Patterns Of Surgical Care Research Articles

Medicaid Expansion and Access to Surgical Treatment Among Patients with Non Small Cell Lung Cancer

By Vaishnavi Krishnan, Christopher W. Seder & 2 more. A study to understand the effect of Medicaid Expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on patterns of surgical care on low-income patients with lung cancer.

Presentation, imaging, patterns of care, growth, and outcome in sporadic and von Hippel-Lindau-associated central nervous system hemangioblastomas.

Hemangioblastoma is a relatively rare neoplasm occurring mostly in the cerebellum that may arise sporadically or in the context of von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) syndrome. Presentation, imaging, natural history, surgical patterns of care, and outcomes are incompletely defined for this uncommon lesion. We reviewed our large institutional series to help clarify these issues. Retrospective analysis of consecutive, neurosurgically managed CNS hemangioblastomas at Mayo Clinic, 1988-2018. Two hundred and eighty five hemangioblastomas were treated in 184 unique patients (115 sporadic, 69 VHL). Compared to sporadic patients, VHL patients were younger (36.7 vs 51.7years; p < 0.0001), were treated while asymptomatic more commonly (47.3 vs 4.2%; p < 0.0001), had smaller lesions (6.6 vs 13.9mL; p < 0.0001), and harbored lesions with associated cysts less frequently (51.0 vs 75.0%; p = 0.0002). Macrocystic tumor architecture was associated with larger lesion size and greater symptom severity. Solid lesions later formed cysts at a median 130months. Growth in both total volume and solid component accelerated after cyst formation (10.6 and 6.0 times median rate prior to cyst emergence). VHL patients died at a younger age (47.9 vs 74.5, p = 0.0017) and were more likely to die of direct disease sequelae. Though treatment-free survival time was significantly longer in sporadic cases, a substantial fraction (> 40%) developed tumor recurrence/progression requiring additional treatment. Hemangioblastoma presentation varies with etiology and clinical course is more complicated in VHL cases. Nodular lesions often develop cysts over time which is associated with accelerated tumor growth. Sporadic cases have a previously unappreciated but substantial risk of late recurrence/progression requiring treatment.

Is Medicaid Expansion Narrowing Gaps in Surgical Disparities for Low-Income Breast Cancer Patients?

The objective of this study is to understand the effect of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on patterns of surgical care among low-income breast cancer patients. Emerging literature suggests cancer patients in Medicaid expansion states are presenting with earlier stages of disease. However, less is known regarding the implications of Medicaid expansion on patterns of surgical care in low-income women. We compared nonmetastatic 30-64-year-old uninsured or Medicaid-insured Ohio breast cancer patients diagnosed 4 years before and 4 years after the state's 2014 Medicaid expansion (study group); the control group was the privately insured. Time-to-surgery (TTS) was defined as days from diagnosis to surgery. Demographic and treatment variables before and after expansion were examined in multivariate analysis. There was a 10.4% point increase in breast conservation therapy (BCT) in the study group (pre-ACA 26.3%, post-ACA 36.7%; p < 0.01) compared with a 5.8% point increase in the control group (pre-ACA 36.0%, post-ACA 41.8%; p < 0.01). Disparities in reconstruction narrowed between the study (pre-ACA 21.4%, post-ACA 34.5%; p < 0.01) and the control (37.0% pre-ACA, 44.1% post-ACA group p < 0.01) groups. There was no statistically significant change in mean TTS in the study group (pre-ACA 42.1 days, post-ACA 43.1 days p = 0.18) but there was an increase in TTS in the control group (pre-ACA 35.0 days, post ACA 37.0 days; p < 0.01). Medicaid expansion appears to have narrowed disparities in the utilization of BCT and reconstruction in low-income women. However, there was no improvement in surgical delay.

Humanitarian surgical service utilization by a host country population: comparing surgery patterns between refugees and Tanzanians using an interrupted time-series analysis

