Determinants of Variation in Pneumonia Rates After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
Recommended Citation
Brescia AA, Rankin JS, Cyr DD, Jacobs JP, Prager RL, Zhang M, Matsouaka RA, Harrington SD, Dokholyan RS, Bolling SF, Fishstrom A, Pasquali SK, Shahian DM, Likosky DS. Determinants of variation in pneumonia rates after coronary artery bypass grafting. Ann Thorac Surg. 2018 ;105(2):513-520.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2018
Publication Title
The Annals of thoracic surgery
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although conventional wisdom suggests that differences in patient risk profiles drive variability in postoperative pneumonia rates after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), this teaching has yet to be empirically tested. We determined to what extent patient risk factors account for hospital variation in pneumonia rates.
METHODS: We studied 324,085 patients undergoing CABG between July 1, 2011, and December 31, 2013, across 998 hospitals using The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Database. We developed 5 models to estimate our incremental ability to explain hospital variation in pneumonia rates. Model 1 contained patient demographic characteristics and admission status, while Model 2 added patient risk factors. Model 3 added measures of pulmonary function, Model 4 added measures of cardiac anatomy and function and medications, and Model 5 further added measures of intraoperative and postoperative care.
RESULTS: Although 9,175 patients (2.83%) experienced pneumonia, the median estimated distribution of pneumonia rates across hospitals was 2.5% (25th to 75th percentile: 1.5% to 4.0%). Wide variability in pneumonia rates was evident, with some hospitals having rates more than 6 times higher than others (10th to 90th percentile: 1.0% to 6.1%). Among all five models, Model 2 accounted for the most variability at 4.24%. In total, 2.05% of hospital variation in pneumonia rates was explained collectively by traditional patient factors, leaving 97.95% of variation unexplained.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that patient risk profiles only account for a fraction of hospital variation in pneumonia rates; enhanced understanding of other contributory factors (eg, processes of care) is required to lessen the likelihood of such nosocomial infections.
Medical Subject Headings
Adult; Aged; Coronary Artery Bypass; Coronary Artery Disease; Cross Infection; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Hospital Mortality; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pneumonia; Postoperative Complications; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Time Factors
PubMed ID
29174785
Volume
105
Issue
2
First Page
513
Last Page
520
