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Higher surgical volume means fewer complications
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 19, 2011
Hospitals where many abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs, heart bypasses and gastric bypasses are performed are less likely to see patients have complications such as bloodstream infections, postoperative blood clots or bleeding. Patients undergoing these surgeries at high-volume hospitals also have lower death rates, said an observational study of 1.6 million patients between 2005 and 2008.
Hospitals' surgical volume probably serves as a proxy for factors such as surgeons' and anesthesiologists' technical skills and postoperative care, said the study, published online Aug. 31 in the journal Health Services Research (link) It is unlikely that quality rises dramatically above a certain threshold number, the study said, but rather patient outcomes improve gradually as the hospital's volume in a particular procedure rises.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/09/19/prbf0919.htm.












