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Introduction: We have recently shown that readmission after EGS procedures carries a 4-fold higher mortality rate when compared to those not readmitted. Understanding factors associated with death after readmission is paramount to improving outcomes for EGS patients. We aimed to identify risk factors contributing to failure-to-rescue (FTR) during readmission after EGS. We hypothesized that most post-readmission deaths in EGS are attributable to FTR. Methods: A retrospective cohort study using the NSQIP database 2013-2019 was performed. Patients who underwent 1 of 9 urgent/emergent surgical procedures representing 80% of EGS burden of disease, who were readmitted within 30 days post-procedure were identified. The procedures were classified as low- and high-risk. Patient characteristics analyzed included age, sex, BMI, ASA score comorbidities, postoperative complications, frailty, and FTR. The population was assessed for risk factors associated with mortality and FTR by uni- and multivariate logistic regression. Results: Of 312,862 EGS cases, 16,306 required readmission. Of those, 10,748 (3.4%) developed a postoperative complication. Overall mortality after readmission was 2.4%, with 90.6% of deaths attributable to FTR. Frailty, high-risk procedures, pulmonary complications, AKI, sepsis, and the need for reoperation increased the risk of FTR. Discussion: Death after a complication is common in EGS readmissions. The impact of FTR could be minimized with the implementation of measures to allow early identification and intervention or prevention of infectious, respiratory, and renal complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The association between procedural volume and esophagectomy outcomes has been established, but the relationship between higher levels of care and esophagectomy outcomes has not been explored. This study aims to investigate whether hospital participation in the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) esophagectomy‐targeted registry is associated with superior outcomes. Methods: The 2016–2020 ACS NSQIP standard and esophagectomy‐targeted registries were queried. Esophagectomy outcomes were analyzed overall and stratified by esophagectomy type (Ivor Lewis vs. transhiatal vs. 3‐field McKeown). Results: A total of 2181 and 5449 esophagectomy cases were identified in the standard and targeted databases (68% Ivor Lewis esophagectomy). The median age was 65 years and 80% were male. Preoperative characteristics were largely comparable. On univariate analysis, targeted hospitals were associated with lower mortality (2% vs. 4%, p < 0.01) and failure‐to‐rescue rates (11% vs. 17%, p < 0.01), higher likelihood of an optimal outcome (62% vs. 58%, p = 0.01), and shorter hospital stay (median 9 vs. 10 days, p < 0.01). On multivariable analysis, Ivor Lewis esophagectomy at targeted centers was associated with reduced odds of mortality [odds ratio (OR) 0.57 and 95% confidence intervals 0.35–0.90] and failure‐to‐rescue [OR 0.54 (0.33–0.90)] with no difference in serious morbidity or optimal outcome. There was no statistically significant difference in odds of mortality or failure to rescue in targeted versus standard centers when performing transhiatal or McKeown esophagectomy. Conclusions: Esophagectomy performed at hospitals participating in the targeted ACS NSQIP is associated with roughly half the risk of mortality compared to the standard registry. The factors underlying this relationship may be valuable in quality improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare hospital surgical performance in older and younger patients. Background: In-hospital mortality after surgical procedures varies widely among hospitals. Prior studies suggest that failure-to-rescue rates drive this variation for older adults, but the generalizability of these findings to younger patients remains unknown. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients =18 years undergoing one of 10 common and complex general surgery operations in 16 states using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Projects State Inpatient Databases (2016-2018). Patients were split into 2 populations: patients with Medicare =65 (older adult) and non-Medicare <65 (younger adult). Hospitals were sorted into quintiles using riskadjusted in-hospital mortality rates for each age population. Correlations between hospitals in each mortality quintile across age populations were calculated. Complication and failure-to-rescue rates were compared across the highest and lowest mortality quintiles in each age population. Results: We identified 579,582 patients treated in 732 hospitals. The mortality rate was 3.6% among older adults and 0.7% among younger adults. Among older adults, high-relative to low-mortality hospitals had similar complication rates (32.0% vs 29.8%; P = 0.059) and significantly higher failure-to-rescue rates (16.0% vs 4.0%; P < 0.001). Among younger adults, high-relative to lowmortality hospitals had higher complications (15.4% vs 12.1%; P < 0.001) and failure-to-rescue rates (8.3% vs 0.7%; P < 0.001). The correlation between observed-to-expectedmortality ratios in each age group was 0.385 (P < 0.001). Conclusions: High surgical mortality rates in younger patients may be driven by both complication and failure-to-rescue rates. There is little overlap between low-mortality hospitals in the older and younger adult populations. Future work must delve into the root causes of this age-based difference in hospital-level surgical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aim We explored institutional factors in Japan associated with lower operative mortality and failure‐to‐rescue (FTR) rates for eight major gastrointestinal procedures. Methods A 22‐item online questionnaire was sent to 2119 institutional departments (IDs) to examine the association between institutional factors and operative mortality and FTR rates. IDs were classified according to the number of annual surgeries, board certification status, and locality. In addition, the top 20% and bottom 20% of IDs were identified based on FTR rates and matched with the results of the questionnaire survey. Factors associated with operative mortality were selected by multivariate analysis. Results Of the 1083 IDs that responded to the questionnaire, 568 (213 382 patients) were included in the analysis. Operative morbidity, operative mortality, and FTR rates in the top 20% and bottom 20% of IDs were 13.1% and 8.4% (p

Aim: We explored institutional factors in Japan associated with lower operative mortality and failure‐to‐rescue (FTR) rates for eight major gastrointestinal procedures. Methods: A 22‐item online questionnaire was sent to 2119 institutional departments (IDs) to examine the association between institutional factors and operative mortality and FTR rates. IDs were classified according to the number of annual surgeries, board certification status, and locality. In addition, the top 20% and bottom 20% of IDs were identified based on FTR rates and matched with the results of the questionnaire survey. Factors associated with operative mortality were selected by multivariate analysis. Results: Of the 1083 IDs that responded to the questionnaire, 568 (213 382 patients) were included in the analysis. Operative morbidity, operative mortality, and FTR rates in the top 20% and bottom 20% of IDs were 13.1% and 8.4% (p < 0.001), 0.52% and 4.3% (p < 0.001), and 4.0% and 51.2% (p < 0.001), respectively. Based on the patients' background characteristics, the top 20% of IDs handled more advanced cases. No significant difference in locality was seen between better or worse hospital FTR rates, but fewer esophagectomies, hepatectomies, and pancreatoduodenectomies were performed in depopulated areas. Six items were found to be associated with operative mortality by multivariate logistic analysis. Only 50 (8.8%) IDs met all five factors related to better FTR rates. Conclusions: The present findings indicate that several hospital factors surrounding surgical treatment, characterized by abundant human resources, are closely related to better postoperative recovery from severe complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study evaluated interhospital variability and determinants of failure-to-rescue for patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement. Methods: An observational study was conducted among 28,842 patients undergoing aortic valve replacement with or without coronary artery bypass grafting between July 2011 and June 2017 across 90 hospitals participating in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database. Postoperative complications were defined as major (stroke, renal failure, reoperation, prolonged ventilation, sternal infection) and overall (major plus 14 other morbidities). Hospital terciles of observed to expected (O/E) mortality were compared on crude rates of major and overall complications, operative mortality, and failure to rescue (among major and overall complications). The correlation between hospital observed and expected failure-to-rescue rates was assessed. Results: Median Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database predicted mortality risk was similar across hospital O:E mortality terciles (P = .10). As expected, mortality rates significantly increased across terciles (low O/E tercile: 1.6%, high O/E tercile: 4.7%; P

