Journal article
Racial Disparities in Postoperative Breast Reconstruction Outcomes: A National Analysis
JOURNAL OF RACIAL AND ETHNIC HEALTH DISPARITIES
19 Apr 2023
PMID: 37074634
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Background Studies have shown that Black patients are more likely to experience complications following breast reconstruction compared to other racial groups. Most of these studies have been conducted on patient populations focusing on either autologous or implant-based reconstruction without possible predictive indicators for complication disparities for all types of reconstruction procedures. The aim of this study is to elucidate disparities among patient demographics by identifying predictors of complications and postoperative outcomes among different racial/ethnic patients undergoing breast reconstruction utilizing multi-state, multi-institution, and national level data. Methods Patients in the Optum Clinformatics Data Mart that underwent all billable forms of breast reconstruction were identified via CPT codes. Demographics, medical history, and postoperative outcome data were collected by querying relevant reports of CPT, ICD-9, and ICD-10 codes. Outcomes analysis was limited to the 90-day global postoperative period. A multivariable logistic-regression analysis was performed to ascertain the effects of age, patient reported ethnicity, coexisting conditions, and reconstruction type on the likelihood of any common postoperative complication occurring. Linearity of the continuous variables with respect to the logit of the dependent variable was confirmed. Odds ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results From over 86 million longitudinal patient records, our study population included 104,714 encounters for 57,468 patients who had undergone breast reconstruction between January 2003 and June 2019. Black race (relative to White), autologous reconstruction, hypertension, type II diabetes mellitus, and tobacco use were independent predictors of increased likelihood of complication. Specifically, the odds ratios for complication occurrence for Black, Hispanic, and Asian ethnicity (relative to White) were 1.09, 1.03, and 0.77, respectively. Black patients had an overall breast reconstruction complication rate of 20.4%, while the corresponding rate for White, Hispanic, and Asian patients were 17.0%, 17.9%, and 13.2%, respectively. Conclusion Our analysis of a national-level database shows that Black patients undergoing implant-based or autologous reconstruction have increased risk of complications, likely due to multifactorial components that play a role in the care of this patient population. While higher rates of comorbidities have been cited as a possible cause, providers must consider racial influences involving cultural context, historical mistrust in medicine, and physician/health institution factors that may drive this disparity of outcomes among our patients.
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Details
- Title
- Racial Disparities in Postoperative Breast Reconstruction Outcomes: A National Analysis
- Publication Details
- JOURNAL OF RACIAL AND ETHNIC HEALTH DISPARITIES
- Publisher
- SPRINGER INT PUBL AG; CHAM
- Grant note
- AcknowledgementsData for this project were accessed using the Stanford Center for Population Health Sciences Data Core. The PHS Data Core is supported by a National Institutes of Health National Center for Advancing Translational Science Clinical and Translational Science Award (UL1 TR001085) and from internal Stanford funding. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Drexel University
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000971386500001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85153076906
- Other Identifier
- 991021861281004721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health