Surgical Quality Assurance Research Articles

Patient Safety in Surgical Residency: Root Cause Analysis and the Surgical Morbidity and Mortality Conference—Case Series from Clinical Practice

Although the surgical morbidity and mortality conference (SMMC) has been a core educational venue for surgical education and quality assurance (QA), its current format focuses mainly on human errors rather than system failures, which are responsible for the vast majority of medical errors. To avoid having surgeons seemingly put on trial, root cause analysis (RCA) can be used as an effective way of analyzing system failures and of finding possible solutions for them. Preliminary data confirm the value of RCA in that respect and promise a great potential for improving patient safety away from the culture of blame. Bringing the findings of RCA to the SMMC has the advantage of having both perspectives--human errors and systems failures--thus enhancing surgical education, improving QA, and hopefully improving patient safety. However, although this seems to be a novel approach, several factors should be considered before its implementation, such as the quality of analysis, cost-effectiveness, and actual impact on patient safety. We believe that to maximize learning, sentinel events that currently require RCA should not be discussed in SMMCs until the findings of RCA are available for review. The use of some of the tools of RCA should be considered when discussing nonsentinel events during SMMCs.

Identifikation von Risikofaktoren anerkannter Vorwürfe von ärztlichen Behandlungsfehlern aus dem Fachgebiet Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie

In Germany, orthopedic and trauma surgery rank first in the number of alleged malpractice claims amongst all medical disciplines. Thus, the German Association of Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery, together with the Bavarian Chamber of Physicians, set out to identify potential predictors of approved malpractice claims to improve process quality. In a case-control study, 164 cases of approved malpractice claims were matched according to age and gender to 336 controls of rejected claims, based on the 2004 to 2006 dataset of the Bavarian Chamber of Physicians. Potential predictors of acceptance of an alleged incident were modeled by uni- and multivariate logistic regression analysis. The final model explained 71% of the probability of acceptance of an asserted claim. It contained three medical consequences (i.e. delayed healing, reoperation, and loss of motion), one specific entity (i.e. fracture) and one socio-demographic variable (i.e. professional driver) as independent predictors of acceptance. Insufficient or lacking explanation of the planned procedure to patients or relatives and / or lacking informed consent (odds ratio [OR] 2.33, 95% confidence interval [CI]1.23-4.43), as well as inappropriate, low-quality, or erroneously interpreted imaging (OR 1.90, 95% CI 1.06-3.41) independently contributed to the likelihood of acceptance of a legal claim. Strict adherence to the principles of surgical quality assurance in terms of transparent patient information and joint informed consent procedures, as well as intransigent radiological imaging are mandatory to foster surgeon-patients-relationships and to avoid later legal claims.

Surgical quality assurance for robot-assisted prostatectomy

The authors of a recent study propose to expand the criteria for “good surgical outcome” for robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RARP), a relatively new procedure. Without level 1 evidence to support such clinical innovations, it is vital that surgeons adopt critical self-appraisal in order to improve the reporting of outcomes.

The incidence, root-causes, and outcomes of adverse events in surgical units: implication for potential prevention strategies

BackgroundWe need to know the scale and underlying causes of surgical adverse events (AEs) in order to improve the safety of care in surgical units. However, there is little recent data. Previous record review studies that reported on surgical AEs in detail are now more than ten years old. Since then surgical technology and quality assurance have changed rapidly. The objective of this study was to provide more recent data on the incidence, consequences, preventability, causes and potential strategies to prevent AEs among hospitalized patients in surgical units.MethodsA structured record review study of 7,926 patient records was carried out by trained nurses and medical specialist reviewers in 21 Dutch hospitals. The aim was to determine the presence of AEs during hospitalizations in 2004 and to consider how far they could be prevented. Of all AEs, the consequences, responsible medical specialty, causes and potential prevention strategies were identified. Surgical AEs were defined as AEs attributable to surgical treatment and care processes and were selected for analysis in detail.ResultsSurgical AEs occurred in 3.6% of hospital admissions and represented 65% of all AEs. Forty-one percent of the surgical AEs was considered to be preventable. The consequences of surgical AEs were more severe than for other types of AEs, resulting in more permanent disability, extra treatment, prolonged hospital stay, unplanned readmissions and extra outpatient visits. Almost 40% of the surgical AEs were infections, 23% bleeding, and 22% injury by mechanical, physical or chemical cause. Human factors were involved in the causation of 65% of surgical AEs and were considered to be preventable through quality assurance and training.ConclusionsSurgical AEs occur more often than other types of AEs, are more often preventable and their consequences are more severe. Therefore, surgical AEs have a major impact on the burden of AEs during hospitalizations. These findings concur with the results from previous studies. However, evidence-based solutions to reduce surgical AEs are increasingly available. Interventions directed at human causes are recommended to improve the safety of surgical care. Examples are team training and the surgical safety checklist. In addition, specific strategies are needed to improve appropriate use of antibiotic prophylaxis and sustainable implementation of hygiene guidelines to reduce infections.

