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Background: Of note, 15% to 20% of patients with duodenal or periampullary malignancies develop gastric outlet obstruction (GOO). Although small randomized trials have reported more rapid recovery and shorter hospital stay with endoscopic stenting (ES), limited studies have evaluated outcomes at a national level. The current study characterized short-term clinical and financial outcomes associated with gastrojejunostomy (GJ) vs ES in malignant GOO., Methods: Adults with malignant GOO treated with ES or GJ were identified in the 2016-2020 Nationwide Readmissions Database. Entropy balancing was used to balance covariates between groups, and multivariate regression was used to evaluate the association between GJ or ES and in-hospital mortality, total parenteral nutrition (TPN) use, complications, length of stay (LOS), costs, and 90-day readmission., Results: Of 8186 patients with GOO, 5603 (68.4%) underwent ES, and 2583 (31.6%) underwent GJ. The cohorts were similar in age, female/male sex, and comorbidities. However, patients who underwent GJ were more commonly frail. After risk adjustment, mortality, composite complications, and 90-day readmission were comparable between patients who underwent GJ and those who underwent ES. GJ was associated with greater odds of blood transfusion (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.74; 95% CI, 1.37-2.21) and postoperative TPN use (AOR, 3.76; 95% CI, 2.64-5.35). Furthermore, patients who underwent GJ experienced a significant increment of >$15,800 in costs and >6.9 days in LOS. In subgroup analysis of patients with metastatic disease, mortality, complications, and readmission remained comparable among palliation strategies., Conclusion: ES seems to yield comparable short-term morbidity and mortality relative to GJ with significant cost reduction. Increasing access to endoscopic technology and regionalizing care to high-volume centers may help improve outcomes for patients with malignant GOO., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Robotic approaches have been increasingly utilized for cardiothoracic operations, though concerns regarding costs remain. We evaluated short-term outcomes and costs of robotic-assisted and conventional mitral valve repair (MV-repair), hypothesizing that cost differences would be mitigated at high-volume programs., Methods: Adults undergoing elective MV-repair from 2016 to 2020 were identified in the Nationwide Readmissions Database. Patients with rheumatic heart disease, mitral stenosis, and those undergoing concomitant operations were excluded. Generalized linear models were utilized to evaluate the association between approach and in-hospital mortality, complications, length of stay, costs, and 90-day readmissions. Annual institutional MV-repair volume was modeled using restricted cubic splines, and cost differences subsequently evaluated by volume tertile., Results: Of 40,738 patients, 9.8% underwent robotic-assisted MV-repair. Risk-adjusted outcomes including mortality, stroke, reoperation, respiratory complications, postoperative infection, and readmission were comparable between the 2 groups, while those undergoing robotic-assisted MV-repair had lower rates of nonhome discharge. The median cost of robotic-assisted MV-repair was greater than conventional surgery ($46,800 vs $38,500, P < .001). Despite a 1.3-day decrement (95% CI, 1.1-1.6) in length of stay, robotic-assisted MV-repair was associated with greater risk-adjusted costs by $10,500 (95% CI, $5800-$15,200). Programs in the highest volume tertile exhibited comparable costs for robotic-assisted and conventional MV-repair (cost difference, $5900; 95% CI, -$1200 to $12,200; P > .05)., Conclusions: Robotic-assisted MV-repair had comparable short-term outcomes relative to conventional surgery. Despite increased costs of robotic-assisted MV-repair overall, high-volume programs had similar risk-adjusted costs by approach. These findings support the designation and performance of robotic MV-repair at centers of excellence in the United States., Competing Interests: Disclosures Richard J. Shemin reports a relationship with Edwards Lifesciences Corporation that includes: consulting or advisory. Peyman Benharash reports a relationship with AtriCure Inc that includes: consulting or advisory. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Although financial toxicity, defined as the harmful financial burden experienced by patients undergoing cancer treatment, has been of growing interest, data in thoracic oncology are lacking. This study aimed to examine the risk of financial toxicity among patients undergoing surgical resection of thoracic malignant diseases., Methods: Adults undergoing lobectomy, pneumonectomy, or esophagectomy for cancer were identified in the 2012 to 2021 National Inpatient Sample. Risk of financial toxicity was defined as health expenditure (total hospitalization costs for the uninsured and maximum out-of-pocket costs for the insured) exceeding 40% of postsubsistence income. