Readmissions After Bariatric Surgery in France, 2013-2016: a Nationwide Study on Administrative Data

Readmission rate is considered an indicator of quality of care, which is already used in some countries to impose financial penalties on hospital with readmissions in excess of the national average. Nevertheless, this indicator presents some controversial drawbacks. The objective of this study was the assessment of readmission rate after bariatric surgery.

This is a retrospective observational study on a national administrative claims database, the Information Systems Medicalization Program, PMSI, which is a nationwide billing tool collecting information on all hospital discharges in France. All adult patients operated of bariatric surgery from January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2016, were included. The main outcome was unplanned 30-day readmission rate. Secondary outcome was the analysis of reasons for readmission.

During the study period, out of 187,000 bariatric interventions, the unplanned readmission rate was 4.7%. A significant difference was found between bariatric procedures (gastric banding 3.1%, sleeve gastrectomy 4.5%, gastric bypass 5.7%, p < 0.001). The most important risk factors are the Charlson comorbidity index, the occurrence of a complication after the initial intervention, and the bariatric technique type itself. The main causes of return to the hospital are abdominal pain, peritonitis, nausea/vomiting, and bleeding. After adjustment for confounders, the rate of rehospitalization varies between 1.0% and 16.0% among all French hospitals.

Approximately 5 % of patients undergoing bariatric surgery suffered a readmission within 30 days. We identified common causes and identified patients at high risk for such an event. These information could be useful for developing strategies to improve in- and outpatient care in bariatric population.