Systematic Classification of Morbidity and Mortality After Thoracic Surgery

Objective reporting of postoperative complications is the foundation of surgical quality assurance. We developed a system to identify both presence and severity of thoracic morbidity and mortality, and evaluated its feasibility and utility over the first two years of its implementation. The system was based on the Clavien-Dindo classification, in which the severity of a complication is proportional to the effort to treat it. Definitions were developed by peer review and questionnaire. All patients undergoing thoracic surgery (January 2008 to December 2009) were prospectively evaluated. A total of 953 patients (mean age 61 years; range, 14 to 95) underwent thoracic surgery (total # cases 1260), of which 369 patients had at least one complication (29.3% procedures). Grades I and II include minor complications requiring no therapy or pharmacologic intervention only. Grades III and IV are major complications that require surgical intervention or life support. Grade V complications result in patient death. Grades I, II, III, and IV complications comprised 4.9%, 63.9%, 21.1%, and 7.8% of all complications; overall mortality rate (grade V) was 2.2%. The most common complications were prolonged air leak (18.8%) and atrial fibrillation (18.2%) after pulmonary resection, and atrial fibrillation (11.5%) after esophagectomy-gastrectomy. Prolonged air leak led to a major complication (13%), readmission (17%), or prolonged hospital stay (29%) to a greater extent than atrial fibrillation (3%, 2%, and 7%, respectively). This standardized classification system for identifying presence and severity of thoracic surgical complications is feasible, facilitates objective comparison, identifies burden of illness of individual complications, and provides an effective method for continuous surgical quality assessment.

Quality assurance in rectal cancer treatment in the Netherlands: A catch up compared to colon cancer treatment

Background In the Netherlands, the Total Mesorectal Excision (TME) surgical technique for rectal cancer was introduced together with pre-operative radiotherapy in a quality controlled manner within the framework of the TME trial (1996–1999). The aim of this study is to examine the effects of the structural changes in rectal cancer care on survival compared to colon cancer for patients treated before, during and after the TME trial. Method We compared overall survival of all patients with curatively resected colon ( n = 15,266) and rectal cancer ( n = 5839) in the regions of Comprehensive Cancer Centres South and West between 1990 and 2005, adjusting for prognostic variables. Results In the pre-trial period, rectal cancer had a significant lower survival compared to colon cancer (HR 1.248, P < 0.01). However, in the post-trial period, survival after rectal cancer was similar to colon cancer (HR 0.987, n.s.). Conclusion Although survival improved significantly for both colon and rectal cancer in the last 15 years, the substantially worse results after rectal cancer have been eliminated. This study shows the lasting effects that structural surgical training and quality assurance can have on survival outcome.

Repair of Concomitant Valvular Endocarditis Using a Single Homograft

Definitive treatment of complicated bacterial endocarditis requires surgical operation. However, the extent of bacterial endocarditis has dictated that surgical options be individualized. There are several surgical approaches to treat bacterial endocarditis. Transesophageal echocardiography has provided an invaluable intraoperative aid to the surgical decision-making and quality assurance of the repair. We report a case in which a primary aortic homograft was used for concomitant aortic and mitral valve repair based on transesophageal echocardiography evaluation. This case provides a new surgical alternative that uses a single homograft to repair aortic and mitral valves.

