The impact of hospital volume, residency, and fellowship training on perioperative outcomes after radical prostatectomy

Objectives: Although high-volume hospitals have been associated with improved outcomes for radical prostatectomy (RP), the association of residency or fellowship teaching institutions or both and this volume-outcome relationship remains poorly described. We examine the effect of teaching status and hospital volume on perioperative RP outcomes.

Methods and materials: Within the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, we focused on RPs performed between 2003 and 2007. We tested the rates of prolonged length of stay beyond the median of 3 days, in-hospital mortality, and intraoperative and postoperative complications, stratified according to teaching status. Multivariable logistic regression analyses further adjusted for confounding factors.

Results: Overall, 47,100 eligible RPs were identified. Of these, 19,193 cases were performed at non-teaching institutions, 24,006 at residency teaching institutions, and 3,901 at fellowship teaching institutions. Relative to patients treated at non-teaching institutions, patients treated at fellowship teaching institutions were healthier and more likely to hold private insurance. In multivariable analyses, patients treated at residency (OR = 0.92, P = 0.015) and fellowship (OR = 0.82, P = 0.011) teaching institutions were less likely to experience a postoperative complication than patients treated at non-teaching institutions. Patients treated at residency (OR = 0.73, P<0.001) and fellowship (OR = 0.91, P = 0.045) teaching institutions were less likely to experience a prolonged length of stay.

Conclusions: More favorable postoperative complication profile and shorter length of stay should be expected at residency and fellowship teaching institutions following RP. Moreover, postoperative complication rates were lower at fellowship teaching than at residency teaching institutions, despite adjustment for potential confounders.