Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 31, 2026
Author Spotlight: A Non-Intubated Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery with Multimodal Analgesia and Sevoflurane Inhalation Anesthesia
Published on: May 26, 2023
Potential return on investment for implementation of perioperative goal-directed fluid therapy in major surgery: a
Frederic Michard1, William K Mountford2, Michelle R Krukas3
1Department of Critical Care, Edwards Lifesciences, 1 Edwards Way, Irvine, CA USA.
Background:
Preventable postsurgical complications are increasingly recognized as a major clinical and economic burden. A recent meta-analysis showed a 17-29 % decrease in postoperative morbidity with goal-directed fluid therapy. Our objective was to estimate the potential economic impact of perioperative goal-directed fluid therapy.
Methods:
We studied 204,680 adult patients from 541 US hospitals who had a major non-cardiac surgical procedure between January 2011 and June 2013. Hospital costs (including 30-day readmission costs) in patients with and without complications were extracted from the Premier Inc. research database, and potential cost-savings associated with a 17-29 % decrease in postoperative morbidity were estimated.
Results:
A total of 76,807 patients developed one or more postsurgical complications (morbidity rate 37.5 %). In patients with and without complications, hospital costs were US$27,607 ± 32,788 and US$15,783 ± 12,282 (p < 0.0001), respectively. Morbidity rate was anticipated to decrease to 26.6-31.1 % with goal-directed fluid therapy, yielding potential gross cost-savings of US$153-263 million for the study period, US$61-105 million per year, or US$754-1286 per patient. Potential savings per patient were highly variable from one surgical procedure to the other, ranging from US$354-604 for femur and hip-fracture repair to US$3515-5996 for esophagectomies. When taking into account the volume of procedures, the total potential savings per year were the most significant (US$32-55 million) for colectomies.
Conclusions:
Postsurgical complications occurred in more than one third of our study population and had a dramatic impact on hospital costs. With goal-directed fluid therapy, potential cost-savings per patient were US$754-1286. The highest cost-savings per year were observed for colectomies. These projections should help hospitals estimate the return on investment when considering the implementation of goal-directed fluid therapy.
Related Concept Videos
01:23Peripheral Artery Disease V: Postoperative Nursing Management
01:28Cardiomyopathy VII: Pre and Post Operative Nursing Management