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. 2024 Jan:227:85-89.
doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2023.09.038. Epub 2023 Sep 28.

Racial disparities in complications following elective colon cancer resection: Impact of laparoscopic versus robotic approaches

Vanita Ahuja  1 , Lucero G Paredes  2 , Ira L Leeds  3 , Melissa F Perkal  3 , Ayaka Tsutsumi  4 , Shaan Bhandarkar  5 , Joseph T King Jr  6
Affiliations

Racial disparities in complications following elective colon cancer resection: Impact of laparoscopic versus robotic approaches

Vanita Ahuja et al. Am J Surg. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

Background: We sought to examine differences in outcomes for Black and White patients undergoing robotic or laparoscopic colectomy to assess the potential impact of technological advancement.

Methods: We queried the ACS-NSQIP database for elective robotic (RC) and laparoscopic (LC) colectomy for cancer from 2012 to 2020. Outcomes included 30-day mortality and complications. We analyzed the association between outcomes, operative approach, and race using multivariable logistic regression.

Results: We identified 64,460 patients, 80.9% laparoscopic and 19.1% robotic. RC patients were most frequently younger, male, and White, with fewer comorbidities (P ​< ​0.001). After adjustment, there was no difference in mortality by approach or race. Black patients who underwent LC had higher complications (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.03-1.08, P ​= ​0.005) than their White LC counterparts and RC patients.

Conclusions: Robotic colectomy was associated with lower rates of complications in minority patients. Further investigation is required to identify the causal pathway that leads to our finding.

Keywords: Colectomy; Laparoscopic colectomy; Racial discrepancies; Robotic colectomy; Surgical outcomes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest Dr. Leeds has previously performed product development consulting work for Intuitive Surgical.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Stacked bar graph showing changing proportion of elective robotic and laparoscopic colectomies for cancer between 2012 and 2022.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Line graph showing the percentage of patients undergoing elective robotic colectomy for cancer between 2102 and 2020, stratified by race.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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