Readmission, Emergency Visits High in 120 Days After Ostomy Surgery

FRIDAY, Dec. 9, 2022 (HealthDay News) — There are high rates of health care utilization in the 120 days following abdominal ostomy surgery, according to a study published in the November/December issue of the Journal of Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing.

Laura L. Schott, Ph.D., from Premier Inc. in Charlotte, North Carolina, and colleagues used the PINC AI Healthcare Database to identify patients undergoing abdominal ostomy surgery (Dec. 1, 2017, to Nov. 30, 2018). The analysis included 15,512 patients who underwent creation of a colostomy, 10,207 who underwent ileostomy construction, and 1,930 with a urostomy procedure.

The researchers found that the median length of stay was nine days but varied by ostomy surgery. The most frequent underlying diagnoses resulting in ostomy surgery were diverticulitis of the large bowel (19.6 percent) managed by colostomy, colorectal cancer managed by ileostomy (22.5 percent), or urothelial cancer managed by urostomy (78.1 percent). For discharge, 43.0 percent of patients went home with home health care and 29.6 percent were discharged to a nonacute care facility. Hospital readmission within 120 days of discharge was high (36.3 percent for patients with a colostomy, 52.3 percent for those with an ileostomy, and 34.6 percent for patients with a urostomy). For nearly two-thirds of the patients (62.4 percent), ostomy complications were identified as the reason for readmission. Within 120 days, one in five patients (20.7 percent) had a subsequent emergency department visit, of which 39.7 percent involved ostomy complication.

“Our analysis of real-world, nationwide data shows the urgent need for efforts to improve the outcomes for patients undergoing abdominal stoma surgery, including patient-centered care and greater access to the services of wound, ostomy and continence nurses or ostomy nurse specialists,” Schott said in a statement.

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