Purpose: Pelvic fractures among older adults are associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes, with frailty likely being a contributing factor. The current study endeavors to describe the association between frailty, measured using the Orthopedic Frailty Score (OFS), and adverse outcomes in geriatric pelvic fracture patients. Methods: All geriatric (65 years or older) patients registered in the 2013–2019 Trauma Quality Improvement Program database with an isolated pelvic fracture following blunt trauma were considered for inclusion. An isolated pelvic fracture was defined as any fracture in the pelvis with a lower extremity AIS ≥ 2, any abdomen AIS, and an AIS ≤ 1 in all other regions. Poisson regression models were employed to determine the association between the OFS and adverse outcomes. Results: A total of 66,404 patients were included for further analysis. 52% (N = 34,292) were classified as non-frail (OFS 0), 32% (N = 21,467) were pre-frail (OFS 1), and 16% (N = 10,645) were classified as frail (OFS ≥ 2). Compared to non-frail patients, frail patients exhibited a 88% increased risk of in-hospital mortality [adjusted IRR (95% CI): 1.88 (1.54–2.30), p < 0.001], a 25% increased risk of complications [adjusted IRR (95% CI): 1.25 (1.10–1.42), p < 0.001], a 56% increased risk of failure-to-rescue [adjusted IRR (95% CI): 1.56 (1.14–2.14), p = 0.006], and a 10% increased risk of ICU admission [adjusted IRR (95% CI): 1.10 (1.02–1.18), p = 0.014]. Conclusion: Frail pelvic fracture patients suffer from a disproportionately increased risk of mortality, complications, failure-to-rescue, and ICU admission. Additional measures are required to mitigate adverse events in this vulnerable patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mortality rates for pediatric trauma patients undergoing emergency laparotomy are high, with hypotensive patients having mortality rates up to 31%. • Emergent trauma laparotomy is associated with high major complication and failure-to-rescue rates. • Patient-related and not hospital-related factors are associated with failure-to-rescue among emergent pediatric trauma laparotomy patients. Emergent trauma laparotomy is associated with mortality rates of up to 40%. There is a paucity of data on the outcomes of emergent trauma laparotomies performed in the pediatric population. The aim of our study was to describe the outcomes, including mortality and FTR, among pediatric trauma patients undergoing emergent laparotomy and identify factors associated with failure-to-rescue (FTR). We performed a one-year (2017) retrospective cohort analysis of the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program dataset. All pediatric trauma patients (age <18 years) who underwent emergent laparotomy (laparotomy performed within 2 h of admission) were included. Outcome measures were major in-hospital complications, overall mortality, and failure-to-rescue (death after in-hospital major complication). Multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify factors independently associated with failure-to-rescue. Among 120,553 pediatric trauma patients, 462 underwent emergent laparotomy. Mean age was 14±4 years, 76% of patients were male, 49% were White, and 50% had a penetrating mechanism of injury. Median ISS was 25 [13–36], Abdomen AIS was 3 [2–4], Chest AIS was 2 [1–3], and Head AIS was 2 [0–5]. The median time in ED was 33 [18–69] minutes, and median time to surgery was 49 [33–77] minutes. The most common operative procedures performed were splenectomy (26%), hepatorrhaphy (17%), enterectomy (14%), gastrorrhaphy (14%), and diaphragmatic repair (14%). Only 22% of patients were treated at an ACS Pediatric Level I trauma center. The most common major in-hospital complications were cardiac (9%), followed by infectious (7%) and respiratory (5%). Overall mortality was 21%, and mortality among those presenting with hypotension was 31%. Among those who developed in-hospital major complications, the failure-to-rescue rate was 31%. On multivariate analysis, age younger than 8 years, concomitant severe head injury, and receiving packed red blood cell transfusion within the first 24 h were independently associated with failure-to-rescue. Our results show that emergent trauma laparotomies performed in the pediatric population are associated with high morbidity, mortality, and failure-to-rescue rates. Quality improvement programs may use our findings to improve patient outcomes, by increasing focus on avoiding hospital complications, and further refinement of resuscitation protocols. Level IV Epidemiologic [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe morbidity and mortality associated with sepsis in obstetric care occur even among those presumed to be at low risk, are highly preventable and deserve critical public health prioritization. Continued research is warranted that focuses on the development and performance assessment of screening tools, standardizing diagnostic criteria, and understanding how to implement and sustain quality improvement practices to support timely recognition and treatment, as well as equitable healthcare practices to improve maternal outcomes across diverse populations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patient safety indicators (PSIs) are avoidable complications that can impact outcomes. Geriatric patients have a higher mortality than younger patients with similar injuries, and understanding the etiology may help reduce mortality. We aim to estimate preventable geriatric trauma mortality in the United States and identify PSIs associated with increased preventable mortality. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients aged ≥65 years, in the CMS database, 2017-second quarter of 2020. Risk-adjusted multivariable regression was performed to calculate observed-to-expected (O/E) mortality ratios for failure-to-prevent and failure-to-rescue PSIs with significance defined as P <.05. Results: 3 452 339 geriatric patients were analyzed. Patients aged 75-84 years had 33% higher odds of preventable mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.33 and 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.31, 1.36), whereas patients aged ≥85 years had 91% higher odds of preventable mortality (aOR = 1.91 and 95% CI = 1.87, 1.94) compared to patients aged 65-74 years. Failure-to-prevent O/E were >1 for all PSIs evaluated with central line–related blood stream infection having a high O/E (747.93). Failure-to-rescue O/E were >1 for 10/11 (91%) PSIs with physiologic and metabolic derangements having the highest O/E (5.98). United States' states with higher quantities of geriatric trauma patients experienced reduced preventable mortality. Conclusion: Odds of preventable mortality increases with age. Perioperative venous thrombotic events, hemorrhage or hematoma, and postoperative physiologic/metabolic derangements produce significant preventable mortalities. United States' states differ in their failure-to-prevent and failure-to-rescue PSIs. Utilization of national guidelines, minimization of central venous catheter use, addressing polypharmacy especially anticoagulation, ensuring operative and procedure-based competencies, and greater incorporation of inpatient geriatricians may serve to reduce preventable mortality in elderly trauma patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Mortality and morbidity for high‐risk surgical patients are often high, especially in low‐resource settings. Enhanced peri‐operative care has the potential to reduce preventable deaths but must be designed to meet local needs. This before‐and‐after cohort study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a postoperative 48‐hour enhanced care pathway for high‐risk surgical patients ('high‐risk surgical bundle') who did not meet the criteria for elective admission to intensive care. The pathway comprised of six elements: risk identification and communication; adoption of a high‐risk post‐anaesthesia care unit discharge checklist; prompt nursing admission to ward; intensification of vital signs monitoring; troponin measurement; and prompt access to medical support if required. The primary outcome was in‐hospital mortality. Data describing 1189 patients from two groups, before and after implementation of the pathway, were compared. The usual care group comprised a retrospective cohort of high‐risk surgical patients between September 2015 and December 2016. The intervention group prospectively included high‐risk surgical patients from February 2019 to March 2020. Unadjusted mortality rate was 10.5% (78/746) for the usual care and 6.3% (28/443) for the intervention group. After adjustment, the intervention effect remained significant (RR 0.46 (95%CI 0.30–0.72). The high‐risk surgical bundle group received more rapid response team calls (24% vs. 12.6%; RR 0.63 [95%CI 0.49–0.80]) and surgical re‐interventions (18.9 vs. 7.5%; RR 0.41 [95%CI 0.30–0.59]). These data suggest that a clinical pathway based on enhanced surveillance for high‐risk surgical patients in a resource‐constrained setting could reduce in‐hospital mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency general surgery (EGS) presents a challenge for frail, geriatric individuals who often have extensive comorbidities affecting postoperative recovery. Previous studies have shown an association between increasing frailty and adverse outcomes following elective and EGS; no study has explored the same for the geriatric patient population using the modified 5-item frailty index (mFI-5) score. A retrospective cohort study was performed using the 2012-2017 American College of Surgeons – National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database to identify geriatric patients (≥65 years) undergoing EGS procedures within 48 h of admission. The previously validated mFI-5 score was used to assess preoperative frailty. The study cohort was divided into four groups: mFI-5 = 0, mFI-5 = 1, mFI-5 = 2, and mFI-5 ≥ 3; the impact of increasing mFI-5 score on failure-to-rescue (FTR), 30-day complications, readmissions, reoperations, and mortality was assessed. A total of 47,216 patients were included: 27.4% with mFI-5 = 0, 45% with mFI-5 = 1, 22.1% with mFI-5 = 2, and 5.5% with mFI-5 ≥ 3. Following multivariate analyses, increasing mFI-5 score was associated with higher odds of FTR (mFI-5 = 1: odds ratio (OR) 1.48, p=0.003; mFI-5 = 2: OR 2.66, p <0.001; mFI-5 ≥ 3: OR 3.97, p <0.001), 30-day complications (mFI-5 = 1: OR 1.46, p <0.001; mFI-5 = 2: OR 2.48, p <0.001; mFI-5≥3: OR 5.01, p <0.001), reoperation (mFI-5 = 1: OR 1.42, p = 0.020; mFI-5 = 2: OR 1.70, p = 0.021; mFI-5 ≥ 3: OR 2.18, p = 0.009) and all-cause mortality (mFI-5 = 1: OR 1.49, p=0.001; mFI-5 = 2: OR 2.67, p <0.001; mFI-5 ≥ 3: 3.96, p <0.001). Increasing frailty in geriatric EGS patients is associated with significantly higher rates of FTR, 30-day complications, reoperations, and all-cause mortality. The mFI-5 score can be used to assess frailty and better anticipate the postoperative course of vulnerable geriatric patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Morbidity after hepatectomy remains a significant, potentially preventable, outcome. Understanding the pattern of complications and rescue pathways is critical for the development of targeted initiatives intended to salvage patients after operative morbidity.Study Design: Patients undergoing liver resection from 1991 to 2018 at a single institution were analyzed. Failure to rescue (FTR) was defined as percentage of deaths in patients with a complication within 30 days. Generalized estimating equations with log-link function assessed associations between clinical characteristics and major complications and between complications at fewer than 30 days and 30 to 90 days. Logistic regression assessed associations between complications and FTR.Results: A total of 6,191 patients and 6,668 operations were identified, of which 55.6% were performed for management of metastatic colorectal cancer. Major complications (grade ≥3) occurred in 20.2% of operations (1,346 of 6,668). Ninety-day mortality was 2.2%. The most common complication was intra-abdominal abscess at 9.0% (95% CI, 8.3% to 9.7%). Ten percent of patients with a complication at 30 days had another complication between 30 and 90 days compared with 2% without an early complication (odds ratio [OR] 5.09; 95% CI, 3.97 to 6.54; p < 0.001). FTR for liver failure, cardiac arrest, abscess, and hemorrhage was 36%, 56%, 3%, and 6%, respectively. Risk of 90-day mortality was higher in patients with liver failure (53% vs 2%; OR 61.42; 95% CI, 37.47 to 100.67; p < 0.001), cardiac arrest (69% vs 2%; OR 96.95; 95% CI, 33.23 to 283.80; p < 0.001), hemorrhage (11% vs 2%; OR 5.51; 95% CI, 2.59 to 11.73; p < 0.001), and abscess (7% vs 2%; OR 4.05; 95% CI, 2.76 to 5.94; p < 0.001) compared with those without these complications.Conclusions: Morbidity after hepatectomy is frequent despite low mortality. This study identifies targets for improvement in morbidity and failure to rescue after hepatectomy. Efforts to improve recognition and intervention for infections and early complications are needed to improve outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nationwide variation in mortality stratified by hospital volume exists after open repair of complex abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). In the present study, we assessed whether the rates of postoperative complications or failure-to-rescue (defined as death after a major postoperative complication) would better explain the lower mortality rates among higher volume hospitals. Using the 2004 to 2018 Vascular Quality Initiative database, we identified all patients who had undergone open repair of elective or symptomatic AAAs, in which the proximal clamp sites were at least above one renal artery. We divided the patients into hospital quintiles according to the annual hospital volume and compared the risk-adjusted outcomes. Multivariable logistic regression, adjusted for patient characteristics, operative factors, and hospital volume, was used to evaluate three outcomes: 30-day mortality, overall complications, and failure-to-rescue. We identified 3566 patients who had undergone open repair of elective or symptomatic complex AAAs (median age, 71 years; 29% women; 4.1% black; 48% Medicare insurance). The unadjusted rates of 30-day postoperative mortality, overall complications, and failure-to-rescue were 5.0%, 44%, and 10%, respectively. Common complications included renal dysfunction (25%), cardiac dysrhythmia (14%), and pneumonia (14%), with the specific failure-to-rescue rate ranging from 12% to 22%. On adjusted analysis, the risk-adjusted mortality rate was 2.5 times greater for the lower volume hospitals relative to the higher volume hospitals (7.4% vs 3.0%; P <.01). Although the risk-adjusted complication rates were similar between these hospital groups (30% vs 27%; P =.06), the failure-to-rescue rate was 2.3 times greater for the lower volume hospitals relative to the higher volume hospitals (6.3% vs 2.7%; P =.02). Higher volume hospitals had lower mortality rates after open repair of complex AAAs because they were better at the "rescue" of patients after the occurrence of postoperative complications. Both an understanding of the clinical mechanisms underlying this association and the regionalization of open repair might improve patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inter-hospital transfer (IHT) may help reduce failure-to-rescue (FTR) by transferring patients to centers with a higher level of expertise than the index hospital. We sought to identify factors associated with an IHT and examine if IHT was associated with improved outcomes after complex gastrointestinal cancer surgery.Methods: Medicare Inpatient Standard Analytic Files were utilized to identify patients with >1 postoperative complication following resection for esophageal, pancreatic, liver, or colorectal cancer between 2013 and 2017. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association of different factors with the chance of IHT, as well as the impact of IHT on failure-to-rescue (FTR) and expenditures.Results: Among 39,973 patients with >1 postoperative complications, 3090 (7.7%) patients were transferred to a secondary hospital. The median LOS at the index hospital prior to IHT was 10 days (IQR, 6-17 days). Patients who underwent IHT more often had experienced multiple complications at the index hospital compared with non-IHT patients (57.7% vs. 38.9%) (p<0.001). Transferred patients more commonly had undergone surgery at a low-volume index hospital (n=218, 60.2%) compared with non-IHT (n=10,351, 25.9%) patients (p<0.001). On multivariate analysis, hospital volume remained strongly associated with transfer to an acute care hospital (ACH) (OR 5.53; 95% CI 3.91-7.84; p<0.001), as did multiple complications (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.56-2.57). The incidence of FTR was much higher among IHT-ACH patients (20.2%) versus non-IHT patients (11.5%) (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.11-2.05) (p<0.001). Medicare expenditures were higher among patients who had IHT-ACH ($72.1k USD; IQR, $48.1k-$116.7k) versus non-IHT ($38.5k USD; IQR, $28.1k-$59.2k USD) (p<0.001).Conclusion: Approximately 1 in 13 patients had an IHT after complex