Quality improvement in gastrointestinal surgical oncology with American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program

Objective. To assess the impact of American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) participation on outcomes in gastrointestinal surgical oncology. Study design. A total of 6,076 resections for esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, hepatobiliary, and colorectal cancers at 316 hospitals from the 2006 to 2011 ACS NSQIP were examined. Thirty-day complication rates were analyzed longitudinally over time with the use of multiple regression; we adjusted for operation type and preoperative risk factors. Results. The procedure mix was 3% esophagectomy, 5% gastrectomy, 16% pancreatectomy, 4% hepatectomy, 63% colectomy, and 9% proctectomy. Median age was 66 years, and 52% were male, 41% were American Society of Anesthesiologists class 2, and 52% were American Society of Anesthesiologists 3. Depending on anatomic surgical site, 21-45% of patients experienced a postoperative complication and 1.1-4.4% died. The incidence of patients with any complication decreased from 28 to 24% over the period (risk-adjusted odds ratio 0.95 per year, 95% confidence interval 0.94-0.96). In contrast, there was no substantial change in risk-adjusted mortality over the period (odds ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 0.99-1.07). Conclusion. There was a decrease in complications over time for ACS NSQIP participants in gastrointestinal surgical oncology, but mortality did not decrease.