A Comparison of Length of Stay, Readmission Rate, and Facility Reimbursement After Lobectomy of the Lung

Hospital Readmission After Pulmonary Lobectomy Is Not Affected by Surgical Approach

“…Although not entirely causal, there is a concern that forcing a shorter LOS actually may increase the risk of admission. The findings of this study show that a shorter length of stay is not associated with increased risk of readmission, in contrast with the findings of Freeman and coworkers [7] who reported that the risk of readmission increases when LOS was shorter than 5 days or longer than 16 days. Although these findings might suggest that a shorter LOS could reflect premature discharge and longer LOS could reflect postoperative morbidity, we did not find such correlation in our series.…”

“…A recent analysis by Boffa and associates [10] of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons database between 2001 and 2010 found a readmission rate of 6% after lobectomy for clinical stage I lung cancer, which was similar between the open thoracotomy and minimally invasive group. Freeman and colleagues [7] reported a readmission rate of 7% after open lobectomy. Similar rates have been reported in Europe.…”

“…It is associated with shorter hospital length of stay, faster recovery, and higher quality of life than open thoracotomy [6]. However, the rate of readmission after lobectomy is poorly studied, and it is suggested that shorter hospital length of stay is correlated with a higher rate of readmission [7]. The purpose of this study is to review the predictors of hospital readmission after pulmonary lobectomy at our single academic institution and whether readmission is influenced by the minimally invasive approach.…”

National evaluation of hospital readmission after pulmonary resection

“…Postoperative complications have not been well established as a risk factor for readmission after pulmonary resection. 26,27 We found that an inpatient complication increased the likelihood of unplanned readmission more than 4-fold in all patients, including both open and VATS lobectomy cases. Failure to identify this association in other studies may be related to the use of administratively collected data, which have limited accuracy in identifying postoperative complications.…”

Complications after major pulmonary resections for lung cancer: A prospective study

“…Early complications are conditions appearing in the immediate postoperative period within 30 days after thoracotomy [1]- [10]. For the purposes of this study, late complications are considered all events occurring beyond 30 days (Table 1).…”