Study Design: Literature review.Objective: To describe whether practice variation studies on surgery in patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease used adequate study methodology to identify... Show moreStudy Design: Literature review.Objective: To describe whether practice variation studies on surgery in patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease used adequate study methodology to identify unwarranted variation, and to inform quality improvement in clinical practice. Secondary aim was to describe whether variation changed over time.Methods: Literature databases were searched up to May 4th, 2021. To define whether study design was appropriate to identify unwarranted variation, we extracted data on level of aggregation, study population, and case-mix correction. To define whether studies were appropriate to achieve quality improvement, data were extracted on outcomes, explanatory variables, description of scientific basis, and given recommendations. Spearman's rho was used to determine the association between the Extreme Quotient (EQ) and year of publication.Results: We identified 34 articles published between 1990 and 2020. Twenty-six articles (76%) defined the diagnosis. Prior surgery cases were excluded or adjusted for in 5 articles (15%). Twenty-three articles (68%) adjusted for case-mix. Variation in outcomes was analyzed in 7 articles (21%). Fourteen articles (41%) identified explanatory variables. Twenty-six articles (76%) described the evidence on effectiveness. Recommendations for clinical practice were given in 9 articles (26%). Extreme Quotients ranged between 1-fold and 15-fold variation and did not show a significant change over time (rho= -.33, P= .09).Conclusions: Practice variation research on surgery in patients with degenerative disc disease showed important limitations to identify unwarranted variation and to achieve quality improvement by public reporting. Despite the availability of new evidence, we could not observe a significant decrease in variation over time. Show less
Objective In the past few decades, there has been an increase in high-quality studies providing evidence on the effectiveness of commonly performed procedures in paediatric otolaryngology. We... Show moreObjective In the past few decades, there has been an increase in high-quality studies providing evidence on the effectiveness of commonly performed procedures in paediatric otolaryngology. We believe that now is the time to re-evaluate the care process. We aimed to analyse (1) the regional variation in incidence and referrals of adenoidectomies, tonsillectomies and ventilation tube insertions in children in the Netherlands between 2016 and 2019, (2) whether regional surgical rates, referral rates and in-hospital surgical rates were associated with one another, and (3) the hospital variation in healthcare costs, which indicates the utilisation of resources. Design Repeated cross-sectional analysis. Setting Four neighbouring Dutch provinces comprising 2.8 million inhabitants and 14 hospitals. Participants Children aged 0-15 years. Outcome measures We analysed variation in regional surgical rates and referral rates per 1000 inhabitants and in-hospital surgical rates per 1000 clinic visitors, adjusted for age and socioeconomic status. Furthermore, the relationships between referral rates, regional surgical rates and in-hospital surgical rates were estimated. Lastly, variation in resource utilisation between hospitals was estimated. Results Adenoidectomy rates differed sixfold between regions. Twofold differences were observed for adenotonsillectomy rates, ventilation tube insertion rates and referral rates. Referral rates were negatively associated with in-hospital surgical rates for adenotonsillectomies, but not for adenoidectomies and ventilation tube insertions. In-hospital surgical rates were positively associated with regional rates for adenoidectomies and adenotonsillectomies. Significant variation between hospitals was observed in costs for all resources. Conclusions We observed low variation in tonsillectomies and ventilation tube insertion and high variation in adenoidectomies. Indications for a tonsillectomy and ventilation tube insertion are well defined in Dutch guidelines, whereas this is not the case for an adenoidectomy. Lack of agreement on indications can be expected and high-quality effectiveness research is required to improve evidence-based guidelines on this topic. Show less
Objectives Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy in children are controversial subjects with large regional variation in surgical rates, partly explained by cultural differences and lack of high-quality... Show moreObjectives Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy in children are controversial subjects with large regional variation in surgical rates, partly explained by cultural differences and lack of high-quality evidence on indications for surgery. A quality of care cycle was executed on this topic in the Netherlands. The objective of this study was to estimate changes in healthcare utilisation for paediatric tonsil surgery in the Netherlands.Methods Population-based data on tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies in children up to age 10 were retrieved