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Background: Obesity is associated with poor surgical outcomes and disparity in access-to-care. There is a lack of quality data on the effect of body mass index (BMI) on perioperative outcomes. Accordingly, we sought to determine the procedure specific, independent-effect of BMI on 30-day perioperative outcomes in patients undergoing major surgery., Methods: Participants included individuals undergoing one of 16 major surgery (cardiovascular, orthopedic, oncologic; n = 141,802) recorded in the ACS-NSQIP (2005-2011). Outcomes evaluated included complications, blood transfusion, length-of-stay (LOS), re-intervention, readmission, and perioperative mortality. Multivariable-regression models assessed the independent-effect of BMI on outcomes., Results: Nearly, 74 % of patients had a BMI disturbance; the majority being overweight (35.3 %) or obese (29.8 %). Morbidly obese patients constituted a small but significant proportion of the patients (5.7 %; n = 8067). In adjusted-analyses, morbidly obese patients had significantly increased odds of wound complications in 15 of the examined procedures, of renal complications after 6-procedures, of thromboembolism after 5-procedures, of pulmonary, septic and UTI complications after 2-procedures, and of cardiovascular complications after CABG. Conversely, obese/overweight patients, except for increased odds of wound complications after select procedures, had significantly decreased odds of perioperative mortality, prolonged-LOS and blood transfusion relative to normal BMI patients after 4, 8, and 9 of the examined procedures., Conclusions: The prevalence of BMI derangements in surgical patients is high. The effect of BMI on outcomes is procedure specific. Patients with BMI between 18.5 and 40-kg/m(2) at time of surgery fare equally well with regard to complications and mortality. However, morbidly obese patients are at-risk for postsurgical complications and targeted preoperative-optimization may improve outcomes and attenuate disparity in access-to-care.

Objective: To investigate whether the positive impact of a program of physiotherapy and health education on the outcome of obstetric fistula surgery was maintained after 1 year., Methods: The present follow-up analysis included 108 women who underwent obstetric fistula surgery at a center in Tanguiéta, Benin, between March 2011 and March 2012, and who had received a structured program of physiotherapy and health education before and after surgery. After discharge, follow-up visits were made 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. The Ditrovie scale was used to measure quality of life (QoL), and continence and performance of the physiotherapy exercises were assessed., Results: Mean QoL score was 36.9 (range 16.0-49.0) before surgery. Overall, 84 women were followed up for 1 year. Their mean QoL score had improved significantly to 18.5 (range 10.0-47.0; P<0.001). Between hospital discharge and 1 year, the number of women with a closed fistula increased from 48 (57.1%) to 53 (63.1%) and the number with urinary stress incontinence reduced from 11 (13.1%) to 9 (10.7%)., Conclusion: Results obtained after surgery and physiotherapy were maintained at 1 year, and QoL had improved significantly. When women are encouraged to continue exercises, improvements are also seen in residual stress incontinence., (Copyright © 2014 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Surgery is the only successful treatment for most obstetric fistulae. The present study measured the impact of a structured program of pre- and postoperative physiotherapy and health education on the outcome of surgery for obstetric fistula., Methods: We compared the postoperative outcomes of 2 consecutive groups of women with obstetric fistulae who were recruited and followed-up by 2 local nongovernmental organizations at a hospital in Tanguiéta, Benin. The first group of women (n=99) had fistula repair using standardized techniques. The second group (n=112) had a standardized surgical approach plus a structured program of pre- and postoperative health education and physiotherapy., Results: The program had a significant positive impact on recovery in general and on urinary incontinence in particular. After physiotherapy, the odds of recovery were 2.72 times greater for women in the physiotherapy group than for control patients, and the probability of postoperative stress incontinence was considerably higher for patients in the control group than for those in the physiotherapy group (P<0.001)., Conclusion: A structured program of health education and physiotherapy by experienced nurses and physiotherapists improves the likelihood of a successful outcome after surgical repair of obstetric fistula., (© 2013.)

Background: The authors explored the effect of Leapfrog volume thresholds (LVTs) on 5 short-term radical prostatectomy (RP) outcomes., Methods: Within the Health Care Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), the authors focused on RPs performed within the 7 most contemporary years (2001-2007). They tested rates of in-hospital mortality, intraoperative complications, postoperative complications, and blood transfusions as well as the mean length of stay (LOS), stratified according to the number of LVTs that were met. Multivariable regression analyses were adjusted further for potential confounders., Results: Overall, 36.2%, 17.3%, 14.9%, 15.7%, 12.9%, and 3% of RPs were performed at institutions that reached 0 LVT, 1 LVT, 2 LVTs, 3 LVTs, 4 LVTs, and 5 LVTs, respectively. Relative to patients who underwent RP at institutions that reached 0 LVTs, patients who underwent RP at institutions that reached 5 LVTs had fewer comorbidities, were younger, were more likely to hold private insurance, and were more likely to undergo concomitant pelvic lymphadenectomy (all P < .001). In multivariable analyses adjusted for hospital volume (HV), age, race, year of surgery, Charlson Comorbidity Index, hospital region and location, pelvic lymphadenectomy, and insurance status, LVT status was related inversely to LOS and the likelihood of receiving blood transfusions (both P < .001)., Conclusions: The current results indicated that LVTs can provide a highly accurate prediction of the probability of 2 important, detrimental, short-term outcomes after RP, even after accounting for HV. The benefit at institutions that meet LVTs may exceed that at other institutions when short-term RP outcomes are considered. This observation should be taken into consideration when treatment decisions are made, especially because most RPs were performed at institutions that did not meet any LVTs., (Copyright © 2012 American Cancer Society.)

