Post-discharge complications after esophagectomy account for high readmission rates

Table 3 Unadjusted risk and risk ratio for post-discharge complications after esophagectomy

Risk factor	PDC risk (n/total)	RR (95%CI)
Overall PDC risk	398/4379 (9.09)	-
Procedure type
Ivor-Lewis	196/2219 (8.83)	Ref
Transhiatal	115/1261 (9.12)	1.03 (0.83-1.29)
3-holes	66/730 (9.04)	1.02 (0.78-1.34)
Intestinal conduit	21/169 (12.43)	1.41 (0.92-2.15)
Age group (%)
< 60	143/1562 (9.15)	Ref
60-69	126/1529 (8.24)	0.90 (0.72-1.13)
70-79	109/1082 (10.07)	1.10 (0.87-1.39)
≥ 80	20/206 (9.71)	1.06 (0.68-1.65)
Male (%)	325/3505 (9.27)	1.11 (0.87-1.41)
Race (%)
White	352/3763 (9.35)	Ref
Black	6/137 (4.38)	0.46 (0.21-1.00)
Other/unknown	40/479 (8.35)	0.89 (0.65-1.22)
ASA classification (%)
No disturb/mild disturb	88/930 (9.46)	Ref
Serious disturb	269/3104 (8.67)	0.92 (0.73-1.15)
Life threat/moribund	40/341 (11.73)	1.24 (0.87-1.76)
Body mass index (%)
18.5-24.9	100/1347 (7.42)	Ref
< 18.5	9/129 (6.98)	0.94 (0.49-1.81)
25-29.9	159/1561 (10.19)	1.37 (1.08-1.74)
≥ 30	130/1310 (9.92)	1.34 (1.04-1.72)
Diabetes (%)	75/692 (10.84)	1.24 (0.98-1.57)
Current smoker (%)	86/1111 (7.74)	0.81 (0.64-1.02)
Dyspnea (%)	48/436 (11.01)	1.24 (0.93-1.65)
History of COPD (%)	23/297 (7.74)	0.84 (0.56-1.26)
Weight loss (%)	73/812 (8.99)	0.99 (0.77-1.26)
Steroid use (%)	12/124 (9.68)	1.07 (0.62-1.84)
Emergency case	3/52 (5.77)	0.63 (0.21-1.90)
Esophageal/gastric cancer (%)	342/3707 (9.23)	1.11 (0.84-1.45)
Prolonged length of stay1 (%)	58/938 (6.18)	0.63 (0.48-0.82)
Prolonged operative time2 (%)	103/1087 (9.48)	1.06 (0.85-1.31)

¹Defined as length of stay > 75^th percentile;

²Defined as operative time > 75^th percentile. PDC: Post-discharge complication; RR: Risk ratio; ASA: American Society of Anesthesiology; COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.