Lower rates of 30-day complications also observed at accredited hospitals<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n
FRIDAY, April 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) — National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC)-accredited hospitals have lower risk-adjusted mortality and morbidity for patients undergoing major rectal cancer surgery, according to a study published online March 28 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons<\/em>.<\/p>\n Calista M. Harbaugh, M.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues conducted a retrospective, observational study of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 to 99 years with rectal cancer who underwent proctectomy from 2017 to 2020. The primary exposure was NAPRC accreditation; primary outcomes included mortality and 30-day complications, readmissions, and reoperations.<\/p>\n Sixty-five of the 1,985 hospitals (3.3 percent) were NAPRC-accredited. The researchers found that 10 percent of the 20,202 patients underwent proctectomy at an accredited hospital. The likelihood of having an elective procedure with a minimally invasive approach and sphincter preservation was higher for patients at accredited hospitals. Compared with nonaccredited hospitals, accredited hospitals had significantly lower risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality (1.1 versus 1.3 percent), 30-day mortality (2.1 versus 2.9 percent), 30-day complications (18.3 versus 19.4 percent), and one-year mortality rates (11.0 versus 12.1 percent).<\/p>\n “These results suggest that NAPRC hospitals provide safer surgical care, despite the fact that NAPRC standards do not directly address surgical safety,” the authors write.<\/p>\n