Racial variation in the quality of surgical care for bladder cancer

Differences in quality of care may contribute to racial variation in outcomes of bladder cancer (BCa). Quality indicators in patients undergoing surgery for BCa include the use of high-volume surgeons and high-volume hospitals, and, when clinically indicated, receipt of pelvic lymphadenectomy, receipt of continent urinary diversion, and undergoing radical cystectomy instead of partial cystectomy. The authors compared these quality indicators as well as adverse perioperative outcomes in black patients and white patients with BCa.

The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases for New York, Florida, and Maryland (1996-2009) were used, because they consistently included race, surgeon, and hospital identifiers. Quality indicators were compared across racial groups using regression models adjusting for age, sex, Elixhauser comorbidity sum, insurance, state, and year of surgery, accounting for clustering within hospital.

Black patients were treated more often by lower volume surgeons and hospitals, they had significantly lower receipt of pelvic lymphadenectomy and continent diversion, and they experienced higher rates of adverse outcomes compared with white patients. These associations remained significant for black patients who received treatment from surgeons and at hospitals in the top volume decile.

Black patients with BCa had lower use of experienced providers and institutions for BCa surgery. In addition, the quality of care for black patients was lower than that for whites even if they received treatment in a high-volume setting. This gap in quality of care requires further investigation.