In this letter, we discussed the selection of patients undergoing Transcarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR) using the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. We examined a previous study using CPT code 37215 to identify TCAR cases using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database. As an ACS-NSQIP participating site, we have complete access to the ACS-NSQIP database, and we performed a more in-depth examination of the method. We found significant discrepancies in the method described and conclude that it is methodologically flawed to use CPT code 37215 to differentiate TCAR cases. This study not only re-evaluates the validity of the previous study but also has the potential to prevent other researchers from employing the erroneous methodology for TCAR selection using the CPT code, which is one of the most widely used standardizations of medical communication for surgical procedures. This is particularly pertinent given the recent “TCAR revolution”, where significant attention has been focused on TCAR.

中文翻译：

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信件回复：当前手术术语对经颈动脉血运重建的错误识别

在这封信中，我们讨论了使用当前程序术语 (CPT) 代码进行经颈动脉血运重建 (TCAR) 的患者的选择。我们检查了之前使用 CPT 代码 37215 的研究，以使用美国外科医生学会国家手术质量改进计划 (ACS-NSQIP) 数据库来识别 TCAR 病例。作为 ACS-NSQIP 参与站点，我们可以完全访问 ACS-NSQIP 数据库，并且我们对该方法进行了更深入的检查。我们发现所描述的方法存在显着差异，并得出结论：使用 CPT 代码 37215 来区分 TCAR 案例在方法上存在缺陷。这项研究不仅重新评估了先前研究的有效性，而且有可能防止其他研究人员使用 CPT 代码使用错误的 TCAR 选择方法，CPT 代码是外科手术医疗通信中使用最广泛的标准化之一。考虑到最近的“TCAR 革命”，这一点尤其重要，TCAR 受到了极大的关注。