gastrointestinal cancer surgery. IHT was associated with high rates of FTR, which was more pronounced among patients who underwent surgery at an index low-volume hospital. IHT was associated with higher overall CMS expenditures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Center-level outcome metrics have long been tracked in elective surgery (ELS). Despite recent interest in measuring emergency general surgery (EGS) quality, centers are often compared based on elective or combined outcomes. Therefore, quality of care for emergency surgery specifically is unknown. We extracted data on EGS and ELS patients from the 2016 State Inpatient Databases of Florida, New York, and Kentucky. Centers that performed >100 ELS and EGS operations were included. Risk-adjusted mortality, complication, and failure to rescue (FTR, death after complication) rates were calculated and observed-to-expected ratios were calculated by center for ELS and EGS patients. Centers were determined to be high or low outliers if the 90% CI for the observed: expected ratio excluded 1. We calculated the frequency with which centers demonstrated a different performance status between EGS and ELS. Kendall's tau values were calculated to assess for correlation between EGS and ELS status. A total of 204 centers with 45,500 EGS cases and 49,380 ELS cases met inclusion criteria. Overall mortality, complication, and FTR rates were 1.7%, 8.0%, and 14.5% respectively. There was no significant correlation between mortality performance in EGS and ELS, with 36 centers in a different performance category (high outlier, low outlier, as expected) in EGS than in ELS. The correlation for complication rates was 0.20, with 60 centers in different categories for EGS and ELS. For FTR rates, there was no correlation, with 16 centers changing category. There was minimal correlation between outcomes for ELS and EGS. High performers in one category were rarely high performers in the other. There may be important differences between the processes of care that are important for EGS and ELS outcomes that may yield meaningful opportunities for quality improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Perioperative complications occur in 30–40% of non-cardiac surgical patients and are the leading cause of early postoperative morbidity and mortality. Regular visits by trained health professionals may decrease the incidence of complications and mortality through earlier detection and adequate treatment of complications. Until now, no studies have been performed on the impact of routine postsurgical anesthesia visits on the incidence of postoperative complications and mortality. Methods TRACE is a prospective, multicenter, stepped-wedge cluster randomized interventional study in academic and peripheral hospitals in the Netherlands. All hospitals start simultaneously with a control phase in which standard care is provided. Sequentially, in a randomized order, hospitals cross over to the intervention phase in which patients at risk are routinely followed up by an anesthesia professional at postoperative days 1 and 3, aiming to detect and prevent or treat postoperative complications. We aim to include 5600 adult patients who are at high risk of developing complications. The primary outcome variable is 30-day postoperative mortality. Secondary outcomes include incidence of postoperative complications and postoperative quality of life up to one year following surgery. Statistical analyses will be performed to compare the control and intervention cohorts with multilevel linear and logistic regression models, adjusted for temporal trends and for clusters (hospitals). The time horizon of the economic (cost-effectiveness) evaluation will be 30 days and one year following surgery. Discussion TRACE is the first to study the effects of a routine postoperative visit by an anesthesia healthcare professional on mortality and cost-effectiveness of surgical patients. If the intervention proves to be beneficial for the patient and cost-effective, the stepped-wedge design ensures direct implementation in the participating hospitals. Trial registration Nederlands Trial Register/Netherlands Trial Registration, NTR5506. Registered on 02 December 2015.

Introduction: The value of routine ICU admission after elective surgery has been debated due to the lack of robust evidence supporting its benefit, as well as the increased incurred costs. We sought to analyze outcomes of patients undergoing hepatectomy who were routinely admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) compared with surgical ward admission.Methods: Patients were identified in the Truven Health Analytics MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database from 2010 to 2016. Routine postoperative ICU admission was defined as ICU admission for ≤ 24 h on postoperative day 0. Potential association between routine ICU admission with extended length-of-stay (LOS), failure-to-rescue, and total inpatient costs was analyzed.Results: In total 7970 patients underwent hepatectomy; 37.7% (n = 3001) had routine ICU admission and 62.3% (n = 4969) surgical ward admission. Among the 3001 patients who had routine ICU admission, 1137 (37.9%) had a major and 1864 (62.1%) had a minor hepatectomy. Routine ICU admission was not associated with lower failure-to-rescue (routine ICU 4.9% vs. ward 1.8%; p < 0.001). Patients routinely admitted to the ICU had longer median LOS (routine ICU 7 days, IQR 5-15 days vs. ward 5 days, IQR 4-7 days; p < 0.001). Median payments were higher for routine ICU admission than for surgical ward admission ($50,501, IQR $34,270-$80,459 vs. $39,774, IQR $28,555-$58,270, respectively).Conclusion: Routine ICU admission was associated with longer LOS and higher hospital payments, yet did not translate into lower failure-to-rescue among patients undergoing hepatectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we describe nurse–physician teamwork, estimate its association with surgical patient outcomes (30-day mortality and failure-to-rescue), and determine whether these relationships depend upon other modifiable hospital nursing characteristics (nurse staffing and education levels) known to be associated with patient outcomes. This cross-sectional analysis included linked data from 29,391 nurses representing 665 acute care hospitals and 1,321,904 adult patients who underwent a general surgical, vascular, or orthopedic procedure. Surgical patients cared for in hospitals with better nurse–physician teamwork had significantly lower odds of 30-day mortality (odds ratio [OR] = 0.95) and failure-to-rescue (OR = 0.95). In addition, the odds of death and failure-to-rescue were lower for patients in hospitals with both higher nurse–physician teamwork and more favorable patient-to-nurse staffing ratios. Similar trends were observed related to nursing education levels. Improving interprofessional teamwork is one strategy to improve patient outcomes with the added importance of also considering additional features of their nursing workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Surgical outcomes study for individual nations remains important because of international differences in patterns of surgical disease. We aimed to contribute to data on post-operative complications, critical care admissions and mortality following elective surgery in Nigeria and also validate the African Surgical Outcomes Study (ASOS) surgical risk calculator in our adult patient cohort.Materials and Methods: We conducted a 7-day, national prospective observational cohort study in consented consecutive patients undergoing elective surgery with a planned overnight hospital stay following elective surgery during a seven-day study period. The outcome measures were in-hospital postoperative complications, critical care admissions and in-hospital mortality censored at 30 days. Also, we identified variables which significantly contributed to higher ASOS surgical risk score. External validation was performed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for discrimination assessment and Hosmer-Lemeshow test for calibration.Results: A total of 1,425 patients from 79 hospitals participated in the study. Postoperative complications occurred in 264(18.5%, 95% CI 16.6-20.6), 20(7.6%) of whom were admitted into the ICU and 16(6.0%) did not survive. Total ICU admission was 57 (4%), with mortality rate of 23.5% following planned admission and overall in-hospital death was 22(1.5%, 95% CI 0.9-2.2). All prognostic factors in the ASOS risk calculator were significantly associated with higher ASOS score and the scoring system showed moderate discrimination (0⋅73, 95% CI 0.62-0.83). Hosmer-Lemeshow χ2 test revealed scale was well calibrated in the validation cohort.Conclusion: NiSOS validates the findings of ASOS and the ability of the ASOS surgical risk calculator to predict risk of developing severe postoperative complications and mortality. We