retrospectively from Dutch administrative databases between 2005 and 2018. A change point analysis was performed to detect the most pivotal change point in surgical rates. We performed univariate analyses to compare surgical patients' characteristics before and after the pivotalpoint . Impact on healthcare budget and societal costs were estimated using current prices and data from cost-effectiveness analyses.Results The annual number of adenotonsillectomies reduced by 10 952 procedures (-39%; from 129 per 10 000 children to 87 per 10 000 children) between 2005 and 2018, and the number of adenoidectomies by 14 757 procedures (-49%; from 138 per 10 000 children to 78 per 10 000 children). The most pivotal change point was observed around 2012, accompanied by small changes in patient selection for surgery before and after 2012. An estimated euro5.3 million per year was saved on the healthcare budget and euro10.4 million per year on societal costs.Conclusion The quality of care cycle resulted in fewer operations, with a concomitant reduction of costs. We suggest that part of these savings be invested in new research to maintain the quality of care cycle. Show less
Munster, J.J.C.M. van; Najafabadi, A.H.Z.; Schoones, J.W.; Peul, W.C.; Hout, W.B. van den; Benthem, P.P.G. van 2020
BackgroundTonsillectomy and adenoidectomy have been among the most commonly performed procedures in children for approximately 100 years. These procedures were the first for which unwarranted... Show moreBackgroundTonsillectomy and adenoidectomy have been among the most commonly performed procedures in children for approximately 100 years. These procedures were the first for which unwarranted regional variation was discovered, in 1938. Indications for these procedures have become stricter over time, which might have reduced regional practice variation.MethodsThis paper presents a historical review on practice variation in paediatric tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy rates. Data on publication year, region, level of variation, methodology and outcomes were collected.ResultsTwenty-one articles on practice variation in paediatric tonsil surgery were included, with data from 12 different countries. Significant variation was found throughout the years, although a greater than 10-fold variation was observed only in the earliest publications.ConclusionNo evidence has yet been found that better indications for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy have reduced practice variation. International efforts are needed to reconsider why we are still unable to tackle this variation. Show less
Munster, J.J.C.M. van; Najafabadi, A.H.Z.; Boer, N.P. de; Peul, W.C.; Hout, W.B. van den; Benthem, P.P.G. van 2020
BackgroundFrameworks used in research impact evaluation studies vary widely and it remains unclear which methods are most appropriate for evaluating research impact in the field of surgical... Show moreBackgroundFrameworks used in research impact evaluation studies vary widely and it remains unclear which methods are most appropriate for evaluating research impact in the field of surgical research. Therefore, we aimed to identify and review the methods used to assess the impact of surgical intervention trials on healthcare and to identify determinants for surgical impact.MethodsWe searched journal databases up to March 10, 2020 for papers assessing the impact of surgical effectiveness trials on healthcare. Two researchers independently screened the papers for eligibility and performed a Risk of Bias assessment. Characteristics of both impact papers and trial papers were summarized. Univariate analyses were performed to identify determinants for finding research impact, which was defined as a change in healthcare practice.ResultsSixty-one impact assessments were performed in 37 included impact papers. Some surgical trial papers were evaluated in more than one impact paper, which provides a total of 38 evaluated trial papers. Most impact papers were published after 2010 (n = 29). Medical records (n = 10), administrative databases (n = 22), and physician's opinion through surveys (n = 5) were used for data collection. Those data were analyzed purely descriptively (n = 3), comparing data before and after publication (n = 29), or through time series analyses (n = 5). Significant healthcare impact was observed 49 times and more often in more recent publications. Having impact was positively associated with using medical records or administrative databases (ref.: surveys), a longer timeframe for impact evaluation and more months between the publication of the trial paper and the impact paper, data collection in North America (ref.: Europe), no economic evaluation of the intervention, finding no significant difference in surgical outcomes, and suggesting de-implementation in the original trial paper.Conclusions and implicationsResearch impact evaluation receives growing interest, but still a small number of impact papers per year was identified. The analysis showed that characteristics of both surgical trial papers and impact papers were associated with finding research impact. We advise to collect data from either medical records or administrative databases, with an evaluation time frame of at least 4 years since trial publication Show less
