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INTRODUCTION: It is currently unknown which data sources from the clinical history, or combination thereof, should be evaluated to achieve the most complete calculation of postoperative complications (PC). The objectives of this study were: to analyze the morbidity and mortality of 200 consecutive patients undergoing major surgery, to determine which data sources or combination collect the maximum morbidity, and to determine the accuracy of the morbidity reflected in the discharge report. METHODS: Observational and prospective cohort study. The sum of all PC found in the combined review of medical notes, nursing notes, and a specific form was considered the gold standard. PC were classified according to the Clavien Dindo Classification and the Comprehensive Complication Index (CCI). RESULTS: The percentage of patients who presented PC according to the gold standard, medical notes, nursing notes and form were: 43.5%, 37.5%, 35% and 18.7% respectively. The combination of sources improved CCI agreement by 8%-40% in the overall series and 39.1-89.7 % in patients with PC. The correct recording of PC was inversely proportional to the complexity of the surgery, and the combination of sources increased the degree of agreement with the gold standard by 35 %-67.5% in operations of greater complexity. The CDC and CCI of the discharge report coincided with the gold-standard values in patients with PC by 46.8% and 18.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of data sources, particularly medical and nursing notes, considerably increases the quantification of PC in general, most notably in complex interventions.
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BACKGROUND: The quality-adjusted life year (QALY) is a metric that is increasingly used today in the field of health economics to evaluate the value of different medical treatments and procedures. Surgical waiting lists (SWLs) represent a pressing problem in public healthcare. The QALY measure has rarely been used in the context of surgery. It would be interesting to know how many QALYs are lost by patients on SWLs. AIM: To investigate the relationship between QALYs and SWLs in a systematic review of the scientific literature. METHODS: The study was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement. An unlimited search was carried out in PubMed, updated on January 19, 2024. Data on the following variables were investigated and analyzed: Specialty, country of study, procedure under study, scale used to measure QALYs, the use of a theoretical or real-life model, objectives of the study and items measured, the economic value assigned to the QALY in the country in question, and the results and conclusions published. RESULTS: Forty-eight articles were selected for the study. No data were found regarding QALYs lost on SWLs. The specialties in which QALYs were studied the most in relation to the waiting list were urology and general surgery, with 15 articles each. The country in which the most studies of QALYs were carried out was the United States (n = 21), followed by the United Kingdom (n = 9) and Canada (n = 7). The most studied procedure was organ transplantation (n = 39), including 15 kidney, 14 liver, 5 heart, 4 lung, and 1 intestinal. Arthroplasty (n = 4), cataract surgery (n = 2), bariatric surgery (n = 1), mosaicplasty (n = 1), and septoplasty (n = 1) completed the surgical interventions included. Thirty-nine of the models used were theoretical (the most frequently applied being the Markov model, n = 34), and nine were real-life. The survey used to measure quality of life in 11 articles was the European Quality of Life-5 dimensions, but in 32 articles the survey was not specified. The willingness-to-pay per QALY gained ranged from $100000 in the United States to 20000 in Spain. CONCLUSION: The relationship between QALYs and SWLs has only rarely been studied in the literature. The rate of QALYs lost on SWLs has not been determined. Future research is warranted to address this issue.