BackgroundWhile current estimates suggest that up to three million additional surgical procedures are needed to meet the needs of forcibly displaced populations, literature on surgical care for refugee or forced migrant populations has often focused on acute phase and war-related trauma or violence with insufficient attention to non-war related pathologies. To our knowledge, no study has compared refugee versus host population utilization of surgical services in a refugee camp-based hospital over such an extended period of twenty years. The aim of this paper is to first describe the patterns of surgical care by comparing refugee and host population utilization of surgical services in Nyarugusu refugee camp between 2000 and 2020, then evaluate the impact of a large influx of refugees in 2015 on refugee and host population utilization.MethodsThe study was based on a retrospective review of surgical logbooks in Nyarugusu refugee camp (Kigoma, Tanzania) between 2000 and 2020. We utilized descriptive statistics and multiple group, interrupted time series methodology to assess baseline utilization of surgical services by a host population (Tanzanians) compared to refugees and trends in utilization before and after a large influx of Burundian refugees in 2015.ResultsA total of 10,489 operations were performed in Nyarugusu refugee camp between 2000 and 2020. Refugees underwent the majority of procedures in this dataset (n = 7,767, 74.0%) versus Tanzanians (n = 2,722, 26.0%). The number of surgeries increased over time for both groups. The top five procedures for both groups included caesarean section, bilateral tubal ligation, herniorrhaphy, exploratory laparotomy and hysterectomy. In our time series model, refugees had 3.21 times the number of surgeries per quarter at baseline when compared to Tanzanians. The large influx of Burundian refugees in 2015 impacted surgical output significantly with a 38% decrease (IRR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.46–0.84) in surgeries in the Tanzanian group and a non-significant 20% increase in the refugee group (IRR = 1.20, 95% CI 0.99–1.46). The IRR for the difference-in-difference (ratio of ratios of post versus pre-intervention slopes between refugees and Tanzanians) was 1.04 (95% CI 1.00–1.07), and this result was significant (p=0.028).ConclusionsSurgical care in conflict and post-conflict settings is not limited to war or violence related trauma but instead includes a large burden of obstetrical and general surgical pathology. Host population utilization of surgical services in Nyarugusu camp accounted for over 25% of all surgeries performed, suggesting some host population benefit of the protracted refugee situation in western Tanzania. Host population utilization of surgical services was apparently different after a large influx of refugees from Burundi in 2015.

Trends in rates of modified radical mastectomies and bilateral mastectomies in unilateral breast cancer.

569 Background: Women with unilateral breast cancer (BC) without genetic predisposition have a low risk for local and contralateral recurrence with breast conservation surgery (BCS) and adjuvant treatment. We aimed to study the pattern of surgical care across centers in rural New Mexico and its correlation to clinical outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 533 patients with Stage 1-3 BC diagnosed between January 1989 to October 2015. Clinical Outcomes with BCS, sentinel lymph node dissection (SLND), simple mastectomy (SM), modified radical mastectomy (MRM) and Bilateral Mastectomy (BM) were studied. Descriptive statistics were performed to describe the proportion of surgery types. Predictors of clinical outcomes were evaluated by multivariate logistic regression. Results: Out of 533 patients, 510 (82%) had early stage (0-3) resectable BC. Among these, 48% (246/510) had either MRM (209/510) or BM (37/510). MRM was performed in 3% of stage 0 (6/209), 23% (49/209) stage I, 46%(97/209) of stage II and 27% (57/209) of Stage III patients. Overall, the rate of SLND was 42% among Early stage Breast cancer. Of 41 patients treated with bilateral mastectomy, 10 were positive for BRCA mutation, 6 for family history and 3 for contralateral disease. Median age of BM was 53 +12 y. The local recurrence rate was 8.8% (45/510), and metastatic recurrence rate was 15.5% (79/510). Lymphedema rate was 9.2% (47/510). Using MRM as reference, the Odds Ratio (OR) for lymphedema after BM and BCT were 2.15 (95% CI, 0.84-5.50) and 0.58 (0.28-1.22), respectively. With 9.6 years of median follow up, the predictive probabilities of lymphedema after BCT, SM, MRM and BM were 1%, 4%, 9% and 18%. The OR for local recurrence in women with BCT were 1.46 (95th C/I: 0.72-2.95), SM 0.27 (0.03-2.13), BM 2.06 (95th C/I:0.70-6.06). Conclusions: Less BCT and more aggressive procedures are being performed, and the latter is associated with more lymphedema. No significant differences were noted in local recurrences. Presence of a genetic mutation was not the sole indicator of BM’s in our patient population. There is a need for evidence-based shared decision-making and surgical management of breast cancer, especially in a rural community setting.

Surgical Mortality Audit-lessons Learned in a Developing Nation.

