What Can Thyroidectomy-Specific Outcomes Teach Us About the American College of Surgeons’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program?

In this issue of JAMA Surgery, Liu and colleagues¹ report on thyroidectomy-specific (TS) outcomes gathered using the American College of Surgeons’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP). Knowing that surgical site infections and mortality after thyroidectomy are rare, the ACS-NSQIP sought to gather data on complications that are more clinically relevant after thyroidectomy, namely, hypocalcemia, recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury, and cervical hematoma. Beginning in January 2013, the ACS-NSQIP began gathering TS data on more than 13 000 thyroidectomies performed during a 3-year period in 98 hospitals. The authors analyzed these data to determine whether TS outcomes vary among hospitals, whether TS variables affect risk adjustment, and whether TS processes of care are associated with overall differences in hospital performance.