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Thirty‐day readmission in patients undergoing head and neck microvascular reconstruction
Author(s) -
Graboyes Evan M.,
Schrank Travis P.,
Worley Mitchell L.,
Momin Suhael R.,
Day Terry A.,
Huang Andrew T.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.25107
Subject(s) - medicine , surgery , confidence interval , odds ratio , dehiscence , body mass index , retrospective cohort study , fistula , head and neck , cohort
Background Characteristics of 30‐day unplanned readmissions after head and neck microvascular reconstruction remain poorly understood. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort of patients who underwent head and neck microvascular reconstruction between 2010 and 2015. Results The 30‐day unplanned readmission rate was 13.0% (64/493). The most common readmission diagnoses were dehiscence, surgical site infection, or fistula (45.3%; n = 29). Of the readmissions, 46.9% (30/64) occurred within 7 days of discharge from the hospital. Risk factors for readmission on multivariable analysis included body mass index (BMI) < 21 kg/m[2][Jencks SF, 2009] (odds ratio [OR] 2.47; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.36‐4.47), primary site of oropharynx (OR 1.66; 95% CI 1.17‐6.06), hypopharynx/larynx (OR 3.66; 95% CI 1.70‐7.88), or sinonasal/skull base (OR 4.07; 95% CI 1.43‐11.55), and fistula during the index hospitalization (OR 2.98; 95% CI 1.22‐7.24). Conclusion More than 1 in 10 patients undergoing head and neck microvascular reconstruction has a 30‐day unplanned readmission, most commonly related to wound complications. Further efforts are needed to determine optimal 30‐day unplanned readmission reduction strategies.