Surgical audit is a systematic, critical analysis of the quality of surgical care that is reviewed by peers against explicit criteria or recognized standards. It is used to improve surgical practice with the ultimate goal of improving patient care. As the pattern of surgical care is different in the developing world, we analyzed mortalities in a referral medical institute of India to suggest interventions for improvement. An analysis of total admissions, different surgeries, and mortalities over 1 year in an urban referral medical institute of northern India was performed, followed by "peer review" of the mortalities. Mortality rates as outcomes and classification was done to provide comparative results. Of 10,005 surgical patients, 337 (male = 221, female = 116) deaths were reported over 1 year. The overall mortality rate was 3.36%, while mortality in operative cases was 1.76%. Total deaths were classified into (1) Viable: 153 (45%), (2) Nonviable: 174 (52%), and (3) Indeterminate: 10 (3%). Exclusion of the nonviable group reduced the mortality rate from 3.36% to 1.62%. Trauma was the major cause of mortality (n = 235; 70%) as compared to other surgical patients (n = 102; 30%). Increased mortality was also associated with emergency procedures (3.66%) as compared to elective surgeries (0.34%). In conclusion, audit of mortality and morbidity helps in initiating and implementing preventive strategies to improve surgical practice and patient care, and to reduce mortality rates. The mortality and morbidity forum is an important educational activity. It should be considered a mandatory activity in all postgraduate training programs.

Surgical Patterns of Care in Patients with Invasive Breast Cancer Treated with Neoadjuvant Systemic Therapy and Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Results of a Secondary Analysis of TBCRC 017

Surgical Patterns of Care in Patients with Invasive Breast Cancer Treated with Neoadjuvant Systemic Therapy and Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Results of a Secondary Analysis of TBCRC 017

Patterns of surgical care and complications in elderly adults.

To determine whether procedures, hospitals visited, and complications would differ according to decade in elderly adults and from those of younger adults. Retrospective cohort study. The Anesthesia Quality Institute National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry (NACOR) is the largest database of anesthesia cases from academic and community hospitals and includes all insurance and facility types across the United States. Eight million six hundred thirty-two thousand nine hundred seventy-nine cases from January 2010 to March 2013 were acquired. After exclusion of individuals younger than 18, nonapplicable locations, and brain death, 2,851,114 remained and were placed into age categories (18-64, 65-69, 70-79, 80-89, ≥ 90). Participant, surgical, anesthetic, and hospital descriptors and short-term outcomes (major complications, mortality at <48 hours). The largest number of older adults had surgery in medium-sized community hospitals. The oldest age group (≥ 90) underwent the smallest range of procedures; hip fracture, hip replacement, and cataract procedures accounted for more than 35% of all surgeries. Younger old adults underwent these procedures plus a significant proportion of spinal fusion, cholecystectomy, and knee surgery. Older adults had greater mortality and more complications than younger adults. Participants undergoing exploratory laparotomy had the greatest likelihood of death in any age category except 90 and older, in which small bowel resection predominated. The proportion of emergency surgery and the mortality associated with emergency surgery was 30% higher in the oldest group (≥ 90) than in adults aged 18 to 64. This article reports the pattern of surgical procedures, complications, and mortality found in NACOR, which is one of the few data sets that contains data from community hospitals and individuals with all types of insurance. Because the outcomes portion of the data set is under development, it is not possible to investigate the relationship between hospital type and complications or mortality, but this study underscores the magnitude of geriatric surgery that occurs in community hospitals as an area for future outcomes studies.

Abstract P2-18-15: Primary site surgery for metastatic breast cancer: Patterns of care and cause-specific survival