Virtual slide telepathology for an academic teaching hospital surgical pathology quality assurance program

Virtual slide telepathology is an important potential tool for providing re-review of surgical pathology cases as part of a quality assurance program. The University of Arizona pathology faculty has implemented a quality assurance program between 2 university hospitals located 6 miles apart. The flagship hospital, University Medical Center (UMC), in Tucson, AZ, handles approximately 20 000 surgical pathology specimens per year. University Physicians Healthcare Hospital (UPHH) at Kino Campus has one tenth the volume of surgical pathology cases. Whereas UMC is staffed by 10 surgical pathologists, UPHH is staffed daily by a single part-time pathologist on a rotating basis. To provide same-day quality assurance re-reviews of cases, a DMetrix DX-40 ultrarapid virtual slide scanner (DMetrix, Inc, Tucson, AZ) was installed at the UPHH in 2005. Since then, glass slides of new cases of cancer and other difficult cases have been scanned the same day the slides are produced by the UPHH histology laboratory. The pathologist at UPHH generates a provisional written report based on light microscopic examination of the glass slides. At 2:00 pm each day, completed cases from UPHH are re-reviewed by staff pathologists, pathology residents, and medical students at the UMC using the DMetrix Iris virtual slide viewer. The virtual slides are viewed on a 50-in plasma monitor. Results are communicated with the UPHH laboratory by fax. We have analyzed the results of the first 329 consecutive quality assurance cases. There was complete concordance with the original UPHH diagnosis in 302 (91.8%) cases. There were 5 (1.5%) major discrepancies, which would have resulted in different therapy and/or management, and 10 (3.0%) minor discrepancies. In 6 cases (1.8%), the diagnosis was deferred for examination of the glass slides by the reviewing pathologists at UMC, and the diagnosis of another 6 (1.8%) cases were deferred pending additional testing, usually immunohistochemistry. Thus, the quality assurance program found a small number of significant diagnostic discrepancies. We also found that implementation of a virtual slide telepathology quality assurance service improved the job satisfaction of academic subspecialty pathologists assigned to cover on-site surgical pathology services at a small, affiliated university hospital on a rotating part-time basis. These findings should be applicable to some community hospital group practices as well.

Postoperative wound healing disorders

Investigation of the incidence of wound healing disorders in operative material and that of possible commonality with the nosocomial categories of operations and with the surgical site infections registered by the authors, respectively. OPERATIVE MATERIAL AND METHOD: The data of 33,336 operations, made in their ward, are analysed by the authors. By way of introduction the question of nomenclature is discussed which is not uniform in the literature. Referring to the most accepted infection surveillance systems they state that wound healing disorders represent a different idea than surgical site infections. The method of their prospective investigation is described as follows: at the time of the emission of the patient every wound healing disorder is registered in a collective protocol and in a short case history. Then they are monthly summarised. The data were elaborated in one year, in 5 years, in 10 years and in 20 years grouping interconnected with the nosocomial categories of the operations, and with the surgical site infections observed in the same period of time. The numerical results are debated in detail. These show that the 20-year summarised rate of wound healing disorders amounts to 2.2% and that of surgical site infections to 2.7%. They point out that the rates of both wound healing disorders and surgical site infections are diminishing during the second half of observation. The former is related to the improved surgical technique and to the better operative circumstances introduced during the observed two decades. The latter can be a consequence of their prospective infection register based on the CDC ad HELICS systems. Up till now no information could be found by them in the literature concerning the interaction of wound healing disorders with the nosocomial categories of the performed operations. The author's new establishment: as proceeding from category "A" towards category "D", not only the rates of surgical site infections became greater and greater, but those of wound healing disorders, too. But there is an important difference: the increase of the rates of wound healing disorders is in general meaningfully less than that of surgical site infections. Concerning the interaction of wound healing disorders with surgical site infections also another original observation was made by them: if the rate of surgical site infections is less than 2%, the identical rate of wound healing disorders is greater than the rate of surgical site infections and vice versa. If the rate of surgical site infections is greater than 2%, the rate of wound healing disorders becomes less than the rate of site infections. In conclusion the authors think that this relationship between the two sorts of rates - which can be seen in the majority (82.5%) of the rates of wound healing disorders and identical surgical site infections - seems to be fundamental. The interpretation of this observation can be done as follows: all wound healing disorders represent "loci minoris resistentiae" concerning the infection. They don't suppurate, or they scarcely suppurate in the aseptic category "A" and in the facultative septic category "B". On the other hand, more and more of their proportion becomes suppurated in the septic category "C", and even more in the seriously septic category "D". Finally they refer to their guessing, whereby, in an adequate context, the rates of wound healing disorders could be perhaps new indicators in surgical quality assurance.