identified failure-to-rescue as a problem in Nigeria. Furthermore, this study has provided policy makers with benchmarks that can be used to monitor programmes aimed at reducing the morbidity and mortality after elective surgery. We recommend the adoption of the ASOS surgical risk calculator as a tool for risk stratification preoperatively for elective surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine factors influencing failure-to-rescue in patients with complications following cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC. A retrospective analysis of patients enrolled in the Indian HIPEC registry was performed. Complications were graded according to the CTCAE classification version 4.3. The 30- and 90-day morbidity were both recorded. Three hundred seventy-eight patients undergoing CRS with/without HIPEC for peritoneal metastases from various primary sites, between January 2013 and December 2017 were included. The median PCI was 11 [range 0-39] and a CC-0/1 resection was achieved in 353 (93.5%). Grade 3-4 morbidity was seen 95 (25.1%) at 30 days and 122 (32.5%) at 90 days. The most common complications were pulmonary complications (6.8%), neutropenia (3.7%), systemic sepsis (3.4%), anastomotic leaks (1.5%), and spontaneous bowel perforations (1.3%). Twenty-five (6.6%) patients died within 90 days of surgery due to complications. The failure-to-rescue rate was 20.4%. Pulmonary complications (p = 0.03), systemic sepsis (p < 0.001), spontaneous bowel perforations (p < 0.001) and PCI > 20 (p = 0.002) increased the risk of failure-to-rescue. The independent predictors were spontaneous bowel perforation (p = 0.05) and systemic sepsis (p = 0.001) and PCI > 20 (p = 0.02). The primary tumor site did not have an impact on the FTR rate (p = 0.09) or on the grade 3-4 morbidity (p = 0.08). Nearly one-fifth of the patients who developed complications succumbed to them. Systemic sepsis, spontaneous bowel perforations, and pulmonary complications increased the risk of FTR and multidisciplinary teams should develop protocols to prevent, identify, and effectively treat such complications. All surgeons pursuing this specialty should perform a regular audit of their results, irrespective of their experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Objective: To evaluate the influence of hospital volume on failure-to-rescue (FTR) after pancreatectomy in France. Background: There are growing evidences that FTR is an important source of postoperative mortality (POM) after pancreatectomy. However, few studies have analyzed the volume-FTR relationship following pancreatic surgery. Methods: All patients undergoing pancreatectomy between 2012 and 2015 were included. FTR is defined as the 90-day POM rate among patients with major complications. According to the spline model, the critical cutoff was 20 resections per year and hospitals were divided into low (<10 resections/an), intermediate (11–19 resections/yr), and high volume centers (≥20 resections/yr). Results: Overall, 12,333 patients who underwent pancreatectomy were identified. The POM was 6.9% and decreased significantly with increased hospital volume. The rate of FTR was 14.5% and varied significantly with hospital volume (18.3% in low hospital volume vs 11.9% in high hospital volume, P < 0.001), age (P < 0.001) and ChCl (CCl0-2: 11.5%, ChCl3: 13%, CCl ≥4:18.6%; P < 0.001). FTR for renal failure was the highest of all complications (40.2%), followed by postoperative shock (36.4%) and cardiac complications (35.1%). The FTR was significantly higher in low and intermediate compared with high volume hospitals for shock, digestive, and thromboembolic complications and reoperation. In multivariable analysis, intermediate (OR = 1.265, CI95%[1.103–1.701], P = 0.045) and low volume centers (OR = 1.536, CI95%[1.165–2.025], P = 0.002) were independently associated with increased FTR rates. Conclusion: FTR after pancreatectomy is high and directly correlated to hospital volume, highlighting variability in the management of postoperative complications. Measurement of the FTR rate should become a standard for quality improvement programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Complex surgical procedures such as esophagectomy and gastrectomy for cancer are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate trends in postoperative morbidity, mortality, and associated failure-to-rescue (FTR), in patients who underwent a potentially curative resection for esophageal or gastric cancer in the Netherlands, and to investigate differences between the two groups. Methods All patients with esophageal or gastric cancer who underwent a potentially curative resection, registered in the Dutch Upper GI Cancer Audit (DUCA) between 2011 and 2014, were included. Primary outcomes were (major) postoperative complications, postoperative mortality and FTR. To investigate groups' effect on the outcomes of interest a mixed model was used. Results Overall, 2644 patients with esophageal cancer and 1584 patients with gastric cancer were included in this study. In patients with gastric cancer, postoperative mortality (7.7% in 2011 vs. 3.8% in 2014) and FTR (38% in 2011 and 19% in 2014) decreased significantly over the years. The adjusted risk of developing a major postoperative complication was lower (OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.42–0.70), but the risk of FTR was higher (OR 1.85; 95% CI 1.05–3.27) in patients with gastric cancer compared to patients with esophageal cancer. Conclusion Once a postoperative complication occurred, patients with gastric cancer were more likely to die compared to patients with esophageal cancer. Underlying mechanisms like patient selection, and differences in structure and organization of care should be investigated. Next to morbidity and mortality, failure-to-rescue should be considered as an important outcome measure after esophagogastric cancer resections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Failure to rescue is the concept of death after a complication, and it is an important factor driving variation in mortality rates after pancreatic surgery. The purpose of this study was to conduct a retrospective review of a large, multi-institutional data set to describe patient-level risk factors for failure to rescue in greater detail. Methods From the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program participant use file, 14,557 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy were identified. Of these, 4514 experienced at least one complication and were therefore at risk for failure to rescue. Multivariable logistic regression models to identify factors independently associated with failure to rescue. Results Age, American Society of Anesthesiologists class, ascites and/or varices, and disseminated malignancy were significant independent risk factors for failure to rescue. Participation of a resident was associated with reduced odds of failure to rescue. Patients who experienced an initial complication and then accumulated additional complications were more common in the failure to rescue group (68.6% versus 31.3%, P < 0.001). Conclusions Accumulation of complications after pancreaticoduodenectomy is a significant risk factor for failure to rescue. Pancreatic surgery quality improvement programs should continue developing strategies to identify and intervene on post-pancreatectomy complications, especially in high-risk patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine whether a perioperative, standardized clinical pathway could impact the failure-to-rescue rate after cytoreductive surgery (CRS) for peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) in a tertiary center. Summary of Background Data: Morbidity and mortality remain significant after CRS for PC. Clinical pathways have been associated with better outcomes after surgery. The failure-to-rescue rate is a useful metric for evaluating quality in surgery. Materials and Methods: This study included 666 patients that received CRS for PC between 2009 and 2014. Starting in 2012, a standardized perioperative clinical pathway was introduced, which focused on patient selection, nutrition, renal protection, pain management, prevention, and early detection of complications. Complications were evaluated with the National Cancer Institute's Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. We used multivariate analyses to evaluate clinicopathological and perioperative factors for associations with major complications and failure-to-rescue. Complication rates were compared before and after the clinical pathway implementation. Results: Major complications occurred in 341 patients (51%), leading to 15 deaths. The complication rate was similar before and after clinical pathway introduction (54.75% vs 48.9%, respectively; P = 0.138). Only prolonged surgery (longer than 240 mins) was independently associated with major complications. The