Despite limitations inherent to secondary analysis of large databases, we identified a number of significant changes in the utilization, demographics, and outcomes associated with ACDF, which can be used to assess the effect of changes in medical care, direct health care resources, and future research. The effect of the increased prevalence of comorbidities on medical practice remains to be evaluated. Further studies are necessary to evaluate causal relationships.

Background The safety of bilateral total knee arthroplasties (BTKA) during the same hospitalization remains controversial. We sought to study differences in perioperative outcomes between unilateral and BTKA, and further compare BTKAs performed during the same versus different operations during the same hospitalization. Methods Nationwide Inpatient Sample data from 1998 to 2006 were analyzed. Entries for unilateral and BTKA procedures performed on the same day (simultaneous) and separate days (staged) during the same hospitalization were identified. Patient and health-care system related demographics were determined. The incidence of in-hospital mortality and procedure related complications was estimated and compared between groups. Multivariate regression was used to identify independent risk factors for morbidity and mortality. Results Despite younger average age and lower comorbidity burden, procedure related complications and in-hospital mortality were more frequent after BTKA than after unilateral procedures (9.45% vs. 7.07% and 0.30% vs. 0.14%, P<0.0001 each). An increased rate of complications was associated with a staged versus simultaneous approach with no difference in mortality (10.30% vs. 9.15% (P<0.0001) and 0.29% vs. 0.26% (P=0.2875)). Independent predictors for in-hospital mortality included: BTKA (simultaneous: OR 2.23, CI=[1.69; 2.95], P<0.0001; staged: OR 2.01, CI=[1.28; 3.41], P=0.0031), male gender (OR 2.02, CI=[1.75, 2.34], P<0.0001), age above 75 years (OR 3.96 CI=[2.77, 5.66], P<0.0001), and the presence of a number of comorbidities and complications. Conclusion BTKAs carry increased risk of perioperative morbidity and mortality compared to unilateral procedures. Staging BTKA procedures during the same hospitalization offers no mortality benefit, and may even expose patients to increased morbidity.

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SA is an independent risk factor for perioperative pulmonary complications. Our results may be used for hypothesis generation for clinical studies targeted to improve perioperative outcomes in this patient population.

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CA patients have an unfavorable complication profile compared to OA. The predictors identified in this scoring model could help select for patients who may benefit from primary open appendectomy.

Study Objective To confirm the relationship between primary payer status as a predictor of increased perioperative risks and post-operative outcomes after total hip replacements. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Administrative database study using 2007 – 2011 data from California, Florida, and New York from the State Inpatient Databases (SID), Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Patients 295,572 patients age ≥18 years old who underwent total hip replacement with non-missing insurance data were collected, using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnoses and procedures code (ICD-9-CM code 81.51). Interventions Patients underwent total hip replacement. Measurements Patients were cohorted by insurance type as either Medicare, Medicaid, Uninsured, Other, and Private Insurance. Demographic characteristics and comorbidities were compared. Unadjusted rates of in-hospital mortality, postoperative complications, LOS, 30-day, and 90-day readmission status were compared. Adjusted odds ratios were calculated for our outcomes using multivariate linear and logistic regression models fitted to our data. Main Results Medicaid patients incurred a 125% increase in the odds of in-hospital mortality compared to those with Private Insurance (OR 2.25, 99% CI 1.01–5.01). Medicaid payer status was associated with the highest statistically significant adjusted odds of mortality, any complication (OR, 1.26), cardiovascular complications (OR, 1.37), and infectious complications (OR, 1.66) when compared with Private Insurance. Medicaid patients had the highest statistically significant adjusted odds of 30-day (OR, 1.63) and 90-day readmission (OR, 1.58) and the longest adjusted LOS. Conclusions We found higher unadjusted rates and risk adjusted odds ratios of postoperative mortality, morbidity, LOS, and readmissions for patients with Medicaid insurance as compared to patients with Private Insurance. Our study shows that primary payer status serves as a predictor of perioperative risks and that primary payer status should be viewed as a peri-operative risk factor.

Readmission is a frequent event after pulmonary lobectomy and is strongly associated with preoperative demographic factors and comorbidities. Resources and services should be directed to patients at risk for readmission and multicomponent care pathways developed that may circumvent the need for repeat hospitalization.