Risk Factors for Hospital Readmission after Radical Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: A Prospective Study

BACKGROUND Hospital readmission is gathering increasing attention as a measure of health care quality and a potential cost-saving target. The purpose of this prospective study was to determine risk factors for readmission within 30 days of discharge after gastrectomy for patients with gastric cancer. METHODS We conducted a prospective study of patients undergoing radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer from October 2013 to November 2014 in our institution. The incidence, cause and risk factors for 30-day readmission were determined. RESULTS A total of 376 patients were included in our analysis without loss in follow-up. The 30-day readmission rate after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer was 7.2% (27of 376). The most common cause for readmission included gastrointestinal complications and postoperative infections. On the basis of multivariate logistic regression analysis, preoperative nutritional risk screening 2002 score ≥ 3 was an independent risk factor for 30-day readmission. Factors not associated with a higher readmission rate included a history of a major postoperative complication during the index hospitalization, prolonged primary length of hospital stay after surgery, a history of previous abdominal surgery, advanced age, body mass index, pre-existing cardiopulmonary comorbidities, American Society of Anesthesiology grade, type of resection, extent of node dissection and discharge disposition. CONCLUSIONS Readmission within 30 days of discharge after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer is common. Patients with nutritional risk preoperatively are at high risk for 30-day readmission. Preoperative optimization of nutritional status of patients at nutritional risk may effectively decrease readmission rates.