Occurrence and prognostic value of circumferential resection margin involvement for patients with rectal cancer

Total mesorectal excision (TME) was advocated owning to the reduction in local failure, while deficiency in pathologic details limited monitoring of surgical quality assurance. Here, we aimed to examine circumferential resection margin (CRM) by large tissue slice, discussing its rule in occurrence and relationship with prognosis, thus providing proof for the adoption of TME principles and the application of adjuvant therapy. Specimens of 106 patients with rectal cancer, who underwent potentially curative resection from December 2001 to September 2002, were examined. Follow-up data were collected. Altogether, 2,068 mesorectal nodes were examined with 272 involved by tumor. CRM involvement (CRMI) was examined in 20 specimens. In these 20 cases, seven, nine, and four were caused by tumor infiltration, lymph node metastasis, and both, respectively. Occurrence of CRMI was more common for lower-located cancers while also statistically related to tumor differentiation, infiltration, and lymph node metastasis. The difference in local recurrence rate, general recurrence rate, disease-free survival rate, and overall survival rate between the group with CRMI and the group without were all proven to be significant. Detailed pathologic examination, including status of CRM, is advocated since it provides accurate prognostic information. Surgeons could maximize the probability of cure by following the principle of TME. Preoperative adjuvant therapy was essential for advanced staged and lower-located lesions, which implied likelihood of CRMI.

Technical aspects of the sentinel node biopsy in the EORTC AMAROS sentinel node trial.

Abstract Abstract #1006 Background: The AMAROS trial is a phase III study comparing axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) with axillary radiation therapy (ART) in patients with proven axillary metastasis by sentinel node biopsy (SNB). The main objective of the trial is to prove equivalent locoregional control and reduced morbidity for ART. The aim of this interim analysis was to analyze the technical aspects of the SNB.&amp;#x2028; Methods: The first 2000 patients with operable unifocal invasive breast cancer (5-30 mm) and clinically negative lymph nodes enrolled in the AMAROS trial between 2001 and 2005 were analyzed. The 26 participating institutions have been site visited as part of the surgical quality assurance. SNB is performed using preoperative lymphoscintigraphy, blue dye and a gamma-ray detection probe. Patients with a negative sentinel node were not subjected to ALND or ART.&amp;#x2028; Results: The SN identification rate was 97% (range per institute 89%- 99%), 33% (n=658) of the patients were SNB positive, 62% (n=1245) were SNB negative and 2%(n=32) had other outcomes (non-axillary, missing data). Median two sentinel nodes were removed in the SNB positive as well as the SNB negative group. In 17% (344) of the patients, non-blue and non radio-active nodes were removed during the sentinel node procedure, median 1 node. In 11 patients, these nodes were the only tumor positive nodes found. In the SNB positive group the incidence of macro-, micrometastasis and isolated tumor cells was 61% (389), 26% (164) and 13% (80), respectively. In the ALND arm, further nodal involvement was seen 47,5% , 21,4 % and 16,7%, respectively. There was no correlation between the size of metastasis and the tumor size, grade or histological subtype. Of the sentinel nodes 59% (1907/3259) were radioactive and blue, 33% (1087/3259) were only radioactive, 8 %(265/3259) were only blue. Non-visualization on lymphoscintigraphy was seen in 7.6%(152), in 78%(118) of these cases a sentinel node was found during surgery. At least one sentinel node was located in the axilla in 89%(1777), in the internal mammary chain in 5% (104) and infra/supraclavicular in 1%(15). The injection site was intra/peritumoral in 53% subcutane/intradermal over the tumor in 9% periareolair in 16%, a combination in 4%, missing data 17%. Sentinel nodes in the internal mammary chain were significantly correlated with a intratumoral injection technique.&amp;#x2028; Conclusions: These results indicate that with a 97% detection rate in this prospective international multicenter study using the combination of radioactive tracer and blue dye, the sentinel node procedure is highly effective. Differences in injection site affect the finding of non axillary sentinel nodes. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 1006.

