Adrenalectomy procedures appear to be increasingly centralizing toward very high-volume hospitals— those that perform 15 or more procedures per year—according to results from a Temple University-based study. Between 1996 and 2009, researchers observed better clinical outcomes with adrenalectomy in very high-volume institutions. The odds of surgery being performed at a very low-volume hospital —less than one procedure per year—decreased 13% for each year. Patients at very high-volume hospitals were more likely to be 55 or older, Medicaid recipients, or uninsured. They were also less likely to die.
Abstract: Journal of Urology, August 2012.