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with financial toxicity risk., Results: Of 384,340 patients, 69.5% had government-funded insurance, 27.2% had private insurance, and 1.0% were uninsured. Compared with patients with insurance, uninsured patients were more commonly Black and Hispanic and less commonly electively admitted. Mortality, complications, length of stay, and costs were comparable regardless of insurance status. Approximately 68.9% of uninsured and 17.3% of insured patients were at risk of financial toxicity, and the incidence of financial toxicity remained stable over time. After risk adjustment, complications were associated with a greater than 2-fold increased risk of financial toxicity among uninsured patients (adjusted odds ratio, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.38-3.55). Among the insured patients, Black, Hispanic, and publicly insured patients demonstrated a greater risk of financial toxicity, while patients undergoing minimally invasive operations and receiving care at metropolitan hospitals exhibited a lower risk of financial toxicity., Conclusions: Concordant with previous work examining financial toxicity in abdominal oncologic surgery, thoracic surgery demonstrates a comparable burden of financial toxicity. Referral policies and care subsidization may be considered in patients at risk for financial toxicity who are undergoing resections for thoracic malignant diseases., Competing Interests: Disclosures The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Coronary plaque rupture remains the prominent mechanism of myocardial infarction. Accurate identification of rupture-prone plaque may improve clinical management. This study assessed the discriminatory performance of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in human cardiac explants to detect high-risk atherosclerotic features that portend rupture risk. In this single-center, prospective study, n = 26 cardiac explants were collected for EIS interrogation of the three major coronary arteries. Vessels in which advancement of the EIS catheter without iatrogenic plaque disruption was rendered impossible were not assessed. N = 61 vessels underwent EIS measurement and histological analyses. Plaques were dichotomized according to previously established high rupture-risk parameter thresholds. Diagnostic performance was determined via receiver operating characteristic areas-under-the-curve (AUC). Necrotic cores were identified in n = 19 vessels (median area 1.53 mm 2 ) with a median fibrous cap thickness of 62 μm. Impedance was significantly greater in plaques with necrotic core area ≥1.75 mm 2 versus <1.75 mm 2 (19.8 ± 4.4 kΩ vs. 7.2 ± 1.0 kΩ, p = .019), fibrous cap thickness ≤65 μm versus >65 μm (19.1 ± 3.5 kΩ vs. 6.5 ± 0.9 kΩ, p = .004), and ≥20 macrophages per 0.3 mm-diameter high-power field (HPF) versus <20 macrophages per HPF (19.8 ± 4.1 kΩ vs. 10.2 ± 0.9 kΩ, p = .002). Impedance identified necrotic core area ≥1.75 mm 2 , fibrous cap thickness ≤65 μm, and ≥20 macrophages per HPF with AUCs of 0.889 (95% CI: 0.716-1.000) (p = .013), 0.852 (0.646-1.000) (p = .025), and 0.835 (0.577-1.000) (p = .028), respectively. Further, phase delay discriminated severe stenosis (≥70%) with an AUC of 0.767 (0.573-0.962) (p = .035). EIS discriminates high-risk atherosclerotic features that portend plaque rupture in human coronary artery disease and may serve as a complementary modality for angiography-guided atherosclerosis evaluation., (© 2024 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.)

Previous studies have shown an association between acute limb ischemia and higher mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Although peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a well-known risk factor for development of macrovascular pathology, the effect of its severity is not well investigated in patients hospitalized for acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Using a national cohort of patients with various degrees of PAD, we investigated in-hospital outcomes in patients who were admitted for ACS. Using the 2016 to 2020 Nationwide Readmissions Database, we queried all patients who were hospitalized for ACS (unstable angina, non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction, and ST-elevation myocardial infarction). Patients were further divided into 3 groups, either no PAD (non-PAD), PAD, or critical limb ischemia (CLI). Multivariable models were designed to adjust for patient and hospital factors and examine the association between ACS and PAD severity. Of approximately 3,834,181 hospitalizations for ACS, 6.4% had PAD, 0.2% had CLI, and all others were non-PAD. After risk adjustment, in-hospital mortality was higher by 24% in PAD (adjusted odds ratio 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21 to 1.28) and 86% in CLI (adjusted odds ratio 1.86, 95% CI 1.62 to 2.09) compared with non-PAD. Furthermore, PAD and CLI were linked to 1.23-fold (95% CI 1.20 to 1.26) and 1.67-fold (95% CI 1.45 to 1.86) greater odds of cardiogenic shock compared with non-PAD. Additionally, PAD and CLI were linked with higher odds of mechanical circulatory support usage, cardiac arrest and acute kidney injury compared with non-PAD. Lastly, duration of hospital stay, hospitalization costs and odds of non-home discharge and 30-day readmissions were greater in