A study published in Spine examines the readmission rates as a quality of care measure and predictor of readmission within 30 days after spine surgery.
The study examines medical records for 1,187 spinal surgeries at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in 2010. The researchers found:
Overall, the readmission rate was 6.1 percent with 27.5 percent of the readmissions deemed procedure-related upon attending review. The procedure-related readmission rate was 2.3 percent.
There were three variables that were significant predictors of readmissions:
• Two or more patient comorbidities
• Admission to the ICU
• Additional spinal levels involved
The study authors recommended future work on the best practices to modify the medical risk factors for comorbidities with the potential to decrease 30-day readmission rates.