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Review
. 2016 Oct;4(20):393.
doi: 10.21037/atm.2016.10.49.

Surgical research using national databases

Ram K Alluri  1 , Hyuma Leland  2 , Nathanael Heckmann  1
Affiliations
Review

Surgical research using national databases

Ram K Alluri et al. Ann Transl Med. 2016 Oct.

Abstract

Recent changes in healthcare and advances in technology have increased the use of large-volume national databases in surgical research. These databases have been used to develop perioperative risk stratification tools, assess postoperative complications, calculate costs, and investigate numerous other topics across multiple surgical specialties. The results of these studies contain variable information but are subject to unique limitations. The use of large-volume national databases is increasing in popularity, and thorough understanding of these databases will allow for a more sophisticated and better educated interpretation of studies that utilize such databases. This review will highlight the composition, strengths, and weaknesses of commonly used national databases in surgical research.

Keywords: Research; database; national; surgery.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Classification of commonly used national databases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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