An analysis of the Research Fellowship Scheme of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

BACKGROUND: The Research Fellowship Scheme of the Royal College of Surgeons of England commenced in 1993 with the aim of exposing selected surgical trainees to research techniques and methodology, with the hope of having an impact on surgical research and increasing the cadre of young surgeons who might decide to pursue an academic career in surgery. Over 11 million pounds sterling (approximately US 20 million dollars) has been invested in 264 fellowships. The College wished to evaluate the impact of the Scheme on the careers of research fellows, surgical research, and patient care. As the 10th anniversary of the Scheme approached. STUDY DESIGN: Two-hundred and sixty research fellows whose current addresses were available were sent a questionnaire. Two-hundred and thirty-eight (91.5%) responded. RESULTS: Three-quarters of the research fellows conducted laboratory-based research, with most of the remainder conducting patient-based clinical research. One-third of the fellows who have reached consultant status have an academic component to their post. The total number of publications based on fellowship projects was 531, with a median impact factor of 3.5. Almost all fellows had been awarded a higher degree or were working toward this. Half of the fellows received subsequent funding for research, mostly awarded by national or international funding bodies. CONCLUSIONS: The Research Fellowship Scheme of the Royal College of Surgeons of England has successfully supported many trainee surgeons in the initial phase of their research career. It has helped surgical research by increasing the pool of surgeons willing to embark on an academic career. Indirectly, patient care has benefited by promoting an evidence-based culture among young surgeons. Such schemes are relevant to surgical training programs elsewhere if more young surgeons are to be attracted into academic surgery

Re-organisation of oesophago-gastric cancer care in England: progress and remaining challenges

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.Abstract Background Oesophago-gastric cancer services in England have been extensively reorganised since 2001 to deliver a centralised, specialist-led service. Our aim was to assess how well the National Health Service (NHS) in England met organisational standards for oesophago-gastric cancer care. Methods Questionnaires that asked about the provision of staging investigations, curative and palliative treatments and key personnel were sent in September 2007 to the lead clinician for oesophago-gastric cancer at all 30 cancer networks and 156 NHS acute trusts in England. Results Responses were received from all networks and 81% of NHS trusts. All networks provided essential staging investigations and a range of endoscopic palliative therapies. Only 16 of the 30 cancer networks discussed all patients at the specialist multi-disciplinary team meeting and 11 networks had not fully centralised curative surgery. There was also variation between NHS trusts in the integration of the palliative care team, the availability of nurse specialists and the use of dieticians to provide nutritional support. Conclusion There has been considerable progress in reforming oesophago-gastric cancer services but the process of reorganisation is still incomplete and regional differences in service provision exist that may lead to variation in patient outcomes.Published versio

Potential impact of a new sepsis prediction model for the primary care setting: early health economic evaluation using an observational cohort

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the potential referral rate and cost impact at different cut-off points of a recently developed sepsis prediction model for general practitioners (GPs). DESIGN: Prospective observational study with decision tree modelling. SETTING: Four out-of-hours GP services in the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: 357 acutely ill adult patients assessed during home visits. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome is the cost per patient from a healthcare perspective in four scenarios based on different cut-off points for referral of the sepsis prediction model. Second, the number of hospital referrals for the different scenarios is estimated. The potential impact of referral of patients with sepsis on mortality and hospital admission was estimated by an expert panel. Using these study data, a decision tree with a time horizon of 1 month was built to estimate the referral rate and cost impact in case the model would be implemented. RESULTS: Referral rates at a low cut-off (score 2 or 3 on a scale from 0 to 6) of the prediction model were higher than observed for patients with sepsis (99% and 91%, respectively, compared with 88% observed). However, referral was also substantially higher for patients who did not need hospital assessment. As a consequence, cost-savings due to referral of patients with sepsis were offset by increased costs due to unnecessary referral for all cut-offs of the prediction model. CONCLUSIONS: Guidance for referral of adult patients with suspected sepsis in the primary care setting using any cut-off point of the sepsis prediction model is not likely to save costs. The model should only be incorporated in sepsis guidelines for GPs if improvement of care can be demonstrated in an implementation study. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Dutch Trial Register (NTR 7026)

Assessing the quality of the data in a transplant registry: the European Liver Transplant Registry.

The usefulness of a clinical database depends strongly on the quality of the collected data. Data quality assurance should start with deciding in advance the uses to which the database is going to be put, developing an explicitly defined minimum data set, and setting up a user-friendly interface. The quality of the collected data can be assessed by computer validation, during which computerized range and consistency checks are based on information within the database itself. Also, note validation can be used, which implies a comparison of the original database against medical records. A number of related methodological issues are discussed in this article

Trends in the use of bilateral mastectomy in England from 2002 to 2011: retrospective analysis of hospital episode statistics.

