The study examines medical records for 1,187 spinal surgeries at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in 2010. The researchers found:
Overall, the readmission rate was 6.1 percent with 27.5 percent of the readmissions deemed procedure-related upon attending review. The procedure-related readmission rate was 2.3 percent.
There were three variables that were significant predictors of readmissions:
• Two or more patient comorbidities
• Admission to the ICU
• Additional spinal levels involved
The study authors recommended future work on the best practices to modify the medical risk factors for comorbidities with the potential to decrease 30-day readmission rates.
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