Audit of patient experience of day-case inguinal hernia repair

This study was prompted by a complaint from a patient citing he had suffered postoperative pain and scrotal bruising. We audit postoperative pain following inguinal herniorrhaphy and patient understanding of postoperative complications. A telephone survey was carried out to assess patient experience of day-case inguinal herniorrhaphy (DIH). Having identified that there was some dissatisfaction with the outcome of DIH, a prospective audit was carried out to assess causative factors. Changes in practice were made; chiefly, the provision of patient-information leaflets and the standardisation of intraoperative and postoperative analgesia. Repeat audit then assessed the effects of these changes. Ten percent of patients had a poor understanding of postoperative complications following inguinal herniorrhaphy. Thirty-eight percent had early postoperative pain; wound infiltration of local anaesthetic at the end of inguinal herniorrhaphy reduced the incidence of early postoperative pain to 23%. Audit is an important tool in surgical quality assurance for DIH. Small changes in practice with adherence to good protocols can have a marked effect on patients' experience.

Monitoring diagnostic accuracy and complications. A report from the Children's Oncology Group Hodgkin lymphoma study

Background/Purpose Cancer studies mandate quality assurance programs for clinical trials. Surgeons consistently play 2 roles early in the management of Hodgkin lymphoma in children and adolescents: obtaining a specimen for pathologic diagnosis and placing a central venous catheter to assist with therapy delivery. A surgical quality assurance program was embedded as part of the of the Hodgkin lymphoma study (AHODOOO31) to assess diagnostic accuracy and complications. Methods Surgical checklists and operative and pathology reports were reviewed concurrently. Diagnostic technique, success rate, location of biopsy, combined procedures under one anesthetic, and complications are reported. Results One hundred eighty-five cases were reviewed, with 169 having complete data. Diagnostic techniques included open biopsy (n = 148), computed tomography–guided core biopsy (n = 5), thoracoscopic/laparoscopic biopsy (n = 10) and fine-needle aspirations (n = 4). No staging laparotomies were performed. Biopsy sites included cervical (133), mediastinal (18), axillary (7), and others (11). Diagnostic accuracy was 145 of 148 (98.5%) for the open biopsy; 4 of 5, core biopsy (80%); 6 of 10 (60%), thoracoscopic/laparoscopic biopsy; and 1 of 4, fine-needle aspiration (25%). Eighteen had mediastinal disease only, 9 of whom had a thoracoscopic biopsy with a 55% diagnostic accuracy. Inadequate sample was the only reason for a lack of diagnosis. A second open operation was required in these cases for diagnosis. At biopsy, frozen section confirmed a malignancy in 68. In 38 of these 68 children, a central line was placed during the same anesthetic. The most common complication was inadequate sampling. Three wound infections were reported. Conclusions With an appropriate surgical approach to obtain an adequate tissue specimen, diagnostic accuracy is high and surgical complications are low in children with Hodgkin lymphoma. Diagnostic technique should ensure adequate tissue sampling especially when not using an open procedure. When possible, central line insertion should be performed under the same anesthetic. Fine-needle aspiration was not used enough to assess its role in the diagnosis of children with Hodgkin lymphoma.

