Hospital volume and patient outcomes in pulmonary embolism.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In numerous high-risk medical and surgical conditions, a greater volume of patients undergoing treatment in a given setting or facility is associated with better survival. For patients with pulmonary embolism, the relation between the number of patients treated in a hospital (volume) and patient outcome is unknown.

Methods

We studied discharge records from 186 acute care hospitals in Pennsylvania for a total of 15 531 patients for whom the primary diagnosis was pulmonary embolism. The study outcomes were all-cause mortality in hospital and within 30 days after presentation for pulmonary embolism and the length of hospital stay. We used logistic models to study the association between hospital volume and 30-day mortality and discrete survival models to study the as

SUBMITTER: Aujesky D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2151125 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature