Risk Factors Associated with Adverse Outcomes after Ablative Surgery for Lymphedema.

BACKGROUND: Postmastectomy breast cancer lymphedema poses an important health threat. Historically, physical therapy was the exclusive treatment option. More recently, lymphedema surgery has revolutionized care. As a first-in-kind, multicenter report, the postmastectomy breast cancer patients' risk factors associated with postlymphedema ablative surgical outcomes were documented. METHODS: Using the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System database from 2010 to 2018, multivariable models identified the postmastectomy breast cancer lymphedema surgical patients' characteristics associated with major adverse outcomes and mortality. RESULTS: Of 65,543 postmastectomy breast cancer patients, 1,052 lymphedema surgical procedures were performed including 393 (37.4%) direct excisions and 659 (63.6%) liposuctions. Direct excision and liposuction surgical patients had median ages of 58 and 52 years, respectfully (p < 0.001). Although a 30-day operative mortality was rare (0.3%, all direct excisions), major adverse outcomes occurred in 154 patients (28.5% direct excision; 6.4% liposuction; p < 0.0001). Multivariable clinical outcomes model identified that patients with higher Elixhauser's score, renal disease, emergent admissions, and direct excision surgery had higher incidences of adverse outcomes (all p < 0.01). For those patients with 30-day readmissions (n = 60), they were more likely to have undergone direct excision versus liposuction (12.5 vs. 1.7%; p < 0.0001). The important risk factors predictive of future cellulitis/lymphangitis development included diabetes mellitus, Medicaid insurance, renal disease, prior cellulitis/lymphangitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and chronic steroid use (all p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Lymphedema surgery carries a favorable risk profile, but better understanding the "high-risk" patients is critical. As this new era of lymphedema surgery progresses, evaluating the characteristics for adverse postoperative outcomes is an important step in our evolution of knowledge.

Cardiac Surgery in Women in the Current Era: What Are the Gaps in Care?

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality for women in United States and worldwide. One in 3 women dies from cardiovascular disease, and 45% of women >20 years old have some form of CVD. Historically, women have had higher morbidity and mortality after cardiac surgery. Sex influences pathogenesis, pathophysiology, presentation, postoperative complications, surgical outcomes, and survival. This review summarizes current cardiovascular surgery outcomes as they pertain to women. Specifically, this article seeks to address whether sex disparities in research, surgical referral, and outcomes still exist and to provide strategies to close these gaps. In addition, with the growing population of women of reproductive age with cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors, indications for cardiac surgery arise in pregnant women. The current review will also address the unique issues associated with this special population.

Concordance between administrative data and clinical review for mortality in the randomized on/off bypass follow-up study (ROOBY-FS).

BACKGROUND: The optimal methodology to identify cardiac versus non-cardiac cause of death following cardiac surgery has not been determined. METHODS: The Randomized On/Off Bypass Trial was a multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial of 2203 patients (February 2002-May 2008) comparing 1-year cardiac outcomes between off-pump and on-pump bypass surgery. In 2013, the Veterans Affairs (VA) Cooperative Studies Program funded a follow-up study to assess 5-year outcomes including mortality. Deaths were identified and confirmed using the National Death Index (NDI), VA Vital Status file, and medical records. An Endpoints Committee (EC) reviewed patient medical records and classified each cause of death as cardiac, non-cardiac, or unknown. Using pre-determined ICD-10 codes, NDI death certificates were independently used to classify deaths as cardiac or non-cardiac. Cause of death was compared between the NDI and EC classifications and concordance measured, using Kappa statistics. RESULTS: Of the 297 5-year deaths identified by the NDI and/or VA vital status file and confirmed by the EC, 219 had adequate patient records for EC cause of death determination. The EC adjudicated 141 of these deaths as non-cardiac and 78 as cardiac, while the NDI classified 150 as non-cardiac and 69 as cardiac; agreement was 77.6% (kappa 0.500; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Since concordance between EC and NDI cause of death classifications was only moderate, caution should be exercised in relying exclusively on NDI data to determine cause of death. A hybrid approach, integrating multiple information sources, may provide the most accurate approach to classifying cause of death.