Risk factors for 30-day unplanned readmissions after surgical procedures in the elderly population

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Surgical Quality Improvement
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Urgent hospital readmissions post-surgery impact healthcare quality.
• Identifying high-risk patients and readmission causes is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify patient characteristics predicting 30-day readmission after surgery.
• To determine primary reasons for readmission, stratified by surgical type.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of surgical patients over 60 in Northern Italy (2022).
• Risk factors included demographics, comorbidities, and procedures.
• Logistic regression modeled odds ratios (OR) for readmission.

Main Results:

• Overall 30-day readmission rate was 3.8%; highest after gastrointestinal surgery.
• Dementia (OR=3.19), end-stage kidney disease (OR=2.84), and metastatic cancer (OR=2.65) predicted readmission.
• Infection was the leading cause, followed by hemorrhage and thrombosis/embolism.

Conclusions:

• Identifying risk factors like dementia, renal disease, and cancer is key to improving care transitions.
• Targeted interventions for high-risk groups can reduce unplanned readmissions and healthcare costs.