Impact of Disability on Postoperative Outcomes After Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgery

Approximately 61 million individuals in the United States have a disability and face unique challenges, resulting in healthcare disparities.

We aimed to evaluate the impact of disability on postoperative outcomes and number of healthy days at home (HDAH).

Patients who underwent surgery for gastrointestinal (GI) cancer between 2017 and 2020 were identified using the Medicare database. Multivariable regression models were used to examine the association between disability and postoperative complications, discharge disposition, and the number of HDAH.

A total of 72,452 individuals underwent GI cancer surgery (pancreas: n = 7614, 10.5%; hepatobiliary: n = 4994, 6.9%; colorectal: n = 59,844, 82.6%). Median patient age was 75 years (interquartile range 71-81) with most patients being female (n = 37,167, 51.3%). Overall, 5432 individuals (7.2%) had a disability. Following surgery, patients with a disability were more likely to experience complications (4.6% vs. 3.3%), be discharged to a skilled nursing facility (SNF; 26.6% vs. 12.3%), and experience hospital readmission (20.0% vs. 13.5%) [all p < 0.001]. Consequently, individuals with disabilities were more likely to spend fewer (<20th percentile) HDAH (33% vs. 19.2%) [all p < 0.001]. On multivariable analysis, disability was associated with higher odds of complications (odds ratio [OR] 1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19-1.56) and hospital readmission (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.44-1.66). Additionally, disability was associated with higher odds of spending fewer HDAH (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.77-1.99).

Following GI cancer surgery, individuals with disabilities had a higher risk of complications and spent fewer HDAH. There is a need for targeted interventions to improve the care of patients with disabilities and ensure equitable oncological and surgical outcomes.