Black male Medicare beneficiaries have highest mortality rates after elective surgery
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Published results showed Black men had the highest 30-day mortality rates after elective surgery compared with Black women, white men and white women.
Researchers retrospectively analyzed data on 1,868,036 Black and white Medicare beneficiaries (mean age of 75.4 years) who underwent one of eight surgeries: repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, appendectomy, cholecystectomy, colectomy, coronary artery bypass surgery, hip replacement, knee replacement and lung resection. The main outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality, according to the study.
Overall, 30-day mortality rates were 3.05% (n= 1,698) in Black men; 2.69% (n = 21,833) in white men; 2.38% in white women (n = 21,847) and 2.18% in Black women (n = 1,631). Researchers noted Black men who underwent elective surgery had a 50% higher 30-day mortality rate (1.3%) compared with white men (0.85%) who underwent elective surgery; however, no differences were seen in mortality rates for nonelective surgeries between these two groups.
“These findings highlight the need to understand better the unique challenges Black men who require surgery face in the U.S.,” the researchers wrote in the study. “Better standardization of care (such as through enhanced recovery after surgery programs) may help mitigate some of these factors and reduce inequities in surgical outcomes,” they concluded.
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