Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33104919›Full record

ArticleSurgical endoscopy2021

Length of hospital stay after uncomplicated esophagectomy. Hospital variation shows room for nationwide improvement.

Daan M Voeten, Leonie R van der Werf, Johanna W van Sandick, Richard van Hillegersberg, Mark I van Berge Henegouwen, Dutch Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Audit Group

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Surgical endoscopy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

14 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  13. Review
  14. Textbook outcome for esophageal cancer surgery: an international consensus-based update of a quality measure.Diseases of the esophagus : official journal of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus · 2021
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Daan M VoetenDepartment of Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, Cancer Centre Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. d.voeten@amsterdamumc.nl.ORCID 0000-0003-4292-6795
Leonie R van der WerfDepartment of Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, Cancer Centre Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Johanna W van SandickDepartment of Surgical Oncology, Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Richard van HillegersbergDepartment of Surgery, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Mark I van Berge HenegouwenDepartment of Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, Cancer Centre Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.i.vanbergehenegouwen@amsterdamumc.nl.
Dutch Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Audit Group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWithin the scope of value-based health care, this study aimed to analyze Dutch hospital performance in terms of length of hospital stay after esophageal cancer surgery and its association with 30-day readmission rates. Since both parameters are influenced by the occurrence of complications, this study only included patients with an uneventful recovery after esophagectomy.

methodsAll patients registered in the Dutch Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Audit (DUCA) who underwent a potentially curative esophagectomy between 2015 and 2018 were considered for inclusion. Patients were excluded in case of an intraoperative/post-operative complication, readmission to the intensive care unit, or any re-intervention. Length of hospital stay was dichotomized around the national median into 'short admissions' and 'long admissions'. Hospital variation was evaluated using a case-mix-corrected funnel plot based on multivariable logistic regression analyses. Association of length of hospital stay with 30-day readmission rates was investigated using the χ2-statistic.

resultsA total of 1007 patients was included. National median length of hospital stay was 9 days, ranging from 6.5 to 12.5 days among 17 hospitals. The percentage of 'short admissions' per hospital ranged from 7.7 to 93.5%. After correction for case-mix variables, 3 hospitals had significantly higher 'short admission' rates and 4 hospitals had significantly lower 'short admission' rates. Overall, 6.2% [hospital variation (0.0-13.2%)] of patients were readmitted. Hospital 30-day readmission rates were not significantly different between patients with a short length of hospital stay and those with a long length of hospital stay (5.5% versus 7.6%; p = 0.19).

conclusionsBased on these nationwide audit data, median length of hospital stay after an uncomplicated esophagectomy was 9 days ranging from 6.5 to 12.5 days among Dutch hospitals. There was no association between length of hospital stay and readmission rates. Nationwide improvement might lead to a substantial reduction of hospital costs.

Indexed as

Esophageal NeoplasmsEsophagectomyHospitalsHumansLength of StayPatient ReadmissionRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsEsophageal carcinomaHospital variationHospital volumeLength of hospital stayReadmission

Identifiers

PMID33104919
PMCPMC8523439

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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.