OBJECTIVES: For healthy women at high risk of developing breast cancer, a bilateral mastectomy can reduce future risk. For women who already have unilateral breast cancer, removing the contralateral healthy breast is more difficult to justify. We examined trends in the number of women who had a bilateral mastectomy in England between 2002 and 2011. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study using the Hospital Episode Statistics database. SETTING: NHS hospital trusts in England. PARTICIPANTS: Women aged between 18 and 80 years who had a bilateral mastectomy (or a contralateral mastectomy within 24 months of unilateral mastectomy) with or without a diagnosis of breast cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number and incidence of women without breast cancer who had a bilateral mastectomy; number and proportion who had a bilateral mastectomy as their first breast cancer operation, and the proportion of those undergoing bilateral mastectomy who had immediate breast reconstruction. RESULTS: Among women without breast cancer, the number who had a bilateral mastectomy increased from 71 in 2002 to 255 in 2011 (annual incidence rate ratio 1.16, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.18). In women with breast cancer, the number rose from 529 to 931, an increase from 2% to 3.1% of first operations (OR for annual increase 1.07, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.08). Across both groups, rates of immediate breast reconstruction roughly doubled and reached 90% among women without breast cancer in 2011. CONCLUSIONS: The number of women who had a bilateral mastectomy nearly doubled over the last decade, and more than tripled among women without breast cancer. This coincided with an increase in the use of immediate breast reconstruction

Outcomes of transplantation of livers from donation after circulatory death donors in the UK: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Outcomes of liver transplantations from donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors may be inferior to those achieved with donation after brain death (DBD) donors. The impact of using DCD donors is likely to depend on specific national practices. We compared risk-adjusted graft loss and recipient mortality after transplantation of DCD and DBD livers in the UK. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. Multivariable Cox regression and propensity score matching were used to estimate risk-adjusted HR. SETTING: 7 liver transplant centres in the National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in England and Scotland. PARTICIPANTS: Adults who received a first elective liver transplant between January 2005 and December 2010 who were identified in the UK Liver Transplant Audit. INTERVENTIONS: Transplantation of DCD and DBD livers. OUTCOMES: Graft loss and recipient mortality. RESULTS: In total, 2572 liver transplants were identified with 352 (14%) from DCD donors. 3-year graft loss (95% CI) was higher with DCD livers (27.3%, 21.8% to 33.9%) than with DBD livers (18.2%, 16.4% to 20.2%). After adjustment with regression, HR for graft loss was 2.3 (1.7 to 3.0). Similarly, 3-year mortality was higher with DCD livers (19.4%, 14.5% to 25.6%) than with DBD livers (14.1%, 12.5% to 16.0%) with an adjusted HR of 2.0 (1.4 to 2.8). Propensity score matching gave similar results. Centre-specific adjusted HRs for graft loss and recipient mortality seemed to differ among transplant centres, although statistical evidence is weak (p value for interaction 0.08 and 0.24, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Graft loss and recipient mortality were about twice as high with DCD livers as with DBD livers in the UK. Outcomes after DCD liver transplantation may vary between centres. These results should inform policies for the use of DCD livers

Impact of route to diagnosis on treatment intent and 1-year survival in patients diagnosed with oesophagogastric cancer in England: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between the route to diagnosis, patient characteristics, treatment intent and 1 -year survival among patients with oesophagogastric (O-G) cancer. SETTING: Cohort study in 142 English NHS trusts and 30 cancer networks. PARTICIPANTS: Patients diagnosed with O-G cancer between October 2007 and June 2009. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. Route to diagnosis defined as general practitioner (GP) referral-urgent (suspected cancer) or non-urgent, hospital consultant referral, or after an emergency admission. Logistic regression was used to estimate associations and adjust for differences in casemix. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of patients diagnosed by route of diagnosis; proportion of patients selected for curative treatment; 1-year survival. RESULTS: Among 14 102 cancer patients, 66.3% were diagnosed after a GP referral, 16.4% after an emergency admission and 17.4% after a hospital consultant referral. Of the 9351 GP referrals, 68.8% were urgent. Compared to urgent GP referrals, a markedly lower proportion of patients diagnosed after emergency admission had a curative treatment plan (36% vs 16%; adjusted OR=0.62, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.74) and a lower proportion survived 1 year (43% vs 27%; OR 0.78; 95% CI 0.68 to 0.89). Urgency of GP referral did not affect treatment intent or survival. Routes to diagnosis varied across cancer networks, with the adjusted proportion of patients diagnosed after emergency admission ranging from 8.7 to 32.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Outcomes for cancer patients are worse if diagnosed after emergency admission. Primary care and hospital services should work together to reduce rates of diagnosis after emergency admission and the variation across cancer networks

