risk scores and morbidity rates. In addition to improving health care financing, Medicaid expansion may positively affect patient care and outcomes.
| S-EPMC5610068 | biostudies-other
Project description:A descriptive review was conducted to evaluate the evidence of cognitive patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) following cardiac surgery. The search of electronic databases resulted in 400 unique manuscripts. Nine studies met the criteria to be part of the final review. Results of the review suggest that there are few validated PROMs that assess cognitive function in the cardiac surgical population. Furthermore, PROMs have not been used to assess overall cognitive function following cardiac surgery within the past decade. However, one domain of cognitive function-memory-was described, with up to half of patients reporting a decline postoperatively. Perceived changes in cognitive function may impact health-related quality of life and a patient's overall view of the success of their surgery. Early identification of cognitive changes measured with PROMs may encourage earlier intervention and improve patient-centered care. In clinical practice, nurses may be in the best position to administer PROMs preoperatively and postoperatively.
| S-EPMC8205391 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo compare perinatal outcomes in births of women with versus without a history of bariatric surgery.DesignPopulation based matched cohort study.SettingSwedish national health service.Participants1,742,702 singleton births identified in the Swedish medical birth register between 1992 and 2009. For each birth to a mother with a history of bariatric surgery (n=2562), up to five control births were matched by maternal age, parity, early pregnancy body mass index, early pregnancy smoking status, educational level, and year of delivery. Secondary control cohorts, including women eligible for bariatric surgery (body mass index ? 35 or ? 40), were matched for the same factors except body mass index. History of maternal bariatric surgery was ascertained through the Swedish national patient register from 1980 to 2009.Main outcome measuresPreterm birth (<37 weeks), small for gestational age birth, large for gestational age birth, stillbirth (? 28 weeks), and neonatal death (0-27 days).ResultsPost-surgery births were more often preterm than in matched controls (9.7% (243/2511) v 6.1% (750/12,379); odds ratio 1.7, 95% confidence interval 1.4 to 2.0; P<0.001). Body mass index seemed to be an effect modifier (P=0.01), and the increased risk of preterm birth was only observed in women with a body mass index <35. A history of bariatric surgery was associated with increased risks of both spontaneous (5.2% (130/2511) v 3.6% (441/12,379); odds ratio 1.5, 1.2 to 1.9; P<0.001) and medically indicated preterm birth (4.5% (113/2511) v 2.5% (309/12,379); odds ratio 1.8, 1.4 to 2.3; P<0.001). A history of bariatric surgery was also associated with an increased risk of a small for gestational age birth (5.2% (131/2507) v 3.0% (369/12,338); odds ratio 2.0, 1.5 to 2.5; P<0.001) and lower risk of a large for gestational age birth (4.2% (105/2507) v 7.3% (895/12,338); odds ratio 0.6, 0.4 to 0.7; P<0.001). No differences were detected for stillbirth or neonatal death. The increased risks for preterm and small for gestational age birth, as well as the decreased risk for large for gestational age birth, remained when post-surgery births were compared with births of women eligible for bariatric surgery.ConclusionWomen with a history of bariatric surgery were at increased risk of preterm and small for gestational age births and should be regarded as a risk group during pregnancy.
| S-EPMC3898199 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo determine the association of non-invasive cardiac stress testing before elective intermediate to high risk non-cardiac surgery with survival and hospital stay.DesignPopulation based retrospective cohort study.SettingAcute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada, between 1 April 1994 and 31 March 2004.ParticipantsPatients aged 40 years or older who underwent specific elective intermediate to high risk non-cardiac surgical procedures.InterventionsNon-invasive cardiac stress testing performed within six months before surgery.Main outcome measuresPostoperative one year survival and length of stay in hospital.ResultsOf the 271 082 patients in the entire cohort, 23 991 (8.9%) underwent stress testing. After propensity score methods were used to reduce important differences between patients who did or did not undergo preoperative stress testing and assemble a matched cohort (n=46 120), testing was associated with improved one year survival (hazard ratio (HR) 0.92, 95% CI 0.86 to 0.99; P=0.03) and reduced mean hospital stay (difference -0.24 days, 95% CI -0.07 to -0.43; P<0.001). In an analysis of subgroups defined by Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI) class, testing was associated with harm in low risk patients (RCRI 0 points: HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.74), but with benefit in patients who were at intermediate risk (RCRI 1-2 points: 0.92, 95% CI 0.85 to 0.99) or high risk (RCRI 3-6 points: 0.80, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.97).ConclusionsPreoperative non-invasive cardiac stress testing is associated with improved one year survival and length of hospital stay in patients undergoing elective intermediate to high risk non-cardiac surgery. These benefits principally apply to patients with risk factors for perioperative cardiac complications.
