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Root causes of extended length of stay and unplanned readmissions after orthopedic surgery and hand surgery: a retrospective observational cohort study

Authors :
Morag Tolvi
Hanna Tuominen-Salo
Mika Paavola
Kimmo Mattila
Leena-Maija Aaltonen
Lasse Lehtonen
Source :
Patient Safety in Surgery, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2020)
Publication Year :
2020
Publisher :
BMC, 2020.

Abstract

Abstract Background While previous studies have evaluated the effect of some patient characteristics (e.g. gender, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class and comorbidity) on outcome in orthopedic and hand day surgery, more detailed information on anesthesia related factors has previously been lacking. Our goal was to investigate the perioperative factors that affect overstay, readmission and contact after day surgery in order to find certain patient profiles more prone to problemed outcomes after day surgery. Methods We examined orthopedic and hand day surgery at an orthopedic day surgery unit of Helsinki University Hospital. Patient data of all adult orthopedic and hand day surgery patients (n = 542) over a 3-month period (January 1 – March 31, 2015) operated on at the unit were collected retrospectively using the hospital’s surgery database. These data comprised anesthesia and patient records with a follow-up period of 30 days post-operation. Patients under the age of 16 and patients not eligible for day surgery were excluded. Patient records were searched for an outcome of overstay, readmission or contact with the emergency room or policlinic. Pearson chi-square test, Fischer’s exact test and multivariable logistic regression were used to analyze the effect of various perioperative factors on postoperative outcome. Results Various patient and anesthesia related factors were examined for their significance in the outcomes of overstay, readmission or contact. Female gender (p = 0.043), total amount of fentanyl (p = 0.00), use of remifentanil (p = 0.036), other pain medication during procedure (p = 0.005) and administration of antiemetic medication (p = 0.048) emerged as statistically significant on outcome after day surgery. Conclusions Overstay and readmission in orthopedic and hand day surgery were clearly connected with female patients undergoing general anesthesia and needing larger amounts of intraoperative opioids. By favoring local and regional anesthesia, side effects of general anesthesia, as well as recovery time, will decrease.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
17549493
Volume :
14
Issue :
1
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Patient Safety in Surgery
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.626d09c5b5fc4a9c9dbb13154af4e86a
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13037-020-00249-3