Thirty-day unplanned postoperative inpatient and emergency department visits following thoracotomy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Unplanned visits to the emergency department (ED) and inpatient setting are expensive and associated with poor outcomes in thoracic surgery. We assessed 30-d postoperative ED visits and inpatient readmissions following thoracotomy, a high morbidity procedure.

Materials and methods

We retrospectively analyzed inpatient and ED administrative data from California, Florida, and New York, 2010-2011. "Return to care" was defined as readmission to inpatient facility or ED within 30 d of discharge. Factors associated with return to care were analyzed via multivariable logistic regressions with a fixed effect for hospital variability.

Results

Of 30,154 thoracotomies, 6.3% were admitted to the ED and 10.2% to the inpatient setting within 30 d of discharge. Increased

SUBMITTER: Shaffer R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6732253 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature