Economic Indicators, Quantity and Quality of Health Care Resources Affecting Post-surgical Mortality.

Objective: to identify correlations between quality and quantity of health care resources, national economic indicators, and postoperative in-hospital mortality as reported in the EUSOS study.

Methods: Different variables were identified from a series of publicly available database. Postoperative in-hospital mortality was identified as reported by EUSOS study. Spearman non-parametric and Coefficients of non-linear regression were calculated.

Results: Quality of health care resources was strongly and negatively correlated to postoperative in-hospital mortality. Quantity of health care resources were negatively and moderately correlated to postoperative in-hospital mortality. National economic indicators were moderately and negatively correlated to postoperative in-hospital mortality. General mortality, as reported by WHO, was positively but very moderately correlated with postoperative in-hospital mortality.

Conclusions: Postoperative in-hospital mortality is strongly determined by quality of health care instead of quantity of health resources and health expenditures. We suggest that improving the quality of health care system might reduce postoperative in-hospital mortality.