Predictive Factors for Prolonged Length of Stay for Non-Elective Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

There are ∼750,000 laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed annually in the United States. Of these, at least 280,000 cases are nonelective laparoscopic cholecystectomies (LC). There is limited data on factors affecting LOS in patients undergoing nonelective LC. This study aims to determine the factors affecting LOS in patients undergoing nonelective LC.

The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database was queried for all patients who underwent nonelective LC without concomitant procedures from 2010 to 2020 (n=115,142). A total of 55,481 patients without significant cardiopulmonary disorders, with a body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to 60, and with LOS outcome data were included. Prolonged LOS was defined as >2 days. A sensitivity analysis was conducted with prolonged LOS defined as >1 day. All analyses were performed using SAS v9.4.

A total of 18,094 patients (33%) had LOS >2 days, and 33,292 patients (60%) had LOS >1 day. On logistic regression analysis, prolonged LOS was found in 31% of patients with ASA class 1 and 2 versus 44% of patients with ASA class >2 (OR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.58-1.76), 33% of patients with independent functional status versus 72% of patients with partially dependent functional status (OR: 3.94; 95% CI: 2.76-5.63), and 79% of patients with dependent functional status (OR: 4.45; 95% CI: 2.17-9.12). In logistic regression, age, BMI category, smoking status, and race/ethnicity were also associated with prolonged LOS.

This study showed that a significant percentage of female patients, patients with ASA class 1 and 2, with independent functional status, and belonging to minority ethnicities who underwent nonelective LC had prolonged LOS. Our study highlights the need to evaluate nonclinical factors with further institutional studies.