Background: Reducing readmission is a key quality improvement target for policymakers. The purpose of the present study was to define incidence and identify factors associated with readmission after a hepatic resection.
Methods: Thirty-day readmission after discharge and factors associated with a higher risk of readmission were examined among patients undergoing a hepatic resection at Johns Hopkins Hospital between 2008 and 2012.
Results: Among the 338 patients, the median age was 57.9 years and 173 (51.2%) were men. Indications for surgery included colorectal cancer liver metastasis (38.2%), primary hepatic tumours (25.7%) and benign disease (3.3%). Surgical resection consisted of less than a hemi-hepatectomy in the majority of patients (n = 224, 66.3%). The median index hospitalization length-of-stay (LOS) was 5 days; 68.7% patients experienced at least one inpatient complication. Overall 30-day readmission was 14.2% (n = 48). The majority of readmitted patients (n = 46, 95.8%) had a complication prior to readmission. The median LOS for readmission was 4 [interquartile range (IQR) 2-6] days. On multivariable analysis, the strongest independent predictor of readmission was the presence of a major complication [odds ratio (OR) 5.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.38-11.78, P < 0.001].
Conclusions: Readmission after a hepatic resection occurs in approximately one out of every seven patients. Patients who experience a post-operative complication are greater than five times more likely to be readmitted. Prospective studies are needed to evaluate methods to reduce unplanned readmissions.
© 2014 International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association.