Effect of a Radical Cystectomy Care Pathway on Postoperative Length of Stay and Outcomes

To determine whether an enhance recovery protocol for radical cystectomy patient affected the length of stay or the number and type of readmissions that occurred after hospital discharge.

We prospectively assessed 152 cystectomy patients after initiation of the pathway. These patients were compared with the previous 147 patient operated on before the pathway initiation. Eligible patients were those undergoing radical cystectomy with any diversion at our institution. Univariate tests were performed using Wilcoxon sum-rank and chi-square tests. Multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression models to assess for patient factors related to readmissions.

With institution of the pathway, length of stay decreased from 10 to 7.1 days. Our readmission rates did not change significantly. Patients were readmitted for different reasons after pathway implementation, with the rate of urinary tract infection-related readmissions increasing from 14.3% to 40.4%, but with a concomitant decrease in the rate of readmissions for wound and deep space infections from 42.9% to 23.4%. Our venous thromboembolism rate decreased from 6.8% to 3.3% with implementation of the protocol.

Implementation of a cystectomy care pathway significantly decreased length of stay without an increased rate of readmissions at 30 days. No patient factors predisposed to an increased rate of readmission. Pathway implementation led to a decrease in wound and deep space infection readmissions, but was associated with an increase in urinary tract infection readmissions. Further studies are examining if early intervention can further decrease readmission rates.