| S-EPMC2813428 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The objective of this investigation was to evaluate endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) outcomes for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) between medical centers to determine if differences in quality-of-life outcomes were detectable. In addition, we sought to identify significant, independent cofactors toward the development of an ESS-specific risk-adjustment model so that ESS outcomes may be appropriately compared between institutions and healthcare providers.Prospective, multicenter, observational cohort.Study participants electing ESS for CRS were enrolled and randomly selected in equal numbers from three academic clinical practices in North America between April 2011 and May 2015. The magnitude of average 6-month postoperative improvement in patient-related outcome measures (PROMs) was compared between enrollment sites using multivariate linear regression modeling.A total of 228 participants met inclusion criteria and were included for final analyses (n = 76 per site). The prevalence of septal deviation/septoplasty and oral corticosteroid-dependent conditions was significantly different between enrollment sites (P ? 0.004). Each enrollment site generated significant within-subject improvement across all PROMs after ESS (P < 0.001); however, average unadjusted magnitudes of improvement were significantly different between sites for the primary outcome measure. After controlling for baseline PROMs, septal deviation, steroid-dependent conditions, and medication use variables, enrollment site was no longer associated with significant outcome differences (P = 0.535).Comparison of surgeon outcomes of ESS is feasible and must take into account a number of baseline patient characteristics. Further studies will be critical toward developing an ESS-specific risk-adjustment model and enabling a robust comparison of surgeon outcomes.2c. Laryngoscope, 127:14-21, 2017.
| S-EPMC5156587 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionNumbers of thyroidectomies and awareness of postoperative quality measures have both increased. Potential sex-specific variations in clinical outcomes of patients undergoing thyroidectomy are controversial.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate sex-specific differences in outcomes following thyroidectomy.MethodsThis is a population-based cohort study of all adult patients undergoing either hemi- or total thyroidectomy in Switzerland from 2011 to 2015. The primary outcome was all-cause 30-day readmission rate. The main secondary outcomes were intensive care unit (ICU) admission, surgical re-intervention, in-hospital mortality, length of hospital stay (LOS), postoperative calcium disorder, vocal cord paresis, and hematoma.ResultsOf 16,776 patients undergoing thyroidectomy, the majority of patients undergoing thyroidectomy were female (79%), with a median age of 52 (IQR 42-64) years. Within 30 days after the surgery, male patients had significantly higher rates of hospital readmission (adjusted risk ratio [RR] 1.38; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.11-1.72, p = 0.008) and higher risks for postoperative ICU admission (RR 1.25; 95% CI, 1.09-1.44, p = 0.003) than female patients. There were no significant differences among sexes in the LOS, rates of surgical re-interventions, or in-hospital mortality. While postoperative calcium disorders due to hypoparathyroidism were less prevalent among male patients (RR 0.63; 95% CI, 0.54-0.72, p < 0.001), a 2-fold higher incidence rate of postoperative hematoma was observed (RR 1.93, 95% CI, 1.51-2.46, p < 0.001).ConclusionsMale patients undergoing thyroidectomy have higher 30-day hospital readmission and ICU admission rates. Following surgery, male patients revealed higher rates of neck hematoma, while hypocalcemia was more frequent among female patients.
| S-EPMC8647072 | biostudies-literature