Evidence map›Paper›PMID 15298881›Full record

ArticleBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2004

Improving mortality of coronary surgery over first four years of independent practice: retrospective examination of prospectively collected data from 15 surgeons.

Ben Bridgewater, Antony D Grayson, John Au, Ragheb Hassan, Walid C Dihmis, Chris Munsch, Paul Waterworth

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
29citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.6field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 72 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
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  7. Observational
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  12. Relation between surgeon age and postoperative outcomes: a population-based cohort study.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2020
    Article
  13. The Learning Curve in Surgical Practice and Its Applicability to Rhinoplasty.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2018
    Article
  14. Association of Surgeon Age and Experience With Congenital Heart Surgery Outcomes.Circulation. Cardiovascular quality and outcomes · 2017
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Learning curves in surgical practice.Postgraduate medical journal · 2007
    Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.

Ben BridgewaterSouth Manchester University Hospital, Manchester M23 9LT. ben.bridgewater@smuht.nwest.nhs.uk
Antony D Grayson
John Au
Ragheb Hassan
Walid C Dihmis
Chris Munsch
Paul Waterworth
Essex Cardiothoracic Centre · GBBlackpool Victoria Hospital · GBLeeds General Infirmary · GBManchester Royal Infirmary · GBManchester University · USUniversity of Manchester · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo study the "learning curve" associated with independent practice in coronary artery surgery.

designRetrospective analysis of prospectively collected data.

settingAll NHS centres in north west England that carry out cardiac surgery in adults.

participants18 913 patients undergoing coronary artery surgery for the first time between April 1997 and March 2003, 5678 of whom were operated on by 15 surgeons in the first four years after their consultant appointment.

main outcome measuresObserved and predicted mortality (EuroSCORE) for surgeons in their first, second, third, and fourth years after appointment as a consultant compared with figures for established surgeons.

resultsOverall mortality decreased over the six years of study (P = 0.01). Of the patients operated on by established surgeons or newly appointed consultants, 265/13,235 (2.0%) and 109/5678 (1.9%), respectively, died (P = 0.71). There was a progressive decrease in observed mortality with time after appointment as a consultant from 2.2% in the first year to 1.2% in the fourth year (P = 0.049). This result remained significant after adjustment for time and case mix (P = 0.019).

conclusionsMortality in patients operated on by newly appointed consultant surgeons is similar to mortality in patients operated on by established surgeons. There are significant decreases in crude and risk adjusted mortality in the four years after appointment. These findings should influence the nature of practice in newly appointed surgeons.

Indexed as

AdultCardiac Surgical ProceduresClinical CompetenceConsultantsCoronary DiseaseEnglandHumansMedical Staff, HospitalMortalityProspective StudiesRetrospective Studies

Identifiers

PMID15298881
PMCPMC514200
OpenAlexW2123512905

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.