Abstract Background: The impact of surgical interventions for women with a primary diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer has been debated throughout the literature. Much of the impact on survival has been attributed to a selection bias of healthier and younger individuals. Utilizing the SEER registry, we evaluate the patterns of surgical care and survival of patients with de novo Stage IV breast carcinoma with consideration of immortal time bias and potential selection bias for surgical intervention. Methods: Utilizing the SEER database we completed a retrospective, population-based cohort study of all women with a primary diagnosis of Stage IV, pathologically confirmed invasive breast carcinoma diagnosed in 16 SEER registries between 2004 and June 2009. Multivariate analysis of patterns of surgical care was performed using logistic regression, and of cause specific survival (CSS), using Cox Proportional Hazards model. Results: 13,410 patients selected from the SEER database fit the inclusion criteria for this study, of whom 40% had surgery to the primary site, 59% did not, and 0.8% had missing surgical data. On multivariate analysis, receipt of surgery was less likely with increasing age (OR = 0.99, p&amp;lt;0.0001), black race (OR = 0.74, p&amp;lt;0.001), diagnosis in the latter years 2007-2009 (OR = 0.74, p&amp;lt;0.0001), tumor size &amp;gt;5cm (OR = 0.91, p = 0.042), clinical stage T4 (OR = 0.73, p&amp;lt;0.0001), residence in a county with high white collar employment (OR = 0.78, p = 0.003); and more likely in patients who were married (OR = 1.13, p = 0.003), histologic grade 3 (OR = 1.28, p&amp;lt;0.0001), metastasis localized to the cervical LNs (OR = 2.51, p&amp;lt;0.0001), residence in a rural or small metropolitan area (OR = 1.40, p&amp;lt;0.0001 and OR = 1.25, p&amp;lt;0.0001 respectively). Over one-fifth of patients died &amp;lt; 6 months and 40% died &amp;lt; 1 year from diagnosis. On multivariate analysis of 6 month survivors, improved CSS was associated with: younger age, birthplace outside the US, marriage, less county poverty, tubular/mucinous/papillary subtypes, grade 1/2, ER or PR +, clinical T1/T2, clinical N stage &amp;lt;3, metastatic disease isolated to the cervical LNs, pathologically confirmed M1, axillary dissection, and primary surgery. In patients with follow-up of 1 year or less (including all patients diagnosed in 2004), 42% of living patients received surgery as compared to 23% of those deceased, indicative of immortal time bias (bias due to a period of time in which the event of interest cannot occur). Additionally, the impact of primary surgery appears to diminish when applying the Cox model to those with increasing survivorship: all patients (HR = 0.62), 6 month survivors (HR = 0.70) and one year survivors (HR = 0.73). Conclusions: Surgery to the primary site is associated with increased CSS. Surgery was used less commonly in the latter years and in older patients, those with higher clinical stage, and in white collar and large metropolitan areas. Immortal time bias and inability to account for relevant prognostic factors in the metastatic setting preclude any conclusion regarding a causative role of surgery on survival. Randomized trials are necessary, however the poor early survivorship of patients with stage IV who might be destined to benefit from surgery makes accrual to such trials difficult. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P2-18-15.

P2-15-01: Surgical Patterns of Care after Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Academic Setting in Patients with Operable Breast Cancer Treated with Neoadjuvant Systemic Therapy: A Secondary Analysis of TBCRC 017.

Abstract Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is increasingly used to downstage locally advanced tumors, test new regimens, and improve chances of breast conservation. In parallel, use of breast MRI for surgical planning and as a potential response biomarker has also increased along with an observed increase in mastectomy rates. This secondary analysis reports surgical patterns of care across 8 NCI comprehensive cancer centers in women receiving both neoadjuvant therapy and breast MRIs. Methods: 770 women from 8 institutions were retrospectively identified as having received neoadjuvant systemic therapy with MRI done before and after systemic treatment. Univariate and multivariate analyses of covariates associated with surgical management were performed. Within MRI complete response or not, the Jonckheere-Terpstra Test (JTT) was used to test for a trend in mastectomy rate by T stage. Results: Surgical data was available on 763/770 patients. Table 1 lists MRI response by pretreatment imaging size and final breast surgery. Distribution of pretreatment imaging-defined T stage was as follows: T1 66 (8%), T2 436 (57%), T3 230 (30%), and T4 36 (5%). 347/763 (45%) patients received breast conserving surgery and 416/763 (55%) had a mastectomy. 58% vs 43% (p=0.0003) of those with an incomplete vs complete MRI response had a mastectomy, respectively. Univariate logistic regression analysis of covariates significantly associated with use of mastectomy included ER- status (p=0.01), incomplete MRI response (p=0.0003), higher T stage (p&amp;lt;0.0001), chemotherapy regimen (p=0.006), younger age (p&amp;lt;0.0001), and institution (p=0.002); all except chemotherapy regimen and institution remained independent predictors of mastectomy on multivariate analysis. Patients with larger baseline T stage and an incomplete response on MRI (P&amp;lt;0.001) were more likely to undergo mastectomy. Overall, breast conservation was low (262/495, 53%) of all T1-T2 patients, especially in the T1 subset (26/65, 40%). Conclusions: In a contemporary group of women treated with preoperative chemotherapy at NCI designated cancer centers and with available pre/post MRI, we observed a lower frequency of breast conservation as compared to historical data from prospective randomized trials. Larger tumor size at baseline was associated with higher mastectomy rates. However, even among those with a complete MRI response, 43% had a mastectomy. In addition to clinical response and MRI findings, factors not examined here (e.g., BRCA status, education level, and patient/provider preference) may influence the decision-making process and deserve further evaluation. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-15-01.

