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Mortality in Australian Cardiothoracic Surgery: Findings From a National Audit
- Source :
- The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 109:1880-1888
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2020.
-
Abstract
- Background: Independent peer review of mortality cases has potential to identify issues in cardiothoracic surgical patients. The Australian and New Zealand Audit of Surgical Mortality aims to improve surgical care through peer-reviewed assessment of all surgical mortality. The aim of this study was to describe common clinical management issues that contribute to patient mortality in a cohort of Australian cardiothoracic surgical patients. This approach may subsequently provide a basis for quality improvement. Methods: Cardiothoracic mortality reports to the Australian and New Zealand Audit of Surgical Mortality from February 2009 through December 2015 were reviewed. The surgeon report and assessor comments were coded to identify clinical management issues. These were divided into perioperative stages (preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative), and at each stage a thematic analysis was performed. Results: Of the 908 cases analyzed, 1371 clinical management issues were identified. Postoperative issues were the most common (n = 552), followed by preoperative (n = 378) and intraoperative issues (n = 370). Communication issues were present at all 3 stages (n = 71). Overall the most common theme was intraoperative technical issues (n = 287). Many of these issues revolved around unintentional injury to anatomic structures during surgery and inadequate myocardial protection. Communication issues commonly related to surgical handover to the intensive care unit and lack of shared decision-making. Also common were consultant surgeons being unaware of patient deterioration or significant changes in management. Conclusions: The Australian and New Zealand Audit of Surgical Mortality provides valuable insights into issues affecting mortality in cardiothoracic patients. Potentially avoidable management issues play a large role in determining the outcome of these patients. Quality improvement initiatives targeting these areas may be valuable. Refereed/Peer-reviewed
- Subjects :
- Male
Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
medicine.medical_specialty
Time Factors
Quality management
Audit
030204 cardiovascular system & hematology
law.invention
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
law
medicine
Humans
Cardiac Surgical Procedures
Stage (cooking)
Retrospective Studies
Medical Audit
business.industry
General surgery
Australia
Perioperative
Thoracic Surgical Procedures
Prognosis
Intensive care unit
Survival Rate
030228 respiratory system
Cardiovascular Diseases
Cardiothoracic surgery
Population Surveillance
Cohort
Female
Surgery
Thematic analysis
Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
business
Follow-Up Studies
New Zealand
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 00034975
- Volume :
- 109
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....884bb546da3e9cdbb3b426bebe3d0b50