Researchers suggest gastrointestinal complications and surgical infections are the cause of nearly half of readmission, according to an American College of Surgeons news release.
Researchers reviewed the records of 1,442 general surgery patients who were operated on between 2009 and 2011. Of them, 163 patients, or 11.3 percent, were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. Key findings from their analysis include the following:
• Complex gastrointestinal procedures carry a higher risk of hospital readmission.
• Gastrointestinal complications carried a high (27.6 percent) risk of readmission, while surgical infections reached 22.1 percent.
• Patients who had one or more complications after their operation were four times more likely to be readmitted to the hospital compared with those who had no complications.
• The average hospital stay was five days for patients with no complications; nine days for patients with one complication; and 24 days for patients with three or more complications.
Researchers reviewed the records of 1,442 general surgery patients who were operated on between 2009 and 2011. Of them, 163 patients, or 11.3 percent, were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. Key findings from their analysis include the following:
• Complex gastrointestinal procedures carry a higher risk of hospital readmission.
• Gastrointestinal complications carried a high (27.6 percent) risk of readmission, while surgical infections reached 22.1 percent.
• Patients who had one or more complications after their operation were four times more likely to be readmitted to the hospital compared with those who had no complications.
• The average hospital stay was five days for patients with no complications; nine days for patients with one complication; and 24 days for patients with three or more complications.
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