Thirty-days readmissions in pediatric surgery: The first U.K. experience

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Surgical Outcomes
• Healthcare Quality Indicators

Background:

• Readmissions within 30 days of operation (ReAd) are a critical metric in surgical care.
• Limited data exists on pediatric surgical readmissions in the UK.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the incidence and causes of 30-day readmissions in a UK tertiary pediatric surgical practice.
• To compare readmission rates between elective and emergency pediatric surgical cases.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of Hospital Episode Statistics for pediatric surgical procedures.
• Data collection included demographics, comorbidities, diagnoses, treatments, and length of stay.
• Exclusion of neonates; classification of readmissions into elective and emergency cohorts.

Main Results:

• Overall 30-day readmission rate was 2% (n=2378 procedures).
• Appendicectomy was the most common primary procedure leading to readmission (26%).
• Postoperative infection was the leading cause of readmission (30%); emergency cases had significantly higher readmissions (3.5% vs 1.5%, P=0.007).

Conclusions:

• Pediatric surgical readmissions are infrequent but warrant attention, particularly for appendicectomy.
• Elective procedures demonstrate lower readmission rates than emergency procedures.
• Efficient discharge planning may reduce readmissions; further validation of readmission rates as a pediatric quality indicator is needed.