ABSTRACT
Objective: To obtain experience and generate suggestions for reducing average hospital stays, optimizing perioperative management of patients with gastric cancer and improving utilization of medical resources by analyzing the factors influencing super-long hospital stays in patients undergoing radical gastrectomy in the age of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS). Methods: This was a case-control study. Inclusion criteria: (1) pathologically diagnosed gastric adenocarcinoma; (2) radical surgery for gastric cancer; and (3) complete clinicopathologic data. Exclusion criteria: (1) history of upper abdominal surgery; (2) presence of distant metastasis of gastric cancer or other ongoing neoplastic diseases; (3) concurrent chemoradiotherapy; and (4) preoperative gastric cancer-related complications such as obstruction or perforation. The study cohort comprised 285 eligible patients with hospital stays of ≥30 days (super-long hospital stay group). Using propensity score matching in a 1:1 ratio, age, sex, medical insurance, pTNM stage, and extent of surgical resection as matching factors, 285 patients with hospital stays of < 30 days during the same period were selected as the control group (non-long hospital stay group). The primary endpoint was relationship between pre-, intra-, and post-operative characteristics and super-long hospital stays. Clavien-Dindo grade was used to classify complications. Results: Univariate analysis showed that number of comorbidities, number of preoperative consultations, preoperative consultation, inter-departmental transference, operation time, open surgery, blood loss, intensive care unit time, presence of surgical or non-surgical complications, Clavien-Dindo grade of postoperative complications, and reoperation were associated with super-long hospital stays (all P<0.05). Inter-departmental transference (OR=4.876, 95% CI: 1.500-16.731, P<0.001), preoperative consultation time ≥ 3 d (OR=1.758, 95%CI: 1.036-2.733, P=0.034), postoperative surgery-related complications (OR = 6.618, 95%CI: 2.141-20.459, P=0.01), and higher grade of complications (Clavien-Dindo Grade I: OR = 7.176, 95%CI: 1.785-28.884, P<0.001; Clavien-Dindo Grade II: OR = 18.984, 95%CI: 6.286-57.312, P<0.001; Clavien-Dindo Grade III-IV: OR=7.546, 95%CI:1.495-37.952, P=0.014) were independent risk factors for super-long hospital stays. Conclusion: Optimizing preoperative management, enhancing perioperative management, and surgical quality control can reduce the risk of prolonging average hospital stay.