Relation between surgeon age and postoperative outcomes: a population-based cohort study
METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing 1 of 25 common surgical procedures in Ontario, Canada, from 2007 to 2015. We evaluated the association between surgeon age and a composite outcome of death, readmission and complications. We used generalized estimating equations for analysis, accounting for relevant patient-, procedure-, surgeon- and hospital-level factors.
RESULTS: We found 1 159 676 eligible patients who were treated by 3314 surgeons and ranged in age from 27 to 81 years. Modelled as a continuous variable, a 10-year increase in surgeon age was associated with a 5% relative decreased odds of the composite outcome (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.92 to 0.98, = 0.002). Considered dichotomously, patients receiving treatment from surgeons who were older than 65 years of age had a 7% lower odds of adverse outcomes (adjusted OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.88–0.97, p = 0.03; crude absolute difference = 3.1%).
Raj Satkunasivam, Zachary Klaassen, Bheeshma Ravi, Kai-Ho Fok, Terri Menser, Bita Kash, Brian J. Miles, Barbara Bass, Allan S. Detsky and Christopher J.D. Wallis
Satkunasivam, R., Klaassen, Z., Ravi, B., Fok, K., Menser, T., & Kash, B. et al. (2020). Relation between surgeon age and postoperative outcomes: a population-based cohort study. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 192(15), E385-E392. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.190820