Objectives: To better characterize the cause and location of death after radical prostatectomy (RP), as early mortality is relatively uncommon after RP, with little known about the cause of death among men who die within 30 days of RP, and the trend toward earlier discharge after surgery means that a greater proportion of early mortality after RP may occur out of hospital.
Patients and methods: Using the Ontario Cancer Registry, we identified 11,010 men (mean age 68 years) who had a RP in the province of Ontario between 1990 and 1999. We identified the occurrence and location of all deaths within 30 days of RP. The cause of death was obtained from death certificate information. Logistic regression was used to examine factors (age, comorbidity, year of surgery) associated with the location of death.
Results: Of the 11,010 men, 53 died within 30 days of RP (0.5%); of these 53 men, 28 (53%) died in hospital. Neither age, comorbidity nor year of surgery were significantly associated with location of death (P > 0.05). Major causes of death included cardiovascular disease (38%) and pulmonary embolism (13%). More than half of the patients who died out of hospital had an unknown cause of death.
Conclusions: Almost half of all deaths within 30 days of RP occur out of hospital; the two most common causes of death are potentially preventable. More detailed cause-of-death information may help to identify opportunities for prevention.