Risk Factors for 30- and 90-Day Readmission due to Intestinal Bowel Obstruction after Posterior Lumbar Fusion

ABSTRACT

Methods@#Data on demographic characteristics and medical comorbidities of patients who underwent PLF with subsequent readmission were obtained from the HCUP-NRD. The perioperative characteristics that were significantly different between patients readmitted with and without an active diagnosis of IBO were identified with bivariate analysis for both 30-day and 90-day readmissions. The significant characteristics were then included in a multivariate analysis to identify those that were independently associated with 30- day and 90-day readmissions. @*Results@#Drug abuse (odds ratio [OR], 4.00), uncomplicated diabetes (OR, 2.06), having Medicare insurance (OR, 1.65), age 55–64 years (OR, 2.42), age 65–79 years (OR, 2.77), and age >80 years (OR, 3.87) were significant risk factors for 30-day readmission attributable to IBO after a PLF procedure. @*Conclusions@#Of the several preoperative risk factors identified for readmission with IBO after PLF surgery, drug abuse had the strongest association and was likely to be the most clinically relevant factor. Physicians and care teams should understand the risks of opioid-based pain management regimens, attempt to manage pain with a multimodal approach, and minimize the opioid use.