Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29122321›Full record

ArticleSurgery2018

Each procedure matters: threshold for surgeon volume to minimize complications and decrease cost associated with adrenalectomy.

Kevin L Anderson, Samantha M Thomas, Mohamed A Adam, Lauren N Pontius, Michael T Stang, Randall P Scheri, Sanziana A Roman, Julie A Sosa

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Surgery, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
26citing papers in PubMed
5.2field-weighted citation impact, top 3% 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

26 citing papers in PubMed, 69 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  7. Perioperative outcomes of adrenal surgery Does surgical specialty matter?Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada · 2025
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  14. Observational
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  18. Racial Disparities of Adrenalectomy.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2020
    Article
  19. Impact of Surgeon Volume on Outcomes and Expenditure Among Medicare Beneficiaries Undergoing Liver Resection: the Effect of Minimally Invasive Surgery.Journal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract · 2020
    Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Kevin L AndersonDuke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.
Samantha M ThomasDepartment of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC.
Mohamed A AdamDepartment of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.
Lauren N PontiusDuke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.
Michael T StangDuke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC; Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.
Randall P ScheriDuke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC; Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.
Sanziana A RomanDuke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC; Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.
Julie A SosaDuke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC; Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC. Electronic address: julie.sosa@dm.duke.edu.
Duke University · USDuke Cancer InstituteDuke Medical Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAn association has been suggested between increasing surgeon volume and improved patient outcomes, but a threshold has not been defined for what constitutes a "high-volume" adrenal surgeon.

methodsAdult patients who underwent adrenalectomy by an identifiable surgeon between 1998-2009 were selected from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample. Logistic regression modeling with restricted cubic splines was utilized to estimate the association between annual surgeon volume and complication rates in order to identify a volume threshold.

resultsA total of 3,496 surgeons performed adrenalectomies on 6,712 patients; median annual surgeon volume was 1 case. After adjustment, the likelihood of experiencing a complication decreased with increasing annual surgeon volume up to 5.6 cases (95% confidence interval, 3.27-5.96). After adjustment, patients undergoing resection by low-volume surgeons (<6 cases/year) were more likely to experience complications (odds ratio 1.71, 95% confidence interval, 1.27-2.31, P = .005), have a greater hospital stay (relative risk 1.46, 95% confidence interval, 1.25-1.70, P = .003), and at increased cost (+26.2%, 95% confidence interval, 12.6-39.9, P = .02).

conclusionThis study suggests that an annual threshold of surgeon volume (≥6 cases/year) that is associated with improved patient outcomes and decreased hospital cost. This volume threshold has implications for quality improvement, surgical referral and reimbursement, and surgical training.

Indexed as

AdrenalectomyAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPostoperative ComplicationsPractice Patterns, Physicians'Retrospective StudiesUnited States

Identifiers

PMID29122321
OpenAlexW2767243146

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.