Appendectomy as Teaching Operation: No Compromise in Safety—An Audit of 17,106 Patients

Objective In a surgical career, teaching of surgical procedures plays a central role. In this study we want to evaluate the influence of teaching in appendectomies on the in-hospital outcome. Design and setting Retrospectively, 26,436 cases from the national quality measurement database (AQC) between the years 2009 and 2017 were evaluated using the diagnosis and the procedure codes. Included were all cases with appendicitis (International Classification of Diseases diagnostic codes K35-K37), surgical treatment (appendectomy), and a documented teaching status of the procedure. Variables were sought in bivariate and multivariate analyses. The occurrence of any complication was the primary outcome, whereas in-hospital mortality was the secondary outcome. Participants A total of 17,106 patients with a mean age of 37 ± 19 years remained for final analysis. A total of 6267 operations (37%), were conducted as teaching-operations. Seventy-four percent of all teaching procedures were performed by residents. Results We found no statistical association between teaching operations and complication rates or mortality. However, the teaching group showed longer duration of surgery (+ 11%). Conclusions There was no influence of the training status of the appendectomy procedure on complication rates and in-hospital mortality. However, there was a prolonged duration of surgery. Despite these statistically significant differences, a comparable clinical outcome was observed in all patients, thus justifying the benefits of resident training.