05-08-2008, 06:40 AM
An investigator is evaluating the outcome of coronary artery bypass grafting conducted by two surgeons in the community in the past year. Surgeon X, who operates exclusively at a tertiary-care facility, has a 30-day operative mortality of 3%. Surgeon Y, who operates exclusively at a community care facility, has a 30-day operative mortality of 1%. The difference in operative mortality between surgeon X and surgeon Y is significant (p