A study published in the April issue of Spine examines the "July Effect" in elective spine surgery.
Researchers examined the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program from 2005 to 2010 and conducted a statistical analysis using bivariate and multivariate logistical regression. There were 14,986 cases included in the study and 26.5 percent occurred in the first quarter of the academic year, with 25.3 percent of those cases including resident involvement.
The researchers found:
• Serious adverse event rate was 1.9 times higher among cases with resident involvement
• The rate of any adverse event was 1.6 times higher with resident involvement
• Adverse event rates among cases with and without resident involvement were similar for all four academic quarters
"We could not demonstrate that training of new (or newly promoted) residents is associated with an increase in the adverse events of spine surgery," concluded the study authors. "Safeguards that have been put in place to ensure patient safety during the training period seem to be effective."
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