Patterns of Surgical Care and Health Disparities of Treating Pediatric Finger Amputation Injuries in the United States

Digital amputation in children is a very strong indication for replantation, but little is known about the epidemiology and distribution of care for pediatric finger amputation injuries in the United States. The specific aims of this study were to examine trends in the surgical management of pediatric finger amputation injuries in the United States from 2000 to 2006, and to identify potential treatment disparities among various demographic groups. Data from the 2000, 2003, and 2006 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Database were used to identify discharge records containing at least one ICD-9-CM procedure code corresponding to digit amputation or replantation. National estimates were generated using weighted frequency calculations, and a weighted logistic regression model was used to examine the influence of various demographic factors on treatment. There were 1,321 weighted discharge records that satisfied our inclusion criteria. From 2000 to 2006, the rate of attempted digit replantation for pediatric finger amputation injuries has remained stable at approximately 40%. The majority of injuries were treated at nonchildren's (86%) and teaching (76%) hospitals; 52% of digit replantations were performed at hospitals with a volume of 1 to 2 digit replantations per year. We found that blacks (odds ratio [OR] 0.47), Hispanics (OR 0.37), and children without insurance (OR 0.38) were less likely to receive attempted replantation (all p < 0.05), even after controlling for potential confounding factors. The proportion of pediatric digit amputation injuries managed by replantation remained stable between 2000 and 2006. Whites and children with private health insurance were more likely to receive replantation than blacks, Hispanics, and children without health insurance, even after controlling for confounding factors.

Ovarian cancer: Patterns of surgical care across the United States

Ovarian cancer: Patterns of surgical care across the United States

Ovarian cancer: Patterns of surgical care across the United States

Ovarian cancer: Patterns of surgical care across the United States

Ovarian cancer: Patterns of surgical care across the United States

Objective. To describe the primary surgical procedures and procedures for intraoperative and postoperative complications, and factors associated with these procedures, in women with ovarian cancer. Methods. Using hospital discharge data from nine states, obtained from the Heath Care Cost and Utilization Project from 1999 to 2002, we evaluated 10,432 women with a primary diagnosis of ovarian cancer who underwent at least an oophorectomy for additional procedural ICD-9 codes during their initial hospitalization. Results. Surgical procedures performed in addition to oophorectomy included: omentectomy/debulking 81.9%, hysterectomy 73.4%, lymph node dissection 41.4%, appendectomy 23.8%, bowel procedures 19.8%, laparoscopy 5.6%, diaphragmatic procedures 4.9%, colostomy 3.5%, and splenectomy 1.2%. Transfusions were given to 15.5% of patients. Intraoperative and postoperative procedures for complications were coded in 7.4% of patients, including repair of surgical injury 3.5%, procedures for cardiopulmonary complications 2.8%, reoperation 1.1%, and infection treatment 0.3%. In early stage disease 21.4% of women received no additional staging procedures and 46.8% did not have nodal sampling. In bivariate analysis of crude rates, factors associated with lymph node dissection were patient age, race, payer, teaching hospital status, hospital and surgeon volume, and surgeon specialty, p < .01. for all observations. Colostomies were performed by general surgeons in 23.1% of cases, by gynecologic oncologists in 2.7% of cases, and by obstetrician/gynecologists in no cases, p < .001. Complications were associated with age, payer, median household income, and stage, p < .001 for all observations. Complication rates were similar for low- and high-volume hospitals and surgeons. However, in higher volume settings, significantly more patients received debulking procedures, lymph node dissections, and additional surgical procedures, p < .001 for all observations. Conclusions. A significant percentage of women with ovarian cancer did not receive recommended surgical procedures. Almost 50% of women with early stage disease were not adequately staged and in women with advanced disease, the percentage who had additional surgical procedures such as bowel resections was much lower than in institutions that report high optimal cytoreduction rates.