Complications of surgery for nasal polyposis and chronic rhinosinusitis: the results of a national audit in England and Wales.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the rate of complications of surgery for nasal polyposis and chronic rhinosinusitis as well as their risk factors. STUDY DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, AND OUTCOME MEASURES: The authors conducted a prospective study of 3,128 patients who underwent sinonasal surgery during 2000 and 2001 in 87 National Health Service hospitals in England and Wales. Patients completed a preoperative questionnaire that included the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test, a measure of sinonasal symptoms severity and health-related quality of life. Surgeons provided information about polyp extent, opacity of the sinuses on computed tomography (Lund-Mackay score), comorbidity (American Society of Anesthesiologists score), and the occurrence of perioperative complications. RESULTS: Major complications (orbital or intracranial complications, bleeding requiring ligation or orbital decompression, or return to the operating room) occurred in 11 patients (0.4%). Minor complications (all other untoward events) occurred in 207 patients (6.6%). Most frequently reported minor complications were excessive perioperative hemorrhage bleeding (5.0%) as well as postoperative hemorrhage requiring treatment (0.8%). Multivariate analysis indicated that the complication rate was linked to the extent of disease measured in terms of symptom severity and health-related quality of life, the extent of polyposis, level of opacity of the sinuses on computed tomography, and the presence of comorbidity, but not surgical characteristics (extent of surgery, use of endoscope or microdebrider, grade of surgeon, and adjunctive turbinate surgery). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of complications depended on patient characteristics rather than on the surgical technique used. Measures of the extent of disease and comorbidity may help in identifying patients at high risk of complications

Re-organisation of oesophago-gastric cancer care in England: progress and remaining challenges

Abstract Background Oesophago-gastric cancer services in England have been extensively reorganised since 2001 to deliver a centralised, specialist-led service. Our aim was to assess how well the National Health Service (NHS) in England met organisational standards for oesophago-gastric cancer care. Methods Questionnaires that asked about the provision of staging investigations, curative and palliative treatments and key personnel were sent in September 2007 to the lead clinician for oesophago-gastric cancer at all 30 cancer networks and 156 NHS acute trusts in England. Results Responses were received from all networks and 81% of NHS trusts. All networks provided essential staging investigations and a range of endoscopic palliative therapies. Only 16 of the 30 cancer networks discussed all patients at the specialist multi-disciplinary team meeting and 11 networks had not fully centralised curative surgery. There was also variation between NHS trusts in the integration of the palliative care team, the availability of nurse specialists and the use of dieticians to provide nutritional support. Conclusion There has been considerable progress in reforming oesophago-gastric cancer services but the process of reorganisation is still incomplete and regional differences in service provision exist that may lead to variation in patient outcomes.</p

Findings of a national comparative audit of mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery in England.

OBJECTIVES: This paper summarises the findings of a national audit of mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery carried out in England. It describes patterns of treatment, and the clinical and patient-reported quality of life outcomes associated with these types of procedure. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: All 150 National Health Service hospital groups (NHS trusts) in England that provided mastectomy or breast reconstruction surgery, along with six NHS trusts in Wales and Scotland and 114 independent hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Women aged 16 years and over undergoing mastectomy with or without immediate breast reconstruction, or primary delayed breast reconstruction, between 1st January 2008 and 31st March 2009. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Reconstructive utilisation, post-operative complications and sequelae, and patient-reported satisfaction and quality of life. RESULTS: Overall, 21% of the 16,485 women who had mastectomy underwent immediate reconstruction. However, the proportion varied between regions from 9% to 43% (p < 0.001). Levels of patient satisfaction with information, choice and the quality of care were high. The proportion of women who experienced local complications was 10.30% (95% CI 9.78-10.84) for mastectomy surgery, ranged from 11.02% (9.31-12.92) to 18.24% (14.80-22.10) for different immediate reconstructive procedures, and from 5.00% (2.76-8.25) to 19.86% (16.21-23.94) for types of delayed reconstruction. Breast appearance and overall well-being scores reported 18 months after surgery were higher among women having immediate breast reconstruction compared to mastectomy only. Postoperative outcomes were similar across providers.. CONCLUSIONS: The Audit found women were highly satisfied with their peri-operative care, with hospital providers achieving similar outcomes. English providers should examine how to reduce the variation in rates of immediate reconstruction