TY - JOUR
T1 - Procedure volume influences adherence to celiac disease guidelines
AU - Lebwohl, Benjamin
AU - Genta, Robert M.
AU - Kapel, Robert C.
AU - Sheehan, Daniel
AU - Lerner, Nina S.
AU - Green, Peter H.
AU - Neugut, Alfred I.
AU - Rundle, Andrew
PY - 2013/11
Y1 - 2013/11
N2 - BACKGROUND: Although the prevalence of celiac disease in the USA approaches 1%, most cases are undiagnosed, in part, because of low adherence to the recommendation of submitting at least four specimens during duodenal biopsy. We aimed to determine whether physician and practice characteristics are associated with adherence to this recommendation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used a large national pathology database to identify all adult patients who underwent duodenal biopsy during 2006-2009. Hierarchical modeling was used to determine whether procedure volume, the number of gastroenterologists per endoscopy suite, and the number of gastroenterologists per capita of the zip code of the practice were associated with adherence. RESULTS: We identified 92 580 patients (67% female, mean age 53.5 years) who met our inclusion/exclusion criteria. Specimens were submitted by 669 gastroenterologists from 200 endoscopy suites, located in 191 zip codes, with a mean of 3.4 gastroenterologists per suite. On multivariate analysis, a higher procedure volume was associated with a decreased adherence [odds ratio (OR) for each additional 100 procedures, 0.92; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.88-0.97; P=0.002]. An increased adherence was reported for gastroenterologists working at suites with higher numbers of gastroenterologists (OR for each additional gastroenterologist, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.04-1.13; P<0.001) but not for a higher gastroenterologist density in the zip code of the practice (OR for each additional gastroenterologist per capita, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.99-1.03; P=0.21). CONCLUSION: High-volume physicians exhibit lower rates of adherence to biopsy guidelines, possibly because of the additional time required to submit at least four specimens. In contrast, a greater number of endoscopists working in an endoscopy suite are associated with an increased adherence, possibly because of peer education.
AB - BACKGROUND: Although the prevalence of celiac disease in the USA approaches 1%, most cases are undiagnosed, in part, because of low adherence to the recommendation of submitting at least four specimens during duodenal biopsy. We aimed to determine whether physician and practice characteristics are associated with adherence to this recommendation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used a large national pathology database to identify all adult patients who underwent duodenal biopsy during 2006-2009. Hierarchical modeling was used to determine whether procedure volume, the number of gastroenterologists per endoscopy suite, and the number of gastroenterologists per capita of the zip code of the practice were associated with adherence. RESULTS: We identified 92 580 patients (67% female, mean age 53.5 years) who met our inclusion/exclusion criteria. Specimens were submitted by 669 gastroenterologists from 200 endoscopy suites, located in 191 zip codes, with a mean of 3.4 gastroenterologists per suite. On multivariate analysis, a higher procedure volume was associated with a decreased adherence [odds ratio (OR) for each additional 100 procedures, 0.92; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.88-0.97; P=0.002]. An increased adherence was reported for gastroenterologists working at suites with higher numbers of gastroenterologists (OR for each additional gastroenterologist, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.04-1.13; P<0.001) but not for a higher gastroenterologist density in the zip code of the practice (OR for each additional gastroenterologist per capita, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.99-1.03; P=0.21). CONCLUSION: High-volume physicians exhibit lower rates of adherence to biopsy guidelines, possibly because of the additional time required to submit at least four specimens. In contrast, a greater number of endoscopists working in an endoscopy suite are associated with an increased adherence, possibly because of peer education.
KW - celiac disease
KW - endoscopy
KW - quality of healthcare
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U2 - 10.1097/MEG.0b013e3283643542
DO - 10.1097/MEG.0b013e3283643542
M3 - Article
C2 - 23995767
AN - SCOPUS:84885325486
SN - 0954-691X
VL - 25
SP - 1273
EP - 1278
JO - European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
JF - European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
IS - 11
ER -