Racial disparities in operative procedure time: the influence of obesity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Using Pennsylvania Medicare claims from 1995 to 1996, the authors previously reported that anesthesia procedure length appears longer in blacks than whites. In a new study using a different and larger data set, the authors now examine whether body mass index (BMI), not available in Medicare claims, explains this difference. The authors also examine the relative contributions of surgical and anesthesia times.

Methods

The Obesity and Surgical Outcomes Study of 47 hospitals throughout Illinois, New York, and Texas abstracted chart information including BMI on elder Medicare patients (779 blacks and 14,596 whites) undergoing hip and knee replacement and repair, colectomy, and thoracotomy between 2002 and 2006. The authors matched all black Medicare patients to compara

SUBMITTER: Silber JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3889464 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature