Commentary: Using the National Cancer Database to Create a Surgical Outcomes Composite Index. Is this Textbook or Cliffs Notes?

The term “textbook outcome” (TO) was coined in 2012 by Kolfschoten and colleagues to describe a summarizing measure for short-term outcomes after colon cancer resections.1 This measure is binary, awarded only when 6 distinct “desirable” measures are all accomplished (30 day survival, R0 resection, no reintervention, no colostomy, no complications and hospitalization of 14 days or less). The name choice for this index is, however, misleading. A textbook provides a comprehensive analysis of a problem and does not abbreviate.
Source: Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Tags: THORACIC – Commentary Source Type: research