BOSTON – Rates of (ACS NSQIP), a recent analysis shows.
Andrew Boswer/MDedge News
Dr. Ahmed M. Al-Mazrou
Reoperation rates have also decreased, while early-discharge rates have steadily increased, according to results of the analysis, presented at the annual clinical congress of the American College of Surgeons.
The findings underline the value of such ACS-led initiatives in improving patient care and surgical quality, said Ahmed M. Al-Mazrou, MD, a general surgery resident at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York.
“Over its first decade of introduction, ACS NSQIP was associated with improved outcomes after colorectal surgery, and also introduction of colectomy-targeted data was also associated with improved outcomes,” Dr. Al-Mazrou said in his presentation describing the results.
Prior to this study, the question of whether the introduction of ACS NSQIP has improved outcomes over time had not been well characterized, according to Dr. Al-Mazrou and his colleagues.
To evaluate the impact, the investigators looked at more than 310,000 nonemergency colorectal resections in ACS NSQIP, of which about 58% were done after the introduction of colectomy-targeted variables in 2013.
They found that, over time, incidence of most complications fell, including surgical site infections, urinary tract infections, sepsis and septic shock, and venous thromboembolism, while rates of early discharge increased.
For example, surgical site infections decreased from 13.7% to 4.7% over the 10-year period, while the number of patients discharged within 5 days or fewer increased from about 8% to 47%.
Introduction of colectomy-targeted data was associated with fewer surgical site infections (odds ratio, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.77-0.80), multivariable analysis showed. Likewise, there were lower rates of systemic infections (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.91-0.98) and urinary tract infections (OR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.67-0.74) after introduction of the data.
Rates of reoperation also decreased (OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.85-0.91) while early-discharge rates increased (OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.57-1.63) after colectomy data was introduced, the multivariable analysis further showed.
Principal investigator P. Ravi Kiran, MD, FACS, professor of surgery at Columbia University and chief of the medical center’s division of colorectal surgery, said the improved outcomes were attributable to a few different factors.
First, the NSQIP national data allows participants to benchmark with peer hospitals and find areas for improvement, Dr. Kiran said in an ACS press release.
That benchmarking encourages participating centers to follow evidence-based recommendations, including ACS guidelines for preventing surgical site infections, he added.
The introduction of procedure-targeted datasets in NSQIP was done in response to user requests for more clinically detailed information, according to Clifford Y. Ko, MD, FACS, director of the ACS division of research and optimal patient care.
While the NSQIP data are important in improving surgical outcomes, credit also goes to the organizations that are leading the quality improvement efforts by effectively using the data, Dr. Ko said in the press release.
Dr. Ko was not involved in the study. Dr. Al-Mazrou and Dr. Kiran reported no disclosures relevant to the study.
SOURCE: Al-Mazrou AM et al. ACS Clinical Congress. Abstract SF330.