Impact of Postoperative Infections on Readmission and Resource Use in Elective Cardiac Surgery.

Abstract

BACKGROUND\nEfforts to reduce postoperative infections have garnered national attention, leading to practice guidelines for cardiac surgical perioperative care. The present study characterized the impact of healthcare-acquired infection (HAI) on index hospitalization costs and post-discharge healthcare utilization.\n\n\nMETHODS\nAdults undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and/or valve operations were identified in the 2016-2018 Nationwide Readmissions Database. Infections were categorized into bloodstream, gastrointestinal, pulmonary, surgical site, or urinary tract infections. Generalized linear or flexible hazard models were used to assess associations between infections and outcomes. Observed-to-expected (O/E) ratios were generated to examine inter-hospital variation in HAI.\n\n\nRESULTS\nOf an estimated 444,165 patients, 8.0% developed HAI. Patients with HAI were older, had a greater burden of chronic diseases, and more commonly underwent CABG/valve or multi-valve operations (all p<0.001). HAI was independently associated with mortality (odds ratio 4.02, 95% CI 3.67-4.40), non-home discharge (3.48, 95% CI 3.21-3.78), and a cost increase of $23,000 (95% CI 20,900-25,200). At 90 days, HAI was associated with greater hazard of readmission (1.29, 95% CI 1.24-1.35). Pulmonary infections had the greatest incremental impact on patient-level ($24,500, 95% CI 23,100-26,00) and annual cohort costs ($121.8 million, 95% CI 102.2-142.9 million). Significant hospital level variation in HAI was evident, with O/E ranging from 0.17 to 4.3 for cases performed in 2018.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nInfections following cardiac surgery remain common and are associated with inferior outcomes and increased resource use. The presence of inter-hospital variation in this contemporary cohort emphasizes the ongoing need for systematic approaches in their prevention and management.