Surgical patients at ACS NSQIP hospitals show lower mortality rates

Hospitals enrolled in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) experienced significantly lower mortality rates for surgical patients compared to non-ACS NSQIP hospitals, according to a recent study.

Unveiled at the ACS NSQIP National Conference in San Diego, the study analyzed data from 1,184,895 patients at 227 hospitals from 1995 to 2009. Specifically, researchers looked at surgical outcomes for seven common procedures, including abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve replacement, bariatric operations, coronary artery bypass grafting, esophagectomy, pancreatectomy and percutaneous coronary intervention. They studied the outcome measures of in-hospital mortality, 30-day mortality, 30-day readmissions and one-year rates in both ACS NSQIP hospitals and non-ACS NSQIP hospitals to see if there were any differences.

Researchers discovered “significantly lower” 30-day mortality rates and one-year mortality rates at ACS NSQIP hospitals, according to an announcement on the findings. The researchers also identified a decrease in 30-day readmission and in-hospital mortality rates, although the difference was statistically minimal.

“The magnitude of the decrease in mortality rates at ACS NSQIP hospitals demonstrates a clear distinction between ACS NSQIP hospitals and non-ACS NSQIP hospitals in terms of surgical quality improvement,” said David C. Chang, PhD, MPH, MBA, senior author and director of outcomes research in the department of surgery at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine.