Risk Factors for Readmission after Appendectomy in Hospital

Mehdi Sarafi; Behzad Azimi; Milad Borji; Gholamreza Ebrahimisaraj

doi:10.18502/aacc.v12i1.20539

Mehdi Sarafi Mofid Children's Hospital, Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Behzad Azimi Department of Operating Room, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Emam Khomeini Hospital, Ilam University of Medical sciences, Ilam, Iran.
Milad Borji Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
Gholamreza Ebrahimisaraj Mofid Children's Hospital, Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/aacc.v12i1.20539

Keywords: Readmission; Appendectomy; Risk factors; Intensive care units

Abstract

Background: The readmission of a patient to the intensive care unit means a patient's return to the hospital for a certain period of time after discharge for planned or unplanned reasons. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the risk factors for readmission after appendectomy in hospital.

Methods: In this retrospective study, the records of patients who underwent appendicitis in hospitals were reviewed. In order to identify readmissions, a list of patients with a history of readmission was extracted from the hospital's Health Information Technology Unit. Then, the researchers studied the patients' clinical records and extracted data using a researcher-made checklist. To analyze the data, first the data were entered into SPSS version 16 software and then analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistical tests.

Results: According to the findings, the mean (SD) age of the patients in the readmitted group was 14.1 (2.8) years, and in the non-readmitted group was 13.9 (2.1) years. In the readmitted patient’s group, 52.4% of the patients were male, 19% of the patients had underlying diabetes, 9.5% had asthma and allergies, and 100% of the surgeries were performed by a specialist. Also, the results showed the reasons for readmission of patients were 4.8% due to intra-abdominal abscess, 42.9% due to wound infection, 14.3% due to abdominal pain, 23.8% due to paralysis/ileus, and 14.3% due to other causes.

Conclusion: Given that patient readmission has various complications for the patient, the patient's family, and the healthcare system, it is necessary to take necessary preventive measures regarding the factors affecting it.