ArticleBJS open2025
Definition of failure to rescue in gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary cancer surgery: national cohort study.
Article in BJS open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Age, Frailty, and Comorbidity as Predictors of Mortality and Failure to Rescue After Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgery: A National Retrospective Cohort Study.World journal of surgery · 2026Article
- Potentially-Preventable Deaths Following Colorectal Surgery: A National Retrospective Cohort Study of Surgical Mortality.ANZ journal of surgeryArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFailure to rescue (FTR) is the mortality rate among patients with complications, and is a quality indicator for surgical care. FTR has been inconsistently defined in the literature, with potential impacts on reported rates and hospital benchmarking. This study examined the impact of differences in the FTR definition on hospital rankings.
methodsA retrospective population-based cohort study of patients undergoing gastrointestinal or hepatopancreatobiliary cancer resection from 2005 to 2020 was performed using linkage of the New Zealand Cancer Registry and National Minimum Dataset. FTR was defined as the mortality rate among patients with any of 19 postoperative complications. Five FTR definitions commonly used in the literature were adapted for comparison. Risk-adjusted rates were compared between hospitals using each definition, as well as for in-hospital and 90-day outcomes.
resultsIn total, 31 199 patients were included from 20 hospitals, with 1517 90-day deaths (4.9%). The 90-day FTR rate with all 19 complications included was 10.4% (1517 of 14 646). The FTR definition affected hospital rankings, with the Bland-Altman 95% limits of agreement ranging between 4 and 11 position differences. There were 847 in-hospital deaths, and the in-hospital FTR rate was 5.8% (847 of 14 516). Hospital rankings were affected by the timing of outcome measurement; 95% limits of agreement ranged from 5 to 8 position differences compared with 90-day outcomes.
conclusionThe definition and timing of FTR measurement affected hospital rankings. This may have important ramifications for FTR as a quality indicator when benchmarking institutional performance.
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