Economic Impact of Postoperative Urinary Retention in the US Hospital Setting

Abstract

**Background:** Postoperative urinary retention (POUR) is a common and distressing surgical complication that may be associated with the pharmacological reversal technique of neuromuscular blockade (NMB). **Objective:** This study aimed to investigate the impact that POUR has on medical charges. **Methods:** This was a retrospective observational study of adult patients undergoing select surgeries who were administered neuromuscular blockade agent (NMBA), which was pharmacologically reversed between February 2017 and November 2021 using data from the PINC-AI™ Healthcare Database. Patients were divided into 2 groups: those experiencing POUR (composite of retention of urine, insertion of temporary indwelling bladder catheter, insertion of non-indwelling bladder catheter) during index hospitalization following surgery and those without POUR. Surgeries in inpatient and outpatient settings were analyzed separately. A cross-sectional comparison was performed to report total hospital charges for the 2 groups. Furthermore, patients experiencing subsequent POUR events within three days after discharge from index hospitalization were studied. **Results:** A total of 330 838 inpatients and 437 063 outpatients were included. POUR developed in 13 020 inpatients and 2756 outpatients. Unadjusted results showed that POUR was associated with greater charges in both inpatient ($92 529 with POUR vs $78 556 without POUR, _p_ < .001) and outpatient ($48 996 with POUR vs $35 433 without POUR, _p_ < .001) settings. After adjusting for confounders, POUR was found to be associated with greater charges with an overall mean adjusted difference of $10 668 (95% confidence interval \[CI\] $95 760-$11 760, p < .001) in inpatient and $13 160 (95% CI $11 750-$14  571, _p_ < .001) in outpatient settings. Charges associated with subsequent POUR events following discharge ranged from $9418 inpatient charges to $1694 outpatient charges. **Conclusions:** Surgical patients who were pharmacologically reversed for NMB and developed a POUR event incurred greater charges than patients without POUR. These findings support the use of NMB reversal agents associated with a lower incidence of POUR.