Do all-cause revisit rates reflect the quality of pediatric surgical care provided during index encounters?

Leveraging the Incidence, Burden, and Fiscal Implications of Unplanned Hospital Revisits for the Prioritization of Prevention Efforts in Pediatric Surgery

OBJECTIVE

To characterize procedure-level burden of revisit-associated resource utilization in pediatric surgery with the goal of establishing a prioritization framework for prevention efforts.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

Unplanned hospital revisits are costly to the health care system and associated with lost productivity on behalf of patients and their families. Limited objective data exist to guide the prioritization of prevention efforts within pediatric surgery.

METHODS

Using the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database, 30-day unplanned revisits for the 30 most commonly performed pediatric surgical procedures were reviewed from 47 children's hospitals between January 1, 2012 and March 31, 2015. The relative contribution of each procedure to the cumulative burden of revisit-associated length of stay and cost from all procedures was calculated as an estimate of public health relevance if prevention efforts were successfully applied (higher relative contribution = greater potential public health relevance).

RESULTS

159,675 index encounters were analyzed with an aggregate 30-day revisit rate of 10.8%. Four procedures contributed more than half of the revisit-associated length of stay burden from all procedures, with the highest relative contributions attributable to complicated appendicitis (18.4%), gastrostomy (13.4%), uncomplicated appendicitis (13.0%), and fundoplication (9.4%). Four procedures contributed more than half of the revisit-associated cost burden from all procedures, with the highest relative contributions attributable to complicated appendicitis (18.8%), gastrostomy (14.6%), fundoplication (10.4%), and uncomplicated appendicitis (10.2%).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

A small number of procedures account for a disproportionate burden of revisit-associated resource utilization in pediatric surgery. Gastrostomy, fundoplication, and appendectomy should be considered high-priority targets for prevention efforts within pediatric surgery.

Factors associated with 30-day all-cause hospital readmission after tracheotomy in pediatric patients

OBJECTIVE

To determine factors associated with post-tracheotomy hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge.

METHODS

Children 18 years and younger who underwent tracheotomy at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) between 1/1/2005 and 12/31/2013 with at least 30 days of follow-up at CHLA were identified through ICD-9 procedure codes. Patient characteristics and covariates were obtained by linking manual chart review and administrative data. We used multivariate logistic regression to identify the independent association between risk factors and the primary outcome of 30-day all-cause same-hospital readmission.

RESULTS

Of the 273 patients included, the median age at admission was 6 months [interquartile range (IQR): 1-51 months]. Among this primarily male (60.8%) and Hispanic (66.3%) cohort with a high proportion of discharge on positive pressure ventilation (47.1%), the 30-day readmission rate was 22% (n = 60). Of the readmissions, 92% (n = 55) were unplanned and 64% (n = 35) were associated with acute respiratory illnesses. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that, among patients ≤12 months, discharge on positive pressure ventilation [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.19-6.97] was associated with increased odds of readmission, while gastrostomy tube placement during the tracheotomy hospitalization (aOR = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.19-0.96) and prematurity (aOR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.15-0.83) were associated with decreased odds of readmission. In patients >1 year of age, increased length of hospitalization (aOR = 1.01 per hospital day, 95% CI = 1-1.02) and presence of comorbid malignancy (aOR = 6.03, 95% CI = 1.25-29.16) were associated with increased odds of readmission.

CONCLUSIONS

Over one-fifth of children undergoing tracheotomy had an unplanned hospital readmission within 30 days after discharge. Because the majority of readmissions were unplanned and due to acute respiratory illnesses, future research should investigate how discharge procedures and improved care coordination may lower readmission rates in high-risk patients (e.g., patients discharged on positive pressure ventilation).