It is well established that patients with anemia who have elective colorectal cancer surgery do poorly both during and after the procedure. The purpose of this research was to implement a quality improvement program to raise awareness of and treat anemia in patients following elective colon and rectal resections. Researchers compared individuals in a cohort that existed before their anemia screening and treatment quality improvement program was put into place with those who were diagnosed with the condition thereafter. The research in this study took place in a large university hospital. All adults diagnosed with stage-isolated colon or rectal cancer between 2017re and 2019 were eligible for inclusion in this research. The anemia screening and treatment quality improvement program is 1 of the approaches. The cost per hospital admission was the main metric. This research includes 88 patients, 84 of whom had elective colon or rectal resection before their anemia quality improvement effort was implemented, and 4 had surgery thereafter. About 44 out of 84 patients (54.9%) were anemic before the implementation, but only 47 out of 99 (54.7%) were anemic thereafter. In the group that was followed up on after the program’s adoption, both screening (25%) and treatment (27.8%) rates climbed dramatically. Compared to the pre-and post-implementation cohorts, the post-implementation group had a considerably lower mean total cost per admission ($16,827 vs. $25,796; P=0.004). This trend persisted after controlling for potential confounding variables (ratio of means: 0.74; 95% CI, 0.65-0.85). The exact mechanism for treating anemia may lead to cost savings has yet to be determined. When comparing the 2 groups, there was no discernible difference in the incidence of blood transfusions, complications, or death. There were potential selection and timing biases in the study’s before-and-after design. Investigators provided evidence that a program to diagnose and treat anemia has been effectively launched. The average cost of entry was cut by a large margin thanks to this scheme. This study highlights the potential advantages of a nationwide anemia screening and treatment initiative.

 

Source: journals.lww.com/dcrjournal/Abstract/2022/11000/Outcomes_of_Patients_Undergoing_Elective_Bowel.14.aspx

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