failure-to-rescue rate was 4.4% for the entire period, but it significantly decreased after introducing the clinical pathway (9.02% vs 1.02%; P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, only renal complications were associated with the failure-to-rescue. Conclusion: Morbidity after CRS remains significant, but standardized management facilitated a reduction in the failure-to-rescue rate and improved the quality of care. Specific effort should be dedicated to preventing postoperative renal failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: We explored institutional factors in Japan associated with lower operative mortality and failure-to-rescue (FTR) rates for eight major gastrointestinal procedures., Methods: A 22-item online questionnaire was sent to 2119 institutional departments (IDs) to examine the association between institutional factors and operative mortality and FTR rates. IDs were classified according to the number of annual surgeries, board certification status, and locality. In addition, the top 20% and bottom 20% of IDs were identified based on FTR rates and matched with the results of the questionnaire survey. Factors associated with operative mortality were selected by multivariate analysis., Results: Of the 1083 IDs that responded to the questionnaire, 568 (213 382 patients) were included in the analysis. Operative morbidity, operative mortality, and FTR rates in the top 20% and bottom 20% of IDs were 13.1% and 8.4% ( p  < 0.001), 0.52% and 4.3% ( p  < 0.001), and 4.0% and 51.2% ( p  < 0.001), respectively. Based on the patients' background characteristics, the top 20% of IDs handled more advanced cases. No significant difference in locality was seen between better or worse hospital FTR rates, but fewer esophagectomies, hepatectomies, and pancreatoduodenectomies were performed in depopulated areas. Six items were found to be associated with operative mortality by multivariate logistic analysis. Only 50 (8.8%) IDs met all five factors related to better FTR rates., Conclusions: The present findings indicate that several hospital factors surrounding surgical treatment, characterized by abundant human resources, are closely related to better postoperative recovery from severe complications., Competing Interests: AT, HT, and HM are affiliated with the Department of Healthcare Quality Assessment at The University of Tokyo, which is a social collaboration department supported by the National Clinical Database, Johnson & Johnson KK, and Nipro Corporation. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest for this article. The authors (Itaru Endo, Yohsihiro Kakeji, Yuko Kitagawa, and Yasuyuki Seto) are currently editorial members of AGS and will not be involved in the review of this paper or in the selection of reviewers., (© 2023 The Authors. Annals of Gastroenterological Surgery published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of The Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery.)

Objective: This study evaluated interhospital variability and determinants of failure-to-rescue for patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement., Methods: An observational study was conducted among 28,842 patients undergoing aortic valve replacement with or without coronary artery bypass grafting between July 2011 and June 2017 across 90 hospitals participating in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database. Postoperative complications were defined as major (stroke, renal failure, reoperation, prolonged ventilation, sternal infection) and overall (major plus 14 other morbidities). Hospital terciles of observed to expected (O/E) mortality were compared on crude rates of major and overall complications, operative mortality, and failure to rescue (among major and overall complications). The correlation between hospital observed and expected failure-to-rescue rates was assessed., Results: Median Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database predicted mortality risk was similar across hospital O:E mortality terciles ( P  = .10). As expected, mortality rates significantly increased across terciles (low O/E tercile: 1.6%, high O/E tercile: 4.7%; P  < .001). Failure-to-rescue rates increased substantially across hospital mortality terciles among patients with major (low tercile, 8.8% and high tercile, 20.8%) and overall (low tercile, 3.0% and high tercile, 8.9%) complications. Hospital-level expected failure to rescue had a higher correlation with observed complications for overall complications ( R 2  = 0.71) compared with Society of Thoracic Surgeons major complications ( R 2  = 0.24)., Conclusions: Considerable interhospital variation exists in failure-to-rescue rates following aortic valve replacement. Hospitals in the low O/E mortality tercile experience failure to rescue nearly one-third less than those in the high O/E mortality tercile. Efforts to advance quality will benefit from identifying and disseminating optimal rescue strategies in this patient population., Competing Interests: Dr Likosky receives research funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Institutes of Health and serves as a consultant for the American Society of Extracorporeal Technology and receives partial salary support from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to advance quality in Michigan in conjunction with the Michigan Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons Quality Collaborative. All other authors reported no conflicts of interest. The Journal policy requires editors and reviewers to disclose conflicts of interest and to decline handling manuscripts for which they may have a conflict of interest. The editors and reviewers of this article have no conflicts of interest., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Purpose: Many apparent differences exist in aetiology, genetics, anatomy and treatment response between colon cancer (CC) and rectal cancer (RC). This study examines the differences in patient characteristics, prevalence of complications and their effect on short-term survival, long-term survival and the rate of recurrence between RC and CC. Methods: For all stage II-III CC and RC patients who underwent resection with curative intent (2006-2008) in five hospitals in the Netherlands, occurrence of complications, crude survival, relative survival and recurrence rates were compared. Results: A total of 767 CC and 272 RC patients underwent resection. Significant differences were found for age, gender, emergency surgery, T-stage and grade. CC patients experienced fewer complications compared to RC ( p = 0.019), but CC patients had worse short-term mortality rates (1.5 versus 6.7 % for 30-day mortality, p = 0.001 and 5.2 versus 9.5 % for 90-day mortality, p = 0.032). The adjusted HR (overall survival) for CC patients with complications was 1.57 (1.23-2.01; p < 0.001) as compared to patients without complications; for RC, the HR was 1.79 (1.12-2.87; p = 0.015). Relative survival analyses showed high excess mortality in the first months after surgery and a sustained, prolonged negative effect on both CC and RC. Complications were associated with a higher recurrence rate for both CC and RC; adjusted analyses showed a trend towards a significant association. Conclusion: Large differences exist in patient characteristics and clinical outcomes between CC and RC. CC patients have a significantly higher short-term mortality compared to RC patients due to a more severe effect of complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate failure-to-rescue (FTR) after anastomotic leak (AL) in colectomy patients. Background: In the era of pay for performance, it is imperative that we understand the quality measures under which we are scrutinized. FTR has been proposed as a marker of surgical quality. We investigated the role of complications in FTR rates in colectomy patients. Methods: Patients who underwent nonemergent colectomy from 2012 to 2013 were identified from the The American College of Surgeons National Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP database). Mortality after AL was assessed and stratified in relation to mortality after other postoperative complications. χ2 and logistic regression analysis were used to assess the effect of AL on mortality. Results: We identified 30,101 patients who met inclusion criteria, 1127 suffered an AL (3.7%). FTR was increased in patients with AL compared with those without AL (6% vs 1%, P<0.001). The mortality rate after leak was similar to mortality after other major complications. Independent risk factors for death after AL included older age (odds ratio [OR] 3.140; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.744-5.651), cancer diagnosis (OR 2.032; 95% CI, 1.177-3.507), and open approach (OR 2.124; 95% CI, 1.194-3.776) while preoperative bowel preparation was protective (OR 0.563; 95% CI, 0.328- 0.969). Conclusions: AL is a common