Does hospital surgical volume affect in-hospital outcomes in surgically treated pelvic and acetabular fractures?
A retrospective evaluation was done to determine the relationship between hospital volume and in-hospital mortality, complications, and length of stay inpatients with operatively treated fractures of the pelvis or acetabulum. Patients were divided into three groups based on hospital volume. High volume centers had higher percentages of patients with one or more comorbidities, but who were less severely injured. Mortality rates were highest in small volume centers. Moderate volume centers had the lowest odds of death. Complication rates were similar between small and high volume hospitals. Length of stay was shortest in high volume centers. In-hospital outcomes associated with surgical-fixation of the pelvis, acetabulum, or both were not uniformly associated with hospital volume.