A National Database Study on Racial Disparities in Route of Hysterectomy with a Surrogate Control for Uterine Size: A Proposed Quality Metric for Benign Indications.

Study objective: To investigate the association between race and route of hysterectomy among patients undergoing hysterectomy for abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) in the absence of uterine myoma disease and excluding malignancy.

Design: A cross-sectional cohort study utilizing the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample and National Ambulatory Surgical databases to compare abdominal to minimally invasive routes of hysterectomy.

Setting: Hospitals and hospital-affiliated ambulatory surgical centers participating in the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project in 2019.

Patients: A total of 75 838 patients who had undergone hysterectomy for AUB, excluding uterine myoma and malignancy.

Interventions: n/a MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of the 75 838 hysterectomies performed for AUB in the absence of uterine myomas and malignancy, 10.1% were performed abdominally and 89.9% minimally invasively. After adjusting for confounders, Black patients were 38% more likely to undergo abdominal hysterectomy compared to White patients (OR 1.38, CI 1.12-1.70 p = .002). Black race, thus, is independently associated with open surgery.

Conclusion: Despite excluding uterine myomas as a risk factor for an abdominal route of hysterectomy, Black race remained an independent predictor for abdominal versus minimally invasive hysterectomy, and Black patients were found to undergo a disproportionately higher rate of abdominal hysterectomy compared to White patients.