Key result
Hospital-level inpatient VTE surveillance rates were not significantly correlated with postdischarge VTE rates (R = 0.03, P = .76).
Why the study?
Does higher inpatient surveillance testing for VTE reduce postdischarge VTE rates in patients undergoing inpatient surgery?
Cohort (n=25,975)
Yes
Does higher inpatient surveillance testing for VTE reduce postdischarge VTE rates in patients undergoing inpatient surgery?
Effect estimate: R = 0.03
p-value: p=0.76
Higher inpatient VTE surveillance rates are associated with higher inpatient VTE rates but do not correlate with decreased postdischarge VTE rates.
Inpatient VTE surveillance rates do not reduce postdischarge VTE; leaves open whether surveillance influences postdischarge risk stratification.
IMPORTANCE: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) surveillance practices in hospitals, but not adherence to Surgical Care Improvement Program VTE prophylaxis measures, have been reported to explain the variation in VTE rates in hospitals. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between inpatient surveillance testing for VTE and postdischarge VTE rates at the hospital level to determine whether more frequent inpatient surveillance is associated with reduced occurrence of postdischarge VTEs. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective study of a US national cohort of Veterans Affairs (VA) patients. National VA Surgical Quality Improvement Program outcome data were linked to VA administrative data on patients undergoing inpatient surgery from 2005 to 2009 and were included in the Surgical Care Improvement Program VTE measurement population. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Surveillance was identified using Current Procedural Terminology codes for diagnostic VTE imaging. Relationships between hospital-level surveillance and VTE rates were assessed with Pearson correlation coefficients, and the postdischarge VTE rate was modeled using linear regression, adjusting for hospital volume, inpatient VTE rate, inpatient surveillance rate, and case mix. RESULTS: Of 25 975 patients at 79 VA facilities, 296 (1.4%) experienced a VTE during the index hospitalization, and 114 (0.4%) experienced a postdischarge VTE within 30 days after surgery. The median length of stay was 11 days for those with a positive surveillance test result and 9 days for those with a negative test result. There was a positive correlation between inpatient surveillance and inpatient VTE rates (R = 0.33, P = .003) but no significant correlation of inpatient surveillance with either postdischarge surveillance (R = 0.11, P = .29) or postdischarge VTE rates (R = 0.03, P = .76). In an adjusted regression model of the postdischarge VTE rate, only the inpatient VTE rate was significant (β = 0.13, P = .05). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Hospitals with higher VTE surveillance rates have higher inpatient VTE rates but not decreased postdischarge VTE rates. However, hospitals with higher inpatient VTE rates have higher postdischarge VTE rates, which suggests that surveillance may be influenced by higher observed rates and not surveillance practices alone.
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Holcomb et al. (2015) conducted a cohort in Venous thromboembolism (n=25,975). Inpatient surveillance testing for VTE vs. Lower surveillance rates was evaluated on Postdischarge VTE rates within 30 days after surgery (R = 0.03, p=0.76). Hospital-level inpatient VTE surveillance rates were not significantly correlated with postdischarge VTE rates (R = 0.03, P = .76).
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