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Background Both anemia and blood transfusion are associated with poor outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of preoperative blood transfusion on postoperative outcomes after colectomy, stratified by severity of anemia. Methods Patients undergoing colectomy from 2012–2014 were selected from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program targeted colectomy database. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on receipt of preoperative transfusion and then stratified by hematocrit. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to compare 30-day outcomes between the 2 groups. Results A total of 60,785 patients were included in the study, with an overall preoperative transfusion rate of 3.4% (n = 2,073). On univariate analysis, transfusion was associated with significantly greater rates of postoperative morbidity. The risk-adjusted, multivariate model confirmed increased risk of complications with preoperative transfusion (odds ratio 1.32, 95% confidence interval, 1.18–1.48). Furthermore, transfusion did not improve outcomes even in the setting of moderate anemia (odds ratio 1.35, 95% confidence interval, 1.14–1.60) or severe anemia (odds ratio 0.97, 95% confidence interval, 0.66–1.41). Conclusions Preoperative transfusion is an independent predictor of complications in patients with mild and moderate anemia. Furthermore, these retrospective data suggest that even severely anemic patients do not benefit from preoperative transfusion and empiric transfusion therefore should be avoided. Alternatives to preoperative optimization of this high-risk surgical population should be sought. (Surgery 2017;161:1067-75.)

Background Postoperative ileus is a common cause of increased morbidity and cost after operative intervention. The aim of this study was to assess how fluid type, volume, and timing may affect incidence of postoperative ileus. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed on patients undergoing operative intervention for rectal cancer from 2008 to 2015 at a single institution. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the effect of type (crystalloid versus colloid), volume by quartile, and timing (perioperative versus postoperative) on rate of postoperative ileus. Results A total of 300 patients were included, and the overall incidence of ileus in our cohort was 30% (n = 90). Both univariate and multivariate analyses showed that increasing volume of crystalloid volume administered was associated with increased postoperative ileus incidence (first quartile: 16.3%; second quartile: 31.5%, third quartile: 34.2%; and fourth quartile: 39.2%; P = .012), and administration of colloid was not shown to correlate. Furthermore, timing was not shown to be associated with the rate of postoperative ileus. Conclusion Increased volumes of crystalloid are associated with higher rates of ileus, while administration of colloid is not. Based on this retrospective data, limiting the volume of crystalloid perioperatively may help lower the rate of ileus postoperatively. (Surgery 2017;161:1628-32.)

This retrospective study of patients undergoing colectomy for colon cancer demonstrates significantly improved outcomes associated with a MIS approach, even when controlling for baseline differences in illness severity. When feasible, minimally invasive colectomy should be considered gold standard for the surgical treatment of colon cancer.

Operative approach and several other potentially modifiable perioperative factors have a significant impact on risk for adverse postoperative outcomes following colectomy. To improve quality of care for these patients, efforts should be made to identify and minimize the influence of such risk factors.

Objective: To characterize agreement between administrative and registry data in the determination of patient-level comorbidities. Background: Previous research finds poor agreement between these 2 types of data in the determination of outcomes. We hypothesized that concordance between administrative and registry data would also be poor. Methods: A cohort of inpatient operations (length of stay 1 day or greater) was obtained from a consortium of 8 hospitals. Within each hospital, National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) data were merged with intra-institutional inpatient administrative data. Twelve different comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure, hemodialysis-dependence, cancer diagnosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ascites, sepsis, smoking, steroid, congestive heart failure, acute renal failure, and dyspnea) were analyzed in terms of agreement between administrative and NSQIP data. Results: Forty-one thousand four hundred thirty-two inpatient surgical hospitalizations were analyzed in this study. Concordance (Cohen Kappa value) between the 2 data sources varied from 0.79 (diabetes) to 0.02 (dyspnea). Hospital variation in concordance (intersite variation) was quantified using a test of homogeneity. This test found significant intersite variation at a level of P < 0.001 for each of the comorbidities except for dialysis (P = 0.07) and acute renal failure (P = 0.19). These findings imply significant differences between hospitals in their generation of comorbidity data. Conclusion: This study finds significant differences in how administrative versus registry data assess patient-level comorbidity. These differences are of concern to patients, payers, and providers, each of which had a stake in the integrity of these data. Standardized definitions of comorbidity and periodic audits are necessary to ensure data accuracy and minimize bias.

We demonstrated an increased rate of 30-d complications in elective general surgery patients with UTI PATOS. These findings suggest that diligent efforts to diagnose and treat UTI before surgery may result in improved outcomes. Furthermore, surgeons should consider postponing elective procedures to allow for the complete resolution of preoperative UTI.

PFC does not decrease the risk of short-term wound complications. Given that prior studies have also suggested no difference in hernia recurrence, PFC does not appear to improve postoperative outcomes for patients undergoing LVHR.