The clinical significance of the circumferential resection margin following preoperative pelvic chemo‐radiotherapy in rectal cancer: why we need a common language

The presence of microscopic tumour cells within 1 mm of the circumferential surgical resection margin (CRM) is the endpoint most strongly associated with local recurrence in rectal cancer and doubles the risk of developing distant metastases. Reporting on the CRM can monitor surgical quality assurance and over the past two decades has driven advances in surgical technique with the increasing use of total mesorectal excision. The aim of this review was to use the evidence from both phase II and phase III randomized trials of preoperative radiotherapy and chemoradiation in rectal cancer, to assess how often CRM involvement is currently documented and examine its utility as an early predictor of both disease-free and overall survival. A literature search identified both randomized and nonrandomized trials of preoperative radiation therapy and chemoradiation therapy in rectal cancer since 1993. The aim was to find those studies, which documented the distance from the periphery of the tumour and the CRM. Small trials treating < 20 patients were excluded. One hundred and eighty-seven phase II and 28 phase III trials of preoperative radiotherapy or chemoradiation were identified. Most trials documented the degree of response but only 10 of 187 phase II/retrospective studies and four of 28 phase III trials presented data on the achievement of a negative CRM. Few defined this early pathological endpoint prospectively with accurate measurements. However, the majority of studies did use the definition of <or= 1 mm as an involved CRM. Discussion Pathological parameters have been used as early endpoints to compare studies of preoperative radiotherapy or chemoradiation. It remains uncertain whether the degree of response to chemoradiation (e.g. complete pathological response, downsizing the primary tumour, sterilizing the regional nodes, tumour regression grades or residual cell density) or the achievement of a curative resection (uninvolved CRM) is the best early clinical endpoint. Retrospective studies in rectal cancer have confirmed a strong association between the presence of microscopic tumour cells within 1 mm of the CRM and increased risks of both local recurrence and distant metastases. However, as yet this early pathological endpoint lacks structured measurement and analysis techniques to control for intra- and inter-observer variation and has not been validated as a potential surrogate for local control and survival. Recommendations are made as to the most appropriate information, which should be documented in future trials. The CRM status predicts outcome after surgery alone, preoperative radiotherapy and preoperative chemoradiation. Yet CRM status and its measurement has been poorly documented in the literature, and rarely as a prospective measure of outcome. The CRM should be measured and documented in all cases, using the definition of <or= 1 mm to denote an involved CRM. This definition should also be incorporated into future rectal cancer studies with the use of a standardized proforma.

Quality assurance in surgical trials of new techniques

10584 Most surgical trials include quality assurance for data and documentation, but the variable of surgical performance is often ignored, even when new techniques form one arm of the trial. Recent trials of sentinel node biopsy (NSABP-B32, ALMANAC, and AMAROS) have have attempted to control this variable by pre randomisation audit of surgical performance, but logistics and cost have limited this approach. The B-32 and ALMANAC trials did show that defined and validated pre trial audits produced high rates for localisation of the sentinel node (&gt;95%) and false negative rates of &lt;10%. However these results from motivated trial surgeons/teams may not be reproduced when the techniques are rolled out for general use. In the UK participation in the NEW START national training programme has been endorsed by the Health Department as evidence of satisfactory training in sentinel node biopsy. Surgeons and their teams attend a standardised theory session backed up with detailed training material on DVD. Then a training team visits with the surgical team and supervises the first 5 procedures performed by the surgeon in his own OR, after which a further 25 procedures with completion ALND are performed. All these data are evaluated prospectively centrally. A performance standard of &gt;90% localisation rate and &lt;10% false negative was set prospectively to determine if the surgeon is eligible for certification. The programme is currently achieving 98% localisation and &lt;5% false negative rates in surgeons who have never performed the procedure previously, and 50% of breast surgeons in England have attended the theoretical module of the training. These data suggest that surgical trials involving new techniques should be preceeded by training and individual surgeon audit prior to randomising patients. Abbreviations OR = Operating Room ALND = Axillary Lymph Node Dissection. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Cancer and Leukemia Group B Surgery Committee

Surgeons play a vital role in the Cancer and Leukemia Group B by providing patients and specimens for studies of the common solid tumors, and more recently, by serving as investigators who conduct surgically focused research protocols and contribute to the correlative science studies in the Group. Surgical activities encompass thoracic, gastrointestinal, breast, and genitourinary cancers and melanoma. Surgical quality assurance is also an important focus. This article will describe the development and importance of a robust and vigorous surgical component to a strong cooperative group and highlight the many trials conducted by the Cancer and Leukemia Group B surgeons and their contributions to advancement of the care of the patient with solid organ malignancy.