patients with PAD and CLI compared with non-PAD. PAD severity was associated with worse clinical outcomes in patients with ACS, including in-hospital mortality and resource utilization., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Accurate prediction of complications often informs shared decision-making. Derived over 10 years ago to enhance prediction of intra/post-operative myocardial infarction and cardiac arrest (MI/CA), the Gupta score has been criticized for unreliable calibration and inclusion of a wide spectrum of unrelated operations. In the present study, we developed a novel machine learning (ML) model to estimate perioperative risk of MI/CA and compared it to the Gupta score., Methods: Patients undergoing major operations were identified from the 2016-2020 ACS-NSQIP. The Gupta score was calculated for each patient, and a novel ML model was developed to predict MI/CA using ACS NSQIP-provided data fields as covariates. Discrimination (C-statistic) and calibration (Brier score) of the ML model were compared to the existing Gupta score within the entire cohort and across operative subgroups., Results: Of 2,473,487 patients included for analysis, 25,177 (1.0%) experienced MI/CA (55.2% MI, 39.1% CA, 5.6% MI and CA). The ML model, which was fit using a randomly selected training cohort, exhibited higher discrimination within the testing dataset compared to the Gupta score (C-statistic 0.84 vs 0.80, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the ML model had significantly better calibration in the entire cohort (Brier score 0.0097 vs 0.0100). Model performance was markedly improved among patients undergoing thoracic, aortic, peripheral vascular and foregut surgery., Conclusions: The present ML model outperformed the Gupta score in the prognostication of MI/CA across a heterogenous range of operations. Given the growing integration of ML into healthcare, such models may be readily incorporated into clinical practice and guide benchmarking efforts., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Although national efforts have aimed to improve the safety of inpatient operations, income-based inequities in surgical outcomes persist, and the evolution of such disparities has not been examined in the contemporary setting. We sought to examine the association of community-level household income with acute outcomes of cardiac procedures over the past decade., Methods: All adult hospitalizations for elective coronary artery bypass grafting/valve operations were tabulated from the 2010-2020 Nationwide Readmissions Database. Patients were stratified into quartiles of income, with records in the 76th to 100th percentile designated as highest and those in the 0 to 25th percentile as lowest. To evaluate the change in adjusted risk of in-hospital mortality, complications, and readmission over the study period, estimates were generated for each income level and year., Results: Of approximately 1,848,755 hospitalizations, 406,216 patients (22.0%) were classified as highest income and 451,988 patients (24.4%) were classified as lowest income. After risk adjustment, lowest income remained associated with greater likelihood of in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio, 1.61, 95% CI, 1.51-1.72), any postoperative complication (adjusted odds ratio, 1.19, CI, 1.15-1.22), and nonelective readmission within 30 days (adjusted odds ratio, 1.07, CI, 1.05-1.10). Overall adjusted risk of mortality, complications, and nonelective readmission decreased for both groups from 2010 to 2020 ( P <  .001). Further, the difference in risk of mortality between patients of lowest and highest income decreased by 0.2%, whereas the difference in risk of major complications declined by 0.5% (both P  < .001)., Conclusions: Although overall in-hospital mortality and complication rates have declined, low-income patients continue to face greater postoperative risk. Novel interventions are needed to address continued income-based disparities and ensure equitable surgical outcomes., Competing Interests: R.S. is a consultant to Edwards LifeSciences Advisory Board. P.B. is a proctor for AtriCure. The present work does not reference Edwards or AtriCure products nor did it receive funding from any external sources. All other authors reported no conflicts of interest. The Journal policy requires editors and reviewers to disclose conflicts of interest and to decline handling or reviewing manuscripts for which they may have a conflict of interest. The editors and reviewers of this article have no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Off-pump coronary revascularization (OPCAB) has been proposed to benefit patients who are at a greater surgical risk because it avoids the use of extracorporeal circulation. Although, historically, older patients were considered high-risk candidates, recent studies implicate frailty as a more comprehensive measure of perioperative fitness. Yet, the outcomes of OPCAB in frail patients have not been elucidated. Thus, using a national cohort of frail patients, we assessed the impact of OPCAB relative to on-pump coronary revascularization (ONCAB). Patients who underwent first-time elective coronary revascularization were