Hospital Procedure Volume and Outcomes
Authors: Jeffrey A. Meyerhardt, Charles S. Fuchs
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2004)

Letters15 June 2004Hospital Procedure Volume and OutcomesJeffrey A. Meyerhardt, MD and Charles S. Fuchs, MD, MPHJeffrey A. Meyerhardt, MDFrom Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115.Search for more papers by this author and Charles S. Fuchs, MD, MPHFrom Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-140-12-200406150-00027 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:Mr. Joshi and Dr. Miller note that both surgeon- and hospital-specific factors may be important predictors of outcome. The articles by Prystowsky and colleagues (1) and Ko and associates (2) examined the impact of such factors on short-term outcomes, particularly in hospital morbidity and mortality and length of stay. We were particularly interested in looking beyond short-term end points and examining whether the hospital where a colon cancer resection is performed predicts long-term mortality and cancer recurrences. Of interest, the number of surgeries was associated with overall mortality but not recurrences, suggesting that volume is a surrogate for ...References1. Prystowsky JB, Bordage G, Feinglass JM. Patient outcomes for segmental colon resection according to surgeon's training, certification, and experience. Surgery. 2002;132:663-70; discussion 670-2. [PMID: 12407351] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Ko CY, Chang JT, Chaudhry S, Kominski G. Are high-volume surgeons and hospitals the most important predictors of in-hospital outcome for colon cancer resection? Surgery. 2002;132:268-73. [PMID: 12219022] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Schrag D, Panageas KS, Riedel E, Hsieh L, Bach PB, Guillem JG, et al . Surgeon volume compared to hospital volume as a predictor of outcome following primary colon cancer resection. J Surg Oncol. 2003;83:68-78; discussion 78-9. [PMID: 12772198] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Birkmeyer JD, Stukel TA, Siewers AE, Goodney PP, Wennberg DE, Lucas FL. Surgeon volume and operative mortality in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2003;349:2117-27. [PMID: 14645640] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Jeffrey A. Meyerhardt, MD; Charles S. Fuchs, MD, MPHAffiliations: From Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAssociation of Hospital Procedure Volume and Outcomes in Patients with Colon Cancer at High Risk for Recurrence Jeffrey A. Meyerhardt , Paul J. Catalano , Deborah Schrag , John Z. Ayanian , Daniel G. Haller , Robert J. Mayer , John S. Macdonald , Al B. Benson III , and Charles S. Fuchs Hospital Procedure Volume and Outcomes Ashish V. Joshi and Lesley-Ann Miller Metrics 15 June 2004Volume 140, Issue 12 Page: 1062 Keywords Colorectal cancer Databases Length of stay Morbidity Mortality Surgeons Surgery ePublished: 15 June 2004 Issue Published: 15 June 2004 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2004 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...