complication after colectomy with a relatively high FTR rate. As hospitals are penalized for not reaching specific rates of FTR, we must better understand these complex relationships to improve quality and safety of patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives. Evaluate continuous vital sign surveillance as a tool to improve patient safety in the medical/surgical unit. Background. Failure-to-rescue is an important measure of hospital quality. Patient deterioration is often preceded by changes in vital signs. However, continuous multi-parameter vital sign monitoring may decrease patient safety with an abundance of unnecessary alarms. Design. Prospective observational study at two geographically disperse hospitals in a single hospital system. Methods. A multi-parameter vital sign monitoring system was installed in a medical/surgical unit in Utah and one in Alabama providing continuous display of SpO2, heart rate, blood pressure and respiration rate on a central station. Alarm thresholds and time to alert annunciations were set based on prior analysis of the distribution of each vital sign. At the end of 4 weeks, nurses completed a survey on their experience. An average alert per patient, per day was determined retrospectively from the saved vital signs data and knowledge of the alarm settings. Results. Ninety-two per cent of the nurses agreed that the number of alarms and alerts were appropriate; 54% strongly agreed. On average, both units experienced 10-8 alarms per patient, per day. One hundred per cent agreed the monitor provided valuable patient data that increased patient safety; 79% strongly agreed. Conclusions. Continuous, multi-parameter patient monitoring could be performed on medical/surgical units with a small and appropriate level of alarms. Continuous vital sign assessment may have initiated nursing interventions that prevented failure-to-rescue events. Nurses surveyed unanimously agreed that continuous vital sign surveillance will help enhance patient safety. Relevance to clinical practice. Nursing response to abnormal vital signs is one of the most important levers in patient safety, by providing timely recognition of early clinical deterioration. This occurs through diligent nursing surveillance, involving assessment, interpretation of data, recognition of a problem and meaningful response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Surgical failure-to-rescue (FTR, death rate following complications) is a reliable cross-sectional quality of care marker, but has not been evaluated dynamically. We aimed to study changes in FTR following emergency surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic.Material and Methods: Matched cohort study including all COVID-19-non-infected adult patients undergoing emergency general surgery in 25 Spanish hospitals during COVID-19 pandemic peak (March-April 2020), non-peak (May-June 2020), and 2019 control periods. A propensity score-matched comparative analysis was conducted using a logistic regression model, in which period was regressed on observed baseline characteristics. Subsequently, a mixed effects logistic regression model was constructed for each variable of interest. Main variable was FTR. Secondary variables were post-operative complications, readmissions, reinterventions, and length of stay.Results: 5003 patients were included (948, 1108, and 2947 in the pandemic peak, non-peak, and control periods), with comparable clinical characteristics, prognostic scores, complications, reintervention, rehospitalization rates, and length of stay across periods. FTR was greater during the pandemic peak than during non-peak and pre-pandemic periods (22.5% vs. 17.2% and 12.7%), being this difference confirmed in adjusted analysis (odds ratio [OR] 2.13, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.27-3.66). There was sensible inter-hospital variability in FTR changes during the pandemic peak (median FTR change +8.77%, IQR 0-29.17%) not observed during the pandemic non-peak period (median FTR change 0%, IQR -6.01-6.72%). Greater FTR increase was associated with higher COVID-19 incidence (OR 2.31, 95% CI 1.31-4.16) and some hospital characteristics, including tertiary level (OR 3.07, 95% CI 1.27-8.00), medium-volume (OR 2.79, 95% CI 1.14-7.34), and high basal-adjusted complication risk (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.07-4.72).Conclusion: FTR following emergency surgery experienced a heterogeneous increase during different periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting it to behave as an indicator of hospital resilience. FTR monitoring could facilitate identification of centres in special needs during ongoing health care challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between timing of postoperative complications on mortality is unknown. We investigated the time-variable mortality risks of common surgical complications. Methods We identified patients undergoing nonemergent, in-patient surgery in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database during 2005-2011 who experienced any of 13 complications within 2 wk of surgery. "Expected timing" was defined as the median postoperative day of occurrence. Hazard ratios (HRs) for complications earlier or later than expected were calculated using Cox proportional hazards, adjusted for age, procedure, American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA), and functional status. A secondary analysis evaluated the effect of preceding complication burden on the relationship between complication timing and mortality. Results Among 77,443 patients experiencing complications, significantly higher mortality was observed with early wound infections (superficial HR 1.30, confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.70; deep HR 1.52, CI 1.07-2.16; and organ space HR 1.38, CI 1.11-1.70) despite adjustment for patient and operative factors and complication burden. Early cardiac arrest and unplanned intubation were associated with lower mortality, which persisted after adjustment (HR 0.59, CI 0.51-0.68; HR 0.38, CI 0.33-0.43, respectively). By contrast, late occurrence of acute myocardial infarction, pneumonia, and cerebrovascular accident was associated with significantly greater mortality risk (HR 1.41, CI 1.18-1.69; HR 1.37, CI 1.24-1.52; and HR 1.61, CI 1.31-1.98, respectively), but these associations became nonsignificant after adjustment for complication burden. Conclusions Timing of complications plays an important role in mortality. Surgeons and trainees should be aware of these patterns and tailor their clinical care and monitoring practices to account for the implications of complication timing on mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aggressive treatment style, as defined by the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, has been implicated as an important factor contributing to excessively high medical expenditures. We aimed to determine the association between aggressive treatment style and surgical outcomes. Medicare admissions to 3,065 hospitals for general, orthopedic, and vascular surgery between 2000 and 2005 ( N=4,558,215 unique patients). A retrospective cohort analysis. For elderly surgical patients, aggressive treatment style was not associated with significantly increased complications, but it was associated with significantly reduced odds of mortality and failure-to-rescue. The odds ratio for complications in hospitals at the 75th percentile of aggressive treatment style compared with those at the 25th percentile (a U.S.$10,000 difference) was 1.01 (1.00-1.02), p<.066; whereas the odds of mortality was 0.94 (0.93-0.95), p<.0001; and for failure-to-rescue it was 0.93 (0.92-0.94), p<.0001. Analyses that used alternative measures of aggressiveness-hospital days and ICU days-yielded similar results, as did analyses using only low-variation procedures. Attempting to reduce aggressive care that is not cost effective is a laudable goal, but policy makers should be aware that there may be improved outcomes associated with patients undergoing surgery in hospitals with a more aggressive treatment style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence of a "weekend effect" is limited in emergency general surgery (EGS). We hypothesized that there are increased rates of complications, death, and failure-to-rescue (FTR) in patients undergoing weekend EGS operations., Methods: National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data, January 2014-September 2015 were used. Operative EGS patients were identified by ICD-9 procedure code and timing to operation. Complications were defined by ICD-9 code. We performed survey-weighted multivariable regression analyses., Results: Of 438,110 EGS patients, 103,450 underwent weekend operation. There was no association between weekend operation and FTR (OR 1.17; 95%CI 0.95-1.45) or complications (OR 1.04; 95%CI 0.97-1.13). There was a weekend