Impact of Wait List Length on Death Before Heart Surgery
Author Information
Author(s): Boris G Sobolev, Lisa Kuramoto, Adrian R Levy, Robert Hayden
Primary Institution: University of British Columbia
Hypothesis
Does the length of the wait list at registration influence the risk of death before coronary-artery bypass grafting?
Conclusion
Long wait lists for coronary-artery bypass grafting are associated with increased probability that a patient dies before surgery.
Supporting Evidence
- Patients on longer wait lists had a 64% higher odds of dying before surgery.
- The observed proportion of wait-list deaths was lower in the '1 month or less' category compared to 'more than 1 month'.
- Urgent patients did not register on wait lists with a clearance time of more than 1 month.
Takeaway
If you have to wait a long time for heart surgery, you might be more likely to get really sick or die before you can have the operation.
Methodology
The study analyzed data from 8966 patients who registered for isolated coronary-artery bypass grafting, comparing wait-list death rates based on wait-list clearance times.
Potential Biases
Potential misclassification of urgency for treatment could affect the results.
Limitations
The urgency for surgery was not always accurately recorded, and there was no audit of the quality of the registry records.
Participant Demographics
82.4% men, 71.9% semi-urgent, 22.4% non-urgent patients.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.005
Confidence Interval
95% CI 1.02–2.63
Statistical Significance
p<0.005
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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