Early discharge following colectomy for colon cancer: A national perspective.

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough early discharge after colectomy has garnered significant interest, contemporary, large-scale analyses are lacking.ObjectiveThe present study utilized a national cohort of patients undergoing colectomy to examine costs and readmissions following early discharge.MethodsAll adults undergoing elective colectomy for primary colon cancer were identified in the 2016-2019 Nationwide Readmissions Database. Patients with perioperative complications or prolonged length of stay (>8 days) were excluded to enhance cohort homogeneity. Patients discharged by postoperative day 3 were classified as Early, and others as Routine. Entropy balancing and multivariable regression were used to assess the risk-adjusted association of early discharge with costs and non-elective readmissions. Importantly, we compared 90-day stroke rates to examine whether our results were influenced by preferential early discharge of healthier patients.ResultsOf an estimated 153,996 patients, 45.5% comprised the Early cohort. Compared to Routine, the Early cohort was younger and more commonly male. Patients in the Early group more commonly underwent left-sided colectomy and laparoscopic operations. Following multivariable adjustment, expedited discharge was associated with a $4,500 reduction in costs as well as lower 30-day (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.74, pConclusionsThe present work represents the largest analysis of early discharge following colectomy for cancer and supports its relative safety and cost-effectiveness.