Table 2.
Factors associated with preventable and not preventable mortality
| Characteristics | Potential preventable mortality N = 49 | Not preventable mortality N = 56 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 69.9 (11.1) | 73.7 (9.9) | 0.056 |
| Female, n (%) | 17 (34.7) | 9 (16.1) | 0.041 |
| Time to death, days, median (IQR) | 20 (10–41) | 16 (8–30) | 0.336 |
| Year of death, ≤ 2015, n (%) | 25 (51.0) | 38 (67.9) | 0.110 |
| Regionality, n (%) | 1.000 | ||
| Regional centres | 19 (38.8) | 21 (37.5) | |
| Capital city centres | 30 (61.2) | 35 (62.5) | |
| Hospital status, n (%) | 1.000 | ||
| Private | 16 (32.7) | 19 (33.9) | |
| Public | 33 (67.3) | 37 (66.1) | |
| Patient insurance status, n (%) | 1.000 | ||
| Private | 19 (38.8) | 21 (37.5) | |
| Public | 30 (61.2) | 35 (62.5) | |
| Body mass index, > 30 kg/m2, n (%) | 8 (16.3) | 11 (19.6) | 0.801 |
| Smoker, n (%) | 3 (6.1) | 1 (1.8) | 0.337 |
| ASA, median (IQR) | 3 (2–3) | 3 (2–3) | 0.184 |
| Preoperative risk of death, graded by surgeon, n (%) | 0.097 | ||
| Minimal | 5 (10.2) | 1 (1.8) | |
| Small | 20 (40.8) | 18 (32.1) | |
| Moderate | 21 (42.9) | 28 (50.0) | |
| Considerable | 3 (6.1) | 9 (16.1) | |
| Operative details | |||
| Consultant operating, yes, n (%) | 41 (83.7) | 48 (85.7) | 0.792 |
| Consultant assisting, yes, n (%) | 10 (20.4) | 18 (32.1) | 0.192 |
| Consultant in theatre, yes, n (%) | 43 (87.8) | 53 (94.6) | 0.299 |
| Length of surgery, h, mean (SD) | 4.6 (2.3) | 4.2 (2.1) | 0.389 |
| Operation, n (%) | 0.668 | ||
| Pharyngo-laryngo-oesophagectomy | 4 (8.2) | 4 (7.1) | |
| Oesophagectomy, 3 stage | 11 (22.4) | 8 (14.3) | |
| Oesophagectomy, 2 stage | 8 (16.3) | 10 (17.9) | |
| Total gastrectomy | 11 (22.4) | 19 (33.9) | |
| Subtotal gastrectomy | 15 (30.6) | 15 (26.8) | |
| Postoperative complications, number/patient, median (IQR) | |||
| Total | 7 (5–9) | 5 (3–7) | 0.009 |
| Re-operations | 1 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0.033 |
| Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome | 1 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0.043 |
| Gastrointestinal | 1 (1–2) | 0 (0–1) | < 0.001 |
| Infection | 1 (1–2) | 1 (0–2) | 0.004 |
| Neurological | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.792 |
| Pulmonary | 1 (0–3) | 1 (0–2) | 0.326 |
| Cardiac | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0.466 |
| Thromboembolic | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.321 |
| Urological | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0.614 |
| Wound/diaphragm | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.095 |
| Other | 1 (1–2) | 1 (0–2) | 0.109 |
| Clinical management issues, number/patient, median (IQR) | 2 (1–3) | 0 (0–1) | < 0.001 |
| Patients with clinical management issues, n (%) | |||
| Preoperative | 15 (30.6) | 4 (7.1) | 0.002 |
| Intraoperative | 9 (18.4) | 3 (5.4) | 0.037 |
| Postoperative | 25 (51.0) | 10 (17.9) | < 0.001 |
ASA American Society of Anesthesiology, IQR interquartile range, SD standard deviation