Surgical Patterns of Care in Operable Lung Carcinoma Treated with Radiation

Surgical Patterns of Care in Operable Lung Carcinoma Treated with Radiation

Surgical Patterns of Care in Operable Lung Carcinoma Treated with Radiation

To determine the national surgical practice patterns of care for operable lung cancer patients treated with radiation. A nationwide survey of a stratified random sample of institutions was conducted for patients who had non-metastatic lung cancer, Karnofsky Performance Scores (KPS) > or =60, and who had received radiation therapy as definitive or adjuvant treatment. Among 541 patients, representing a weighted sample size of 42,335 patients nationwide, 131 (19.8%) underwent surgery as part of their therapy. Pearson chi statistics were used to analyze characteristics of this subset of patients. Of the 131 patients who underwent surgery, 126 patients who had non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were analyzed. Surgical patients were younger, had less weight loss, higher KPS, and higher forced expiratory volume within 1 second (FEV1) values than those treated without surgery. Surgical patients had more stage I/II (53.5% vs 32.2%; p = 0.0004) and less clinical N2/N3 disease (28.8% vs 47.5%; p = 0.002) than nonsurgical patients. Surgery consisted of lobectomy or bilobectomy in 63.2% of patients, pneumonectomy in 23.5%, and wedge resection in 5.9%. Of the patients, 80.4% received radiation in the adjuvant setting and 9.9% in the neoadjuvant setting. Patients with non-metastatic lung cancer who are treated surgically and with radiation have clinically less advanced disease than those treated with radiation alone. Most radiation therapy in this setting is administrated postoperatively and secondary to hilar and/or mediastinal nodal involvement undetected before surgery. Improved preoperative nodal staging and neoadjuvant approaches may alter these practice patterns.

Colorectal cancer surgical care and survival: do private health insurance, socioeconomic and locational status make a difference?

The purpose of the present paper was to examine patterns of surgical care and the likelihood of death within 5 years after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer, including the effects of demographic, locational and socioeconomic disadvantage and the possession of private health insurance. The Western Australian Data Linkage System was used to extract all hospital morbidity, cancer and death records for people with a diagnosis of colorectal cancer from 1982 to 2001. Demographic, hospital and private health insurance information was available for all years and measures of socioeconomic and locational disadvantage from 1991. A logistic regression model estimated the probability of receiving colorectal surgery. A Cox regression model estimated the likelihood of death from any cause within 5 years of diagnosis. People were more likely to undergo colorectal surgery if they were younger, had less comorbidity and were married/defacto or divorced. People with a first admission to a private hospital (odds ratio (OR) 1.31, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16-1.48) or with private health insurance (OR 1.27, 95% CI: 1.14-1.42) were more likely to undergo surgery. Living in a rural or remote area made little difference, but a first admission to a rural hospital reduced the likelihood of surgery (OR 0.76, 95% CI: 0.66-0.87). Residency in lower socioeconomic areas also made no difference to the likelihood of having surgical treatment. The likelihood of death from any cause was lower in those who were younger, had less comorbidity, were elective admissions and underwent surgery. Residency in lower socioeconomic status and rural areas, admission to a rural hospital or a private hospital and possession of private health insurance had no effect on the likelihood of death. The present study demonstrates that socioeconomic and locational status and access to private health care had no significant effects on surgical patterns of care in people with colorectal cancer. However, despite the higher rates of surgery in the private hospitals and among those with private health insurance, their survival was no better.

The pediatric/adolescent adnexal mass: patterns of surgical care

The pediatric/adolescent adnexal mass: patterns of surgical care

Practice of breast self examination: disease extent at diagnosis and patterns of surgical care. A report from an Italian study. GIVIO (Interdisciplinary Group for Cancer Care Evaluation).

The aim was to determine whether breast self examination leads to earlier diagnosis and whether this translates into a larger utilisation of conservative surgical procedures. The study was a survey of a cohort of breast cancer patients diagnosed over the period September 1986-July 1988. Participants were 1315 women enrolled in a clinical trial testing the effectiveness of two follow up regimens by 30 general hospitals throughout Italy. Overall, 511 patients (39%) reported some breast self examination practice, but only 109 (8%) did this regularly and in a way deemed correct by their physicians. Breast self examination practice was positively associated with patients' education and past history of benign breast disease and negatively with age. Self examiners were found to have a significantly greater chance of being diagnosed with a primary tumour coded as pT1 according to the 1982 TNM classification (odds ratio = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.13-1.79). This protective effect was mostly evident in the subgroup of optimal performers (odds ratio = 1.54, CI = 1.01-2.34). Nearly half the patients (319/655) eligible for conservative surgery still had an unnecessary radical procedure. Premorbid breast self examination seems to have a modest effect on the extent of disease at diagnosis. The still widespread use of radical surgery suggests that a careful reanalysis of priorities among possible public interventions is needed before launching massive educational campaigns targeted exclusively at consumers.

Organizational and Financial Influences on Patterns of Surgical Care

Rates of surgery for similar patient groups are lower in well-established prepaid group plan forms of HMO than in either independent practice association forms of HMO or in traditional fee-for-service care arrangements. The biologic outcomes of care are at least as good in prepaid group plan settings as in other settings. The implications of these conclusions for the future are discussed.