effect on mortality (OR 1.22; 95%CI 1.02-1.46) and an interactive effect between weekend operation and teaching status on complications (teaching OR 1.22; 95%CI 1.15-1.29; interaction OR 1.13; 95%CI 1.03-1.25)., Conclusions: There is evidence for a "weekend effect" on mortality, but not complications or FTR, in this cohort., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest No authors have conflicts to declare., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Anastomotic leakage (AL) is a severe complication associated with high morbidity and mortality after radical gastrectomy (RG) for gastric cancer (GC). We hypothesized that a novel abdominal negative pressure lavage-drainage system (ANPLDS) can effectively reduce the failure-to-rescue (FTR) and the risk of reoperation, and it is a feasible management for AL., Aim: To report our institution's experience with a novel ANPLDS for AL after RG for GC., Methods: The study enrolled 4173 patients who underwent R0 resection for GC at our institution between June 2009 and December 2016. ANPLDS was routinely used for patients with AL after January 2014. Characterization of patients who underwent R0 resection was compared between different study periods. AL rates and postoperative outcome among patients with AL were compared before and after the ANPLDS therapy. We used multivariate analyses to evaluate clinicopathological and perioperative factors for associations with AL and FTR after AL., Results: AL occurred in 83 (83/4173, 2%) patients, leading to 7 deaths. The mean time of occurrence of AL was 5.6 days. The AL rate was similar before (2009-2013, period 1) and after (2014-2016, period 2) the implementation of the ANPLDS therapy (1.7% vs 2.3%, P = 0.121). Age and malnourishment were independently associated with AL. The FTR rate and abdominal bleeding rate after AL occurred were respectively 8.4% and 9.6% for the entire period; however, compared with period 1, this significantly decreased during period 2 (16.2% vs 2.2%, P = 0.041; 18.9% vs 2.2%, P = 0.020, respectively). Moreover, the reoperation rate was also reduced in period 2, although this result was not statistically significant (13.5% vs 2.2%, P = 0.084). Additionally, only ANPLDS therapy was an independent protective factor for FTR after AL ( P = 0.04)., Conclusion: Our experience demonstrates that ANPLDS is a feasible management for AL after RG for GC., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: To the best of our knowledge, no conflict of interest exists.

Background: Complex surgical procedures such as esophagectomy and gastrectomy for cancer are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate trends in postoperative morbidity, mortality, and associated failure-to-rescue (FTR), in patients who underwent a potentially curative resection for esophageal or gastric cancer in the Netherlands, and to investigate differences between the two groups., Methods: All patients with esophageal or gastric cancer who underwent a potentially curative resection, registered in the Dutch Upper GI Cancer Audit (DUCA) between 2011 and 2014, were included. Primary outcomes were (major) postoperative complications, postoperative mortality and FTR. To investigate groups' effect on the outcomes of interest a mixed model was used., Results: Overall, 2644 patients with esophageal cancer and 1584 patients with gastric cancer were included in this study. In patients with gastric cancer, postoperative mortality (7.7% in 2011 vs. 3.8% in 2014) and FTR (38% in 2011 and 19% in 2014) decreased significantly over the years. The adjusted risk of developing a major postoperative complication was lower (OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.42-0.70), but the risk of FTR was higher (OR 1.85; 95% CI 1.05-3.27) in patients with gastric cancer compared to patients with esophageal cancer., Conclusion: Once a postoperative complication occurred, patients with gastric cancer were more likely to die compared to patients with esophageal cancer. Underlying mechanisms like patient selection, and differences in structure and organization of care should be investigated. Next to morbidity and mortality, failure-to-rescue should be considered as an important outcome measure after esophagogastric cancer resections., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd, BASO ~ The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.)

Variability in outcomes not attributable to case mix or chance is an indicator of low-quality care. Failure-to-rescue is an outcome measure defined as death during a hospitalization among patients who experience a complication. Researchers have used this measure to better understand the determinants of an untimely death-preventing complications, rescue, or both. Studies repeatedly find that complication rates vary little, if at all, across hospitals ranked by risk-adjusted mortality rates, suggesting that hospitals are equally capable (or incapable) of preventing complications. In contrast, variation in failure-to-rescue rates seems to explain much of the variation in risk-adjusted hospital-level mortality rates. These findings suggest that system-level interventions that allow for the early detection and treatment of complications (ie, rescue) may reduce variability in hospital-level outcomes and improve the quality of thoracic surgical care., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The relationship between failure-to-rescue (FTR) after colectomy is not well understood, particularly in teaching institutions. We sought to examine this relationship using a large national database., Methods: Patients undergoing colectomy from 2010 to 2012 were identified in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database. FTR events were defined as deaths following deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, sepsis, gastrointestinal bleed, acute myocardial infarction, acute kidney injury, pneumonia, respiratory failure, shock. We compared outcomes between teaching hospitals (TH) and nonteaching hospitals (NTH)., Results: A total of 220,369 patients underwent colectomy; 50.2% were performed at TH. Overall mortality was 3.7% with 96% of deaths attributed to at least one FTR event. More complications occurred in NTH, but there was no difference in mortality or FTR rates. However, TH had higher incidences of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism and sepsis leading to postoperative mortality, whereas NTH had higher rates of acute myocardial infarction and gastrointestinal bleed., Conclusions: A substantial proportion of mortality is attributed to FTR events after colectomy in both TH and NTH. Further investigation targeting specific complications is warranted., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Abstract: Background: Registered nurses are the frontline of defense against unrecognized changes in patients' condition to prevent failure-to-rescue events, reducing mortality and morbidity in hospitalized patients. This study explores the impact of two types of evidence-based training methodologies, in situ simulation-based training (SBT) versus case study review, both incorporating TeamSTEPPS® training, on practicing nurse early warning sign knowledge, confidence, teamwork, and clinical skill performance. Methods: A quasi-experimental, two-group comparison, pre/post intervention study. Results: Increased knowledge and teamwork skills after education were seen in both groups (p < .05). The SBT group showed greater improvement in all areas except knowledge, with greatest significance found in teamwork skills (p < .05). Conclusions: High-quality, in situ, simulation-based team training may have its greatest impact on improvement in nurse confidence in and performance of teamwork skills. However, the study indicates that, regardless of the method, well-designed educational programs are effective in improving nursing knowledge of care of complex patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

New graduate registered nurses (NGRN's) have an expectation of clinical support as they make the transition from novice to advanced beginner. In this 2008-2009 study of three rural transition to practice programs we found that clinical support did not eventuate. Consequently, NGRN's reported feeling underprepared for practice, overwhelmed by responsibility and often abandoned. Against this background, many were concerned that their inexperience had implications for safe patient care. Graduate nurse transition programs need to have the physical and human resources necessary to deliver the clinical support as promised in their prospectus, to ensure patient safety. This grounded theory study identified three essential core elements - leadership support, clinical supervision, and effective interprofessional relationships. Recommendation is made to address these deficits by mandating their inclusion in all transition to professional practice programs.