Search

Background The objective of this study was to map referral patterns in patients with synchronous colorectal liver metastases (SCLM) and to investigate if type, volume and location of the hospital of diagnosis are associated with whether or not patients underwent liver resection. Methods This population-based study includes all patients diagnosed with SCLM between 2008 and 2012, based on the Netherlands Cancer Registry. To study inter-hospital variation, the proportion of patients undergoing liver surgery was calculated per hospital of diagnosis. Multivariable multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between hospital characteristics and liver resection. Results Of 10,520 patients with SCLM, 12% (n = 1259) underwent liver surgery. Of these patients, 58% (n = 733) were referred to another hospital to undergo liver surgery. In 53% of the patients (n = 647), liver resection was performed in a university hospital, in 39% (n = 482) in a dedicated liver centre and in 8% (n = 102) in a general hospital. There was a large inter-hospital variation in the proportion of patients undergoing liver resection (2–26%). In a multilevel logistic regression model, the odds of undergoing liver surgery were higher when patients were diagnosed in hospitals where liver surgery was performed compared with the general hospitals (dedicated liver centre: odds ratio 1.36 [95% confidence intervals 1.08–1.70], university hospital: odds ratio 1.69 [95% confidence intervals 1.22–2.34]). Conclusion There is a large inter-hospital and inter-regional variation in the utilisation of liver resection. Patients diagnosed with SCLM in expert centres had a higher chance of undergoing liver resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Registration of clinical trials has been initiated in order to assess adherence of the reported results to the original trial protocol. This study aimed to investigate the publication rates, timely dissemination of results, and the prevalence of consistency in hypothesis, sample size, and primary endpoint of Dutch investigator-initiated randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs)., Methods: All Dutch investigator-initiated RCTs with a completion date between December 31, 2010, and January 1, 2012, and registered in the Trial Register of The Netherlands database were included. PubMed was searched for the publication of these RCT results until September 2016, and the time to the publication date was calculated. Consistency in hypothesis, sample size, and primary endpoint compared with the registry data were assessed., Results: The search resulted in a total of 168 Dutch investigator-initiated RCTs. In September 2016, the results of 129 (77%) trials had been published, of which 50 (39%) within 2 years after completion of accrual. Consistency in hypothesis with the original protocol was observed in 108 (84%) RCTs; in 71 trials (55%), the planned sample size was reached; and 103 trials (80%) presented the original primary endpoint. Consistency in all three parameters was observed in 50 studies (39%)., Conclusion: This study shows that approximately one out of four Dutch investigator-initiated RCTs remains unpublished 5 years after initiation. The observed low overall consistency with the initial study outline is a matter of concern and warrants improvements in trial design and assessment of trial feasibility., (© 2019 The Authors. Research Synthesis Methods published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)