Background: In 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services stopped reimbursing for treatment of specified hospital-acquired conditions (HACs), also known as "never events."
Objective: To establish benchmarks for HACs after common neurosurgical oncologic procedures.
Methods: We identified adults in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample between 2002 and 2009 who underwent resection of a benign or malignant brain tumor. Baseline demographics, medical comorbidities, and hospital-level variables were assessed. A generalized estimating equation, multivariable-logistic model was used to identify predictors of HACs, mortality, prolonged hospital length of stay, and increased hospital charges.
Results: We identified 310,133 patients undergoing surgical treatment of a cranial neoplasm; 5.4% experienced an HAC. More medical comorbidities and the presence of an immediate postoperative neurosurgical complication increased one's risk of having an HAC (odds ratios: 1.56 and 2.48, respectively; both P < .01). Patients who experienced an HAC faced increased in-hospital mortality (6.47% vs 1.53%; P < .01) and increased total hospital costs ($52,882.61 vs $25,569.45; P < .01). Patients at urban teaching hospitals and those with a high surgical volume were more likely to experience an HAC compared with those treated at rural nonteaching hospitals and those with a low surgical volume (odds ratios: 1.33 and 1.16, respectively; P < .01).
Conclusion: We found a 5.4% incidence of HACs after neurosurgical oncologic procedures, which varied based on several patient and hospital-level factors. A thorough analysis of the relationship between patient, procedure, and HAC incidence will be important to developing fair compensation practices for physicians as well as payers. Additionally, further investigation may identify opportunities for future quality improvement initiatives.