A retrospective study published in Spine examines the 30-day readmission rate and associated factors for patients who underwent instrumented spine surgery.
The researchers examined data for 14,939 patients who underwent surgery from 2009 to 2013. Here are five things to know:
1. The 30-day readmission rate was 5.5 percent.
2. The temporal readmission pattern was:
• Week 1: 17 percent
• Week 2: 48 percent
• Week 3: 72 percent
• Week 4: 100 percent
3. The leading causes for readmission were wound complications, sepsis, pain management, pneumonia and pulmonary emboli/deep venous thrombosis.
4. The risk factors associated with readmission from a multivariate model were malignancy, operative time longer than 200 minutes, hospital stays for six or more days, surgical complications, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, deficiency anemia and hypothyroidism.
5. The surgical complications associated with readmission include dural tear, deep infections, superficial infections and epidural hematoma.