Premium
Ethnic disparities in thyroid surgery outcomes in N ew Z ealand
Author(s) -
Kwon Hyok Jun,
Morton Randall P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
anz journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.426
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 1445-1433
DOI - 10.1111/ans.13142
Subject(s) - medicine , ethnic group , body mass index , thyroid , thyroid disease , retrospective cohort study , american society of anesthesiologists , demography , gerontology , surgery , sociology , anthropology
Background Although thyroid disease is known to have significant ethnic variability, ethnic disparities in outcomes of thyroid surgery have been poorly studied. Method Retrospective review of 716 consecutive thyroid operations at Counties M anukau H ealth, a public health provider in N ew Z ealand, from J anuary 2002 to A ugust 2013. Results Compared with E uropeans, Māori and P acific I slanders have longer operation times ( P < 0.001) and heavier thyroid glands ( P < 0.001). P olynesians also had higher risk of post‐operative haemorrhage compared with non‐ P olynesians ( P = 0.016). They also have higher body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists scores and rates of smoking. There were no differences in length of inpatient stay and readmission rates. Conclusions There are significant ethnic differences in certain outcomes of thyroid surgery. Part of this may be explained by higher co‐morbid characteristics.