tabulated from the 2010 to 2020 Nationwide Readmissions Database. Frailty was assessed using the previously-validated Johns Hopkins Adjusted Clinical Groups indicator. Multivariable models were used to consider the independent associations between OPCAB and the key outcomes. Of ∼26,529 frail patients, 6,322 (23.8%) underwent OPCAB. After risk adjustment and compared with ONCAB, OPCAB was linked with similar odds of in-hospital mortality but greater likelihood of postoperative cardiac arrest (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.53, confidence interval [CI] 1.13 to 2.07) and myocardial infarction (AOR 1.44, CI 1.23 to 1.69). OPCAB was further associated with greater odds of postoperative infection (AOR 1.22, CI 1.02 to 1.47) but decreased need for blood transfusion (AOR 0.68, CI 0.60 to 0.77). In addition, OPCAB faced a +0.86-day increase in length of stay (CI 0.21 to 1.51) but similar costs (β $1,610, CI -$1,240 to 4,460) relative to ONCAB. Although OPCAB was associated with no difference in mortality compared with ONCAB, it was linked with greater likelihood of postoperative cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction. Our findings demonstrate that ONCAB remains associated with superior outcomes, even in the growing population of frail patients who underwent coronary revascularization., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no competing interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Using a nationally representative database, the present study evaluated the degree of center-level variation in the cost of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)., Methods: All adults undergoing elective, isolated TAVR were identified in the 2016 to 2018 Nationwide Readmissions Database. Multilevel mixed-effects models were used to identify patient and hospital characteristics associated with hospitalization costs. The random intercept for each hospital was generated and considered to be the baseline cost attributable to care at each center. Hospitals in the highest decile of baseline costs were classified as high-cost hospitals. The association of high-cost hospital status with in-hospital mortality and perioperative complications was subsequently assessed., Results: An estimated 119,492 patients, with a mean age of 80 years and a 45.9% prevalence of female sex, met the study criteria. Analysis of random intercepts indicated that 54.3% of variability in costs was attributable to interhospital differences rather than patient factors. Perioperative respiratory failure, neurologic complications, and acute kidney injury were associated with increased episodic expenditure but did not explain the observed center-level variation. The baseline cost associated with each hospital ranged from -$26,000 to $162,000. Notably, high-cost hospital status was not linked to annual TAVR caseload or to odds of mortality (P = .83), acute kidney injury (P = .18), respiratory failure (P = .32), or neurologic complications (P = .55)., Conclusions: The present analysis identified significant variation in the cost of TAVR, which was largely attributable to center-level rather than patient factors. Hospital TAVR volume and occurrence of complications were not drivers of the observed variation., (Copyright © 2024 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Expedited discharge following esophagectomy is controversial due to concerns for higher readmissions and financial burden. The present study aimed to evaluate the association of expedited discharge with hospitalization costs and unplanned readmissions following esophagectomy for malignant lesions., Methods: Adults undergoing elective esophagectomy for cancer were identified in the 2014-2019 Nationwide Readmissions Database. Patients discharged by postoperative day 7 were considered Expedited and others as Routine. Patients who did not survive to discharge or had major perioperative complications were excluded. Multivariable regression models were constructed to assess association of expedited discharge with index hospitalization costs as well as 30- and 90-day non-elective readmissions., Results: Of 9,886 patients who met study criteria, 34.6% comprised the Expedited cohort. After adjustment, female sex (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.71, p = 0.001) and increasing Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (AOR 0.88/point, p<0.001) were associated with lower odds of expedited discharge, while laparoscopic (AOR 1.63, p<0.001, Ref: open) and robotic (AOR 1.67, p = 0.003, Ref: open) approach were linked to greater likelihood. Patients at centers in the highest-tertile of minimally invasive esophagectomy volume had increased odds of expedited discharge (AOR 1.52, p = 0.025, Ref: lowest-tertile). On multivariable analysis, expedited discharge was independently associated with an $8,300 reduction in hospitalization costs. Notably, expedited discharge was associated with similar odds of 30-day (AOR 1.10, p = 0.40) and 90-day (AOR 0.90, p = 0.70) unplanned readmissions., Conclusion: Expedited discharge after esophagectomy was associated with decreased costs and unaltered readmissions. Prospective studies are necessary to robustly evaluate whether expedited discharge is appropriate for select patients undergoing esophagectomy., Competing Interests: Dr. Peyman Benharash received proctor fees from Atricure as a surgical proctor. This manuscript does not discuss any Atricure products or services. Dr. Peyman Benharash and other authors have declared that no competing interests exist. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials., (Copyright: © 2024 Ebrahimian et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: While insurance reimbursements allay a portion of costs associated with cardiac operations, uncovered and additional fees are absorbed by patients. An examination of financial toxicity (FT), defined as the burden of patient medical expenses on quality of life, is warranted. Therefore, the present study used a nationally representative database to demonstrate the association between insurance status and risk of financial toxicity (FT) among patients undergoing major cardiac operations., Methods: Adults admitted for elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and isolated or concomitant valve operations were assessed using the 2016-2019 National Inpatient Sample. FT risk was defined as out-of-pocket expenditure >40% of post-subsistence income. Regression models were developed to determine factors associated with FT risk in insured and uninsured populations. To demonstrate the association between insurance status and risk of FT among patients undergoing major cardiac operations., Results: Of an estimated 567,865 patients, 15.6% were at risk of FT. A greater proportion of uninsured patients were at risk of FT (81.3 vs. 14.8%, p<0.001), compared to insured. After adjustment, FT risk among insured patients was not affected by non-income factors. However, Hispanic race (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 1.60), length of stay (AOR 1.17/day), and combined CABG-valve operations (AOR 2.31, all p<0.05) were associated with increased risk of FT in the uninsured., Conclusion: Uninsured patients demonstrated higher FT risk after undergoing major cardiac operation. Hispanic race, longer lengths of stay, and combined CABG-valve operations were independently associated with increased risk of FT amongst the uninsured. Conversely, non-income factors did not impact FT risk in the insured cohort. Culturally-informed reimbursement strategies are necessary to reduce disparities in already financially disadvantaged populations., Competing Interests: We have one conflict of interest to report. Dr. Peyman Benharash received proctor fees from AtriCure as a surgical proctor. This manuscript does not discuss any products or services. Other authors report no conflicts. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials., (Copyright: © 2024 Romo Valenzuela et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Superior clinical outcomes after hospitalization for cardiovascular-related disease such as acute heart failure have been linked with prior history of bariatric surgery, but similar analyses in acute myocardial infarction (MI) are currently limited., Objective: This work examines clinical outcomes and resource utilization in patients with acute MI hospitalizations with a prior history of bariatric surgery., Setting: Academic university-affiliated hospital in the United States., Methods: All adult patients with hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of acute MI were queried using the 2016-2020 Nationwide Readmissions Database. The study population was comprised of patients with an International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) diagnosis code for obesity (body mass index ≥35 kg/m 2 ) as well as those with a prior history of bariatric surgery regardless of their body mass index status. Comparison was made between those with a prior history of bariatric surgery and those without. Univariate analysis and multivariate regression models were used to examine the association between bariatric surgery and outcomes of interest, which included in-hospital mortality, medical complications, and resource utilization., Results: Of an estimated 2,736,606 hospitalizations for acute MI, 296,902 patients (10.8%) had a diagnosis of obesity and/or a prior history of bariatric surgery. The bariatric cohort was more frequently female and had a lower prevalence of congestive heart failure, chronic lung disease, diabetes, and electrolyte derangements than the nonbariatric cohort. After risk adjustment, prior history of bariatric surgery was associated with significantly lower odds of in-hospital mortality, cardiogenic shock, and acute kidney injury. Additionally, prior history of bariatric surgery was linked to a decreased duration of hospital stay and lower hospitalization costs as well as lower odds of nonhome discharge., Conclusion: Among acute MI patients with obesity, prior history of bariatric surgery was associated with decreased odds of in-hospital mortality, improved clinical outcomes, and lower resource utilization. Expansion of bariatric surgery programs may provide improved access to a medical intervention that is intertwined with cardiovascular health., (Copyright © 2024 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)