Pediatric Surgical Pathology: Pitfalls and Strategies for Error Prevention

Few data exist regarding quality measures for pediatric surgical pathology, types of errors, or how error-prone situations and diagnostic pitfalls can be minimized. This review reports on survey findings regarding methodology for quality assurance and error detection measurement and classification in pediatric surgical pathology. It presents information regarding, and quality aspects of, intraoperative consultations in pediatric surgical pathology. General strategies for identifying diagnostic pitfalls in pediatric surgical pathology are briefly discussed. A survey of children's hospitals based on a survey created by the Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology, literature review, and institutional quality assurance records provided information for this review. Approaches to quality assurance and error reduction in pediatric surgical pathology are similar to those used in general surgical pathology. The children's hospitals that were surveyed used a variety of standard quality assurance measures. Because of differences in data collection, classification, and reporting, it is not possible to provide a detailed analysis of the types of diagnostic error across institutions at this time. Intraoperative consultations are a potential source of error. Pediatric neoplasms and Hirschsprung disease account for the majority of intraoperative consultations in the pediatric setting. Further considerations include the unique aspects of pediatric medical and neoplastic disorders and special diagnostic criteria, classification, grading, and staging requirements.

Use of whole slide imaging in surgical pathology quality assurance: design and pilot validation studies

By imaging large numbers of slides automatically at high resolution, modem automated whole slide imaging (WSI) systems have the potential to become useful tools in pathology practice. This article describes a pilot validation study for use of automated high-speed WSI systems for surgical pathology quality assurance (QA). This was a retrospective comparative study in which 24 full genitourinary cases (including 47 surgical parts and 391 slides) were independently reviewed with traditional microscopy and whole slide digital images. Approximately half the cases had neoplasia in the diagnostic line. At the end of the study, diagnostic discrepancies were evaluated by a pathology consensus committee. The study pathologists felt that the traditional and WSI methods were comparable for case review. They reported no difference in perceived case complexity or diagnostic confidence between the methods. There were 4 clinically insignificant discrepancies with the signed-out cases: 2 from glass slide and 2 with WSI review. Of the 2 discrepancies reported by the WSI method, the committee agreed with the reviewer once and the original report once. At the end of the study, the participants agreed that automated WSI is a viable potential modality for surgical pathology QA, especially in multifacility health systems that would like to establish interfacility QA. The participants felt that major issues limiting the implementation of WSI-based QA did not involve image acquisition or quality but rather image management issues such as the pathologist's interface, the hospital's network, and integration with the laboratory information system.

Surgical quality assurance in rectal cancer treatment: the key to improved outcome

Surgery is the key to cure for patients with rectal cancer. Surgical techniques are evolving with conventional blunt dissection being increasingly abandoned for the sake of total mesorectal excision (TME), leading to favourable clinical and functional outcome. Surgical quality assurance programmes, involving training of general surgeons to adopt the TME technique, have proven to be feasible and result in improved outcome compared to historical controls. In this overview, developments in rectal cancer treatment are highlighted, the relation of surgeon and/or hospital volume with treatment outcome is discussed, and future directions in optimising rectal cancer treatment are considered.

Education is the key to quality of surgery for rectal cancer

Surgical quality assurance is a central issue in the treatment of rectal cancer and has led to substantial improvements in sphincter preservation, local control, and overall survival. Education or training as well as volume of practice are often cited as the major predictors of quality outcomes. While volume is a simple measure to analyze, it is likely a superficial or surrogate measure of quality surgery. It has been conclusively demonstrated that education, from total mesorectum excision workshops to nation-wide educational initiatives are effective methods of improving quality of care for the rectal cancer patient. New methods of quality assurance and improvement are being developed including prospective quality registers, the synoptic operative report, and pathology audits. It is imperative that improved measures of quality, other than volume, be implemented to audit our own practices, hospitals and regions with the goal of identifying issues that will improve outcomes for rectal cancer patients.