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Admission Rates Following Day-Case Major Otologic Surgery: A Systematic Review
Laura S M Derks1,2, Isabelle L A Borgstein1, Marc J W Lammers3
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Objective:
To assess whether day-case major otologic ear surgery is a safe and feasible alternative to inpatient surgery, while maintaining equal complication rates, and to identify causes of admission after day-case surgery.
Data Sources:
PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane.
Review Methods:
A systematic search was conducted. Studies reporting original data on the effect of day-case ear surgery on admission rate, patient satisfaction, and/or postoperative complications were included. Risk of bias of the selected articles was assessed using criteria based on the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias.
Results:
A total of 1,734 unique studies were retrieved of which 35 articles discussing 34 studies were eligible for data extraction. The admission rates ranged from 0% to 88% following day-case endaural surgery, 0% to 13% following day-case stapes surgery, 0% to 82% following day-case mastoid surgery, and 0% to 15% following day-case cochlear implant surgery. Patient and parent satisfaction regarding day-case surgery ranged from 67% to 99%. Five studies comparing day-case and inpatient otologic surgery showed no difference in hearing outcome, postoperative complications, or patient satisfaction.
Conclusion:
The highest pooled admission rate was seen following day-case mastoid surgery. Studies comparing day-case and inpatient care suggest hearing results and postoperative complication rates in day-case otologic surgery are similar to inpatient otologic surgery in both children and adults. Therefore, day-case major otologic surgery seems to be a safe and feasible alternative to inpatient surgery for both children and adults.

