[Cross-sectional study of cardiac surgery centers within the "CABG Project" (short-term outcome in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery in Italian cardiac surgery centers)].
BACKGROUND
Italian cardiac surgery units have changed in their characteristics over time. These changes have to be monitored. At the moment, there are no regular monitoring systems that could be used to support the processes of evaluation of performance. The Italian Institute of Health has recently started a national prospective study on the short-term outcomes (within 30 days mortality) of coronary artery bypass graft procedures. This study has been preceded by a cross-sectional investigation on the general activities of the Italian cardiac surgery centers.


METHODS
A complete Italian cardiac surgery center directory has been assembled. A questionnaire on hospital characteristics, number of beds, number of yearly coronary artery bypass graft procedures, department computer systems and methods for surgery risk assessment has been sent to the person responsible for each cardiac surgery center.


RESULTS
In Italy there are 86 non-pediatric cardiac surgery centers (65% public centers, 31% accountable private and 4% not yet accountable private). Sixty-eight centers answered the questionnaire. Each cardiac surgery center has, on the average, availability of 26 beds and carries out about 400 coronary artery bypass graft procedures per year; 81% of cardiac surgery centers follow their patients until day 30 after the intervention, but only 64% of them report the cause of death when the patient dies; 75% of cardiac surgery centers regularly use surgery risk assessment systems.


CONCLUSIONS
These data indicate that a project on cardiac surgery outcome assessment can be conducted in Italy. This project will help defining standardized methodologies that will represent essential instruments for each cardiac surgery center and for regional offices in order to improve and optimize their activity.
Seccareccia
Fulvia
F
Laboratorio di Epidemiologia e Biostatistica, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299 00161 Roma. fulvia.seccareccia@iss.it
Capriani
Paola
P
Diemoz
Stefano
S
Taioli
Emanuela
E
Tosti
Maria Elena
ME
Greco
Donato
D
D002300:Cardiac Care Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016304:Hospitals, Private / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
Indagine trasversale sull'attività dei centri di cardiochirurgia nell'ambito del "Progetto BPAC" (esiti a breve termine di interventi di bypass aortocoronarico nelle cardiochirurgie italiane).