Leveraging vascular quality initiative data to improve hospital length of stay for patients undergoing endovascular aneurysm repair

Background: The Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative (SVS-SVQI) is a database that provides insight into standards of care and highlights opportunities for quality improvement by benchmarking institutional data against local, regional and national trends. Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is a frequently performed vascular operation. Postoperative length of stay in hospital (LOS) varies among institutions. We reviewed the morbidity and mortality of patients who underwent EVAR at our institution and the financial impact of increased LOS for these patients. In addition, we sought to identify modifiable factors associated with prolonged LOS.
Methods: We identified all patients who underwent elective EVAR between Jan. 1, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2014. Preoperative patient characteristics, intraoperative details, postoperative factors, long-term (1 yr) outcomes and cost data were reviewed. Univariate analysis was used to determine statistical differences between patients with LOS less than or equal to 2 days and greater than 2 days. Interventions were implemented to modify factors identified as having a negative impact on EVAR LOS.
Results: Identified factors that negatively affected EVAR LOS included social, neurologic, cardiovascular, urologic and renal issues. Following targeted interventions, LOS after EVAR decreased from an average of 3.8 to 3.0 days (p < 0.05). Logistic regression (n = 124) identified cardiovascular issues as the most significant predictor of LOS greater than 2 days (p = 0.001, odds ratio 14.24, 95% confidence interval 2.8–71.4). Reduction in LOS was associated with the additional benefit of 6.6% adjusted cost savings.
Conclusion: By leveraging SVS-VQI data, we were able to reduce EVAR LOS by identifying modifiable factors and instituting focused interventions. The reduction in LOS was associated with cost savings to the hospital.
Competing Interests: None declared.
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