Lack of a clinically significant impact of race on morbidity and mortality in abdominal surgery: an analysis of 186,466 patients from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database

•We examine racial disparities in outcomes in patients having abdominal surgery at NSQIP hospitals.•There are no racial differences in short-term mortality in 7 common abdominal procedures.•Black patients had minor, clinically insignificant, increased morbidity than whites in 3 of the 7 common abdominal procedures.

BackgroundPoorer surgical outcomes in black compared with white patients have been reported, but it remains unclear if race independently predicts worse outcomes. We investigated if blacks have poorer outcomes than whites following abdominal surgery at quality-seeking hospitals.MethodsUsing the American College of Surgeons’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database, patients who were black or white and underwent common abdominal surgery procedures were identified. A total of 19,326 (10%) blacks and 167,140 (90%) whites undergoing abdominal surgery were analyzed. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS v20.ResultsThirty-day mortality for blacks compared with whites was not statistically significant for any procedures reviewed (all P > .05). Thirty-day morbidity for blacks was slightly higher in appendectomy (P < .0001), small bowel resection (P < .0001), and partial colectomy (P < .0001).ConclusionBlack compared with white patients did not have increased mortality following abdominal surgery but had minor, clinically insignificant, increased morbidity in appendectomy, small bowel resection, and partial colectomy.