Table 1.
Hospital and patient characteristics by study group: prospective monitoring of outcomes using control charts with regular feedback on indicators (intervention group) or to usual care (control group). Values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise
| Characteristics | Total | Intervention group | Control group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitals | n=40 | n=20 | n=20 |
| Geographical region: | |||
| South east | 12 (30.0) | 5 (25.0) | 7 (35.0) |
| North east | 9 (22.5) | 4 (20.0) | 5 (25.0) |
| Paris area | 7 (17.5) | 6 (30.0) | 1 (5.0) |
| South west | 6 (15.0) | 2 (10.0) | 4 (20.0) |
| North west | 6 (15.0) | 3 (15.0) | 3 (15.0) |
| Status: | |||
| Academic | 17 (42.5) | 7 (35.0) | 10 (50.0) |
| Not for profit | 14 (35.0) | 10 (50.0) | 4 (20.0) |
| Private, for profit | 9 (22.5) | 3 (15.0) | 6 (30.0) |
| Median (range) No of beds | 500 (170-1 081) | 489 (170-960) | 542 (176-1 081) |
| Median (range) No of surgical beds | 146 (31-335) | 143 (68-295) | 166 (31-335) |
| Median (range) volume of digestive tract surgery | 3697 (2092-7211) | 3498 (2579-5705) | 3963 (2092-7211) |
| Median (range) rate of ambulatory procedures | 20.8 (7.2-51.2) | 21.9 (9.8-51.2) | 20.3 (7.2-39.1) |
| Median (range) No of participating surgeons | 6 (2-11) | 6 (3-10) | 6 (2-11) |
| Median (range) age of participating surgeons (years) | 45 (35-59) | 47 (40-53) | 44 (35-59) |
| Patients | n=155 362 | n=75 047 | n=80 315 |
| Mean (SD) age (years) | 56.8 (18.4) | 56.6 (18.5) | 56.9 (18.2) |
| Women | 81 257 (52.3) | 38 853 (51.8) | 42 404 (52.8) |
| Median household income quartiles (€): | |||
| Very low (11 727-18 926) | 38 324 (24.7) | 14 519 (19.3) | 23 805 (29.6) |
| Low (18 927-20 206) | 39 558 (25.5) | 15 946 (21.2) | 23 612 (29.4) |
| High (20 209-22 332) | 38 776 (25.0) | 19 758 (26.3) | 19 018 (23.7) |
| Very high (22 332-43 350) | 38 704 (24.9) | 24 824 (33.1) | 13 880 (17.3) |
| Elixhauser comorbidities*: | |||
| 0 | 76 652 (49.3) | 36 819 (49.1) | 39 833 (49.6) |
| 1 | 35 597 (22.9) | 17 067 (22.7) | 18 530 (23.1) |
| 2 | 20 684 (13.3) | 9883 (13.2) | 10 801 (13.4) |
| ≥3 | 22 429 (14.4) | 11 278 (15.0) | 11 151 (13.9) |
| Emergency admission | 36 304 (23.4) | 19 757 (26.3) | 16 547 (20.6) |
| Surgical procedure during July/August | 21 760 (14.0) | 10 522 (14.0) | 11 238 (14.0) |
| Surgical procedure: | |||
| Hernia repair | 36 567 (23.5) | 17 617 (23.5) | 18 950 (23.6) |
| Colorectal | 32 919 (21.2) | 15 830 (21.1) | 17 089 (21.3) |
| Cholecystectomy | 30 765 (19.8) | 14 872 (19.8) | 15 893 (19.8) |
| Bariatric | 18 553 (11.9) | 9181 (12.2) | 9372 (11.7) |
| Appendectomy | 17 572 (11.3) | 9718 (12.9) | 7854 (9.8) |
| Hepatopancreatic | 10 648 (6.9) | 4585 (6.1) | 6063 (7.5) |
| Oesophageal and gastric | 8338 (5.4) | 3244 (4.3) | 5094 (6.3) |
1.00 (£0.91; $1.18).
Data relative to pre-implementation period (1 January 2014 to 31 December 2015) and implementation period (1 January 2017 to 31 December 2018) were pooled in intervention and control hospitals. Numbers might not sum to 100 because of rounding. See supplementary table S1 for details about additional patient characteristics by operative procedure.
Congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, valvular disease, pulmonary circulation disorders, peripheral vascular disorders, hypertension uncomplicated/complicated, paralysis, other neurological disorders, chronic pulmonary disease, diabetes uncomplicated/complicated, hypothyroidism, renal failure, liver disease, peptic ulcer disease excluding bleeding, AIDS/HIV, lymphoma, metastatic cancer, solid tumour without metastasis, rheumatoid arthritis/collagen vascular diseases, coagulopathy, obesity, weight loss, fluid and electrolyte disorders, blood loss anaemia, deficiency anaemia, alcohol misuse, drug misuse, psychoses, and depression.