A study published in Spine examines the hospital readmission rates after spine surgery for primary metastatic spine tumors.
The researchers examined cases from a large referral spine center between 2005 and 2011. There are 197 patients with primary or metastatic tumors enrolled in the study. Hospital readmissions within one year were noted.
The researchers found:
1. The unplanned hospital readmission rate was 6.1 percent for primary tumors and 18.8 percent for metastatic tumors after 30 days. There were 33 patients with primary tumors and 164 patients with metastatic tumors.
2. At one year, the readmission rate for patients with primary tumors was 27.5 percent and 37.8 percent for patients with metastatic tumors.
3. The metastatic tumors with aggressive biology — such as lung, osteosarcoma, stomach, bladder, esophagus, pancreas — caused higher readmission rates than other types of metastatic tumors, according to the report.
4. Around one-third of the readmissions were due to recurrent disease. Additionally, 23.3 percent were due to surgical complications. Another 43.3 percent of the readmission were due to medical complications.
5. There were several medical comorbidities that increased the risk of unplanned hospital readmissions. Hospital readmissions are costly to the healthcare system. Limiting readmissions also improves initial patient care.