Evaluating the Incidence, Cause, and Risk Factors for Unplanned 30-Day Readmission and Emergency Department/General Practitioner Visit After Short-Stay Thyroidectomy.

Abstract

Unplanned 30-day readmission and emergency department (ED)/general practitioner (GP) visit after thyroidectomy are important healthcare quality measures and may reduce any cost savings from performing it as a short-stay (<24-h admission) procedure. Our study aimed to examine the incidence, cause, and risk factors for unplanned 30-day readmissions and ED/GP visits together following short-stay thyroidectomy. One-thousand and four patients who underwent short-stay thyroidectomy were reviewed. A territory-wide electronic medical record system was used to capture all unplanned readmissions and ED/GP visits within 30 days of thyroidectomy. Actual date and reason for readmission or ED/GP visit were recorded. Other preoperative and perioperative variables were collected prospectively. Of the 80 (8.0 %) unplanned readmissions and ED/GP visits, 38 (47.5 %) were readmissions and 42 (52.5 %) were ED/GP visits only. The three most common causes of unplanned readmission and ED/GP visit were symptomatic hypocalcemia (n = 20, 25.0 %), upper respiratory symptoms (n = 15, 18.8 %), and wound complaints (n = 8, 10.0 %). However, in the multivariate analysis, only American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class III (β coefficient = 0.981, odds ratio 2.586 (95 % CI 1.353-4.943), p = 0.004) and renal insufficiency (RI) (β coefficient = 1.062, odds ratio 2.892 (95 % CI 1.109-7.544), p = 0.030) were independent risk factors for unplanned 30-day readmission and ED/GP visit. The overall incidence of unplanned 30-day ED/GP visit after thyroidectomy was 8.0 % with approximately half requiring readmission. The most common cause for unplanned ED/GP visit was symptomatic hypocalcemia (25.0 %), and it was attributed to patient non-compliance to prescribed supplements. ASA class III and RI were significant independent risk factors for unplanned 30-day readmission and ED/GP visit.