The economic burden of complications occurring in major surgical procedures: a systematic review.

Objectives: On the basis of a systematic review, we aimed to establish the cost and drivers of cost and/or resource use of intra- and perioperative complications occurring as a result of selected major surgical procedures, as well as to understand the relationship between costs and severity of complication and, consequently, the economic burden they represent. We also assessed the clinical and economic methodologies used to derive costs and resource use across the studies with a view to providing guidance on reporting standards for these studies.

Methods: We searched EMBASE, MEDLINE and Econlit (from 2002 to 2012) for study publications including resource use/cost data relating to surgical complications.