Study objectives: An adequately staged mediastinum remains obligatory in patients with NSCLC prior to surgery. In this study, we investigated the accuracy of preoperative surgical mediastinal staging procedures in four hospitals.
Setting: Non-university teaching hospital and three surrounding community hospitals in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Patients, measurements and results: Patients with NSCLC who underwent mediastinoscopy and/or thoracotomy, between 1993 and 1999. Adherence to guidelines for indicating and performing mediastinoscopy were investigated and compared in four hospitals. Guidelines for indicating mediastinoscopy were adequately followed in two-thirds of cases. Mediastinoscopy was performed according to gold standards in 40% of cases. The hospital with the smallest number of evaluated patients scored the worst. Postoperatively, 17% of patients appeared to have "unforeseen N2-3 disease". In approximately 18% of these "upstaged" patients, thoracotomy could have been prevented, if guidelines had been followed adequately.
Conclusions: In clinical practice the adherence to staging guidelines with respect to mediastinoscopy is insufficient in one-third of patients. Furthermore, mediastinoscopy was performed according to gold standards in 40% of patients.