Age-Dependent Disparities in General Surgery Outcomes: Variations in Hospital Performance

Hospital performance for general surgery varies between younger and older adults, with in-hospital mortality rates showing significant differences. Failure-to-rescue rates drive the variation in older adults, while both complication and failure-to-rescue rates contribute to high mortality rates in younger adults. Correlations between observed-to-expected mortality ratios suggest distinct hospital performance in each age group. Low-mortality hospitals in older and younger adults do not overlap. Further investigation is needed to understand the factors causing these age-based differences in surgical outcomes.