Why the study?
How did the practice, patient characteristics, and outcomes of PTCA change in California between 1989 and 1995, and how does hospital volume affect outcomes?
Population
Patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty or stent placement in California…
Comparison
PTCA or stent placement in 1995 vs PTCA in 1989; also comparison between…
Design
Cohort
Follow-up
In-hospital
Authors
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Higher-volume hospitals had lower PTCA adverse events; confirms inverse volume-outcome relationship but leaves causality and current thresholds open.
How did the practice, patient characteristics, and outcomes of PTCA change in California between 1989 and 1995, and how does hospital volume affect outcomes?
The study demonstrates an increase in PTCA volume, patient complexity, and in-hospital mortality between 1989 and 1995, while confirming an inverse relationship between hospital procedure volume and adverse outcomes.
Rill et al. (1999) studied this question.