Quality of colon resection results in Upper Austria based on a prospective database

Summary Background We compare the most important parameters of a low-volume (LV) hospital with those of a high-volume (HV) hospital regarding surgical resections of the colon in Upper Austria. Methods This analysis is based on the database LeiVMed®, a project of the state of Upper Austria in cooperation with Steyr University of Applied Sciences. The data on all surgical procedures are recorded prospectively and compared by an external team. The data from 625 patients who underwent colorectal surgery for carcinoma at a total of ten hospitals in Upper Austria from January 2015 to December 2016 was evaluated. Results Differences were found between low-volume and high-volume centres in terms of the surgical method, the site of the resection, postoperative complications and costs. Conclusion The data for Upper Austrian hospitals largely correspond to the results in the literature. Comparisons are difficult to make since both the number of operations performed in a hospital and the number of procedures per surgeon has an impact on the outcome and, in addition, the patient populations are different.