A new study emphasizes why caregivers must work to minimize delays in certain elective surgical procedures for patients who have been admitted to the hospital.Delays substantially increase the risk of infectious complications and raise hospital costs, according to a comprehensive study in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Using a nationwide sample of 163,006 patients ages 40 and older between 2003 and 2007, the authors evaluated patients who developed postoperative complications after one of three high-volume elective surgical procedures: coronary bypass graft, colon resections and lung resections.
For each type of procedure, according to the researchers, infection rates increased significantly from those performed on the first day of admission to those performed a day later, two to five days later and six to 10 days later. With each procedure, there was a difference of at least 10 percentage points between infection rates performed on the day of admission and those performed six to 10 days later.
Delays also increased total hospital costs from $36,079 to $47,5237 for CABG, $20,265 to $29,887 for colon resections and $26,323 to $30,571 for lung resections.
The occurrence of infection after surgical procedures remains a major source of ill health and expense despite extensive prevention efforts via educational programs, clinical guidelines and hospital policies, according to the researchers.
The analysis “confirms a direct correlation between delaying procedures and negative patient outcomes,” lead author Todd R. Vogel, MD, MPH, FACS, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, said in a news release.
“As pay-for-performance models become increasingly prevalent, it will be imperative for hospitals to consider policies aimed at preventing delays and thereby reducing infection rates.”
Patients more likely to experience in-hospital surgical delays were age 80 and older, female and minorities. They had existing health issues such as congestive heart failure, chronic pulmonary disease and renal failure.
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