title: Postoperative 30-day mortality following surgical resection for colorectal cancer in veterans: changes in the right direction.
abstract: Temporal changes in short-term mortality following surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC) are unknown. We examined temporal changes in 30-day postoperative mortality, as well as changes in preoperative and postoperative disorders that could contribute to 30-day mortality. Using national Veterans Administration (VA) administrative data, we identified patients with CRC during 1987-2000 who received surgical resection. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the association between the risk of 30-day mortality and year of surgical resection, while adjusting for several preoperative disorders, disease comorbidity, as well as hospital surgical volume. A total of 32,621 patients were identified. The 30-day postoperative mortality declined from 4.7% during 1987-1988 to 3.9% during 1998-2000. Patients who received surgical resection during 1992-1994, 1995-1997, and 1998-2000 had a 14, 14, and 27% lower adjusted risk of 30-day mortality, respectively, compared with those resected in 1987-1988. Preoperative disorders associated with increased mortality included chronic pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, hemiplegia/paraplegia, moderate/severe liver disease, and renal disease. Significant declines were observed in several postoperative disorders including anesthesia complications and thromboembolism. An improvement in 30-day postoperative mortality following surgical resection for CRC was observed. Declining preoperative and postoperative disorders, as well as improvements in surgical care, could partly explain these findings.
authors.affiliation: Houston Center for Quality of Care and Utilization Studies, Houston VAMC, and Baylor College of Medicine, Texas 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Davila
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rabeneck
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Hashem B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: El-Serag
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery*; D013505:Digestive System Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014728:Veterans