Background: Socioeconomic status represents an established barrier to health care access. Age, sex, and race may also play a role. The authors examined whether these affect the access to high-volume hospitals for uro-oncologic procedures in the United States., Methods: Within the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), the authors focused on radical prostatectomy (RP), radical cystectomy, and nephrectomy (Nx) performed within the 5 most contemporary years (2003-2007). Logistic regression models were used to estimate the impact of the primary predictors on the likelihood of receiving care at a high-volume hospital., Results: Between 2003 and 2007, 62,165 RP, 6557 radical cystectomy, and 28,062 Nx cases were recorded within the NIS. Patient age (P = .001), year of surgery (P = .001), Charlson Comorbidity Index (P ≤ .025), median Zip Code income (highest vs lowest quartile, P = .001), and insurance status (private vs Medicare, P = .008) were independent predictors of being treated at high-volume institutions. Moreover, black race was an independent predictor of decreased utilization of high-volume institutions for radical cystectomy (P = .012), and female sex was an independent predictor of decreased utilization of high-volume institutions for Nx (P = .016)., Conclusions: On average, old, sick, poor, and Medicare patients were less likely to be treated at high-volume hospitals for uro-oncologic surgery. Similarly, black patients were less likely to have a radical cystectomy at a high-volume hospital, and female patients were less likely to have an Nx at a high-volume hospital. Selective referral of individuals who are less likely to receive care at such institutions may represent a health care priority intended to optimize outcomes across all population strata., (Copyright © 2012 American Cancer Society.)

Background: Race represents an established barrier to health care access in the United States and elsewhere. We examined whether race affects the utilization rate of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy (MIRP) in a population-based sample of individuals from the United States., Methods: Within the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), we focused on patients in whom MIRP and open radical prostatectomy (ORP) were performed between 2001 and 2007. We assessed the proportions and temporal trends in race distributions between MIRP and ORP. Multivariable logistic regression analyses further adjusted for age, year of surgery, baseline Charlson Comorbidity Index, annual hospital caseload tertiles, hospital region, insurance status, and median zip code income., Results: Of 65,148 radical prostatectomies, 3581 (5.5%) were MIRPs. African Americans accounted for 11.4% of patients versus 78.8% for Caucasians versus 9.9% for others. Between 2001 and 2007, the annual proportions of Caucasian patients treated with MIRP were 2.2%, 0.9%, 2.6%, 7.2%, 4.7%, 9.3%, and 11.6%, respectively (chi-square trend p<0.001). For the same years in African American patients, the proportions were 0.8, 0.3, 1.4, 4.4, 3.5, 9.0 and 8.4% (chi-square trend P < .001). In multivariable analyses relative to Caucasian patients, African American patients were 14% less likely to undergo MIRP (P = .01). After period stratification between years 2001-2005 versus 2006-2007, African Americans were 22% less likely to undergo a MIRP in the early period (P = .007) versus 11% less likely to have a MIRP in the contemporary period (P = .1)., Conclusions: The racial discrepancies in MIRP utilization rates are gradually improving., (Copyright © 2011 American Cancer Society.)

Background: Private insurance status may favorably affect various health outcomes including those associated with radical prostatectomy (RP). We explored the effect of insurance status on 5 short-term RP outcomes., Methods: Within the Health Care Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) we focused on RPs performed within the 5 most contemporary years (2003-2007). We tested the rates of blood transfusions, extended length of stay, intraoperative and postoperative complications, as well as in-hospital mortality, stratified according to insurance status. Multivariable logistic regression analyses, fitted with general estimation equations for clustering among hospitals, adjusted for confounding factors., Results: Overall, 61,167 RPs were identified. Of those, private insurance accounted for the majority of cases (n = 41,312, 67.5%), followed by Medicare (n = 18,759, 30.7%) and Medicaid (n = 1096, 1.8%). Insurance status other than private was associated with higher rates of blood transfusions (P < .001), higher overall postoperative complication rates (P < .001), higher rates of hospital stay above the median (P < .001), as well as higher in-hospital mortality (P = .01). In multivariable analyses, compared with patients with private insurance, Medicaid patients had higher rates of blood transfusion (odds ratio [OR] = 1.45, P < .001), length of stay beyond the median (OR = 1.61, P < .001) postoperative complications (OR= 1.24, P = .02), and in-hospital mortality (OR = 4.91, = .01). Similarly, Medicare patients had higher rates of blood transfusions (OR = 1.21, P < .001), overall postoperative complications (OR = 1.17, P×< .001) and length of stay beyond the median (OR = 1.25, P < .001)., Conclusions: Even after adjusting for confounding factors, patients with private insurance have better outcomes than their counterparts with nonprivate insurance., (Copyright © 2011 American Cancer Society.)