30-Day Readmissions and the Need for Emergency Surgery Following Non-Operative Management of Perforated...

Limited data are available on the evaluation and outcomes of patients with perforated diverticulitis who were treated without surgery. This retrospective review was aimed at investigating the 30-day non-elective re-admission rates for patients hospitalized with perforated diverticular disease who were treated without surgery, rates of patients requiring surgery on re-admission, and the independent predictors of re-admission. A total of 143,546 patients from the National Readmission Database, between 2016 and 2020, who were admitted with perforated diverticulitis and treated non-operatively were reviewed. Re-admitted patients were compared with those not re-admitted. Comparisons for continuous and categoric variables were made using the student t-test and chi-squared test, respectively. A logistic regression model was used to determine independent factors associated with re-admission. All analyses were done with SAS 9.4; p values <0.05 identified significance. Among patients with perforated diverticulitis who were treated non-operatively, 17,868 (12.4%) were re-admitted within 30 days and 4,924 (27.6%) of patients re-admitted required surgical intervention. The greatest independent predictors of re-admission include patient insurance status, index length of stay, undergoing a drainage procedure, and patient disposition. Comorbidities predicting re-admission include renal failure, chronic pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, fluid and electrolyte disorders, and hypertension. Hospital total charges were greater at the index admission for patients requiring re-admission. Non-operative management of perforated diverticulitis is safe for many patients, but the risks for re-admission and subsequent need for emergency surgery require special consideration.