Predictors of outpatient resource utilization following ventral and incisional hernia repair.

INTRODUCTION: Little is known about the predictors of increased ambulatory costs following open ventral and incisional hernia repair (VIHR); however, postoperative complications would be expected to be associated with an increased burden on outpatient resources. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of perioperative factors on outpatient resource utilization following VIHR. METHODS: With IRB approval, the surgery scheduling system was queried to identify all cases of VIHR done at our institution over 3 years. Cases with other procedures done at time of VIHR were excluded. National Surgical Quality Improvement Program clinical data, physician billing data which included market and payor across cases, and medical record review data were combined and evaluated in order to quantify care and predictors of usage during the 6 months postoperatively. RESULTS: Data were analyzed for 308 patients. Median patient age was 52 years (SD = 13.3), and over half were female. The number of outpatient visits to the surgical office varied from 0 to 18 [median = 2; interquartile range (IQR) = 1-3]. CDC Wound Class >1 was associated with increase of mean 1.4 visits (IQR: 0.5-2.3); p = 0.003. Component separation, longer duration of operation, and increased mesh size were also predictive of increased number of office visits (p < 0.01). Postoperative infected seroma/seroma requiring drainage added a mean 2.3 visits (IQR: 1.3-3.3), (p < 0.001); and deep wound infection added a mean 3.9 visits (IQR: 1.9-5.9) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative complications confer a significant burden for patients and to the outpatient surgical office. In an era in which improved quality and cost-efficiency has become imperative, measures to decrease risk of postoperative complications particularly for more complex VIHR would be expected to decrease resource utilization and increase value of care.

Pediatric Cervical Spine Injury Following Blunt Trauma in Children Younger Than 3 Years: The PEDSPINE II Study.

Importance: There is variability in practice and imaging usage to diagnose cervical spine injury (CSI) following blunt trauma in pediatric patients. Objective: To develop a prediction model to guide imaging usage and to identify trends in imaging and to evaluate the PEDSPINE model. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study included pediatric patients (<3 years years) following blunt trauma between January 2007 and July 2017. Of 22 centers in PEDSPINE, 15 centers, comprising level 1 and 2 stand-alone pediatric hospitals, level 1 and 2 pediatric hospitals within an adult hospital, and level 1 adult hospitals, were included. Patients who died prior to obtaining cervical spine imaging were excluded. Descriptive analysis was performed to describe the population, use of imaging, and injury patterns. PEDSPINE model validation was performed. A new algorithm was derived using clinical criteria and formulation of a multiclass classification problem. Analysis took place from January to October 2022. Exposure: Blunt trauma. Main Outcomes and Measures: Primary outcome was CSI. The primary and secondary objectives were predetermined. Results: The current study, PEDSPINE II, included 9389 patients, of which 128 (1.36%) had CSI, twice the rate in PEDSPINE (0.66%). The mean (SD) age was 1.3 (0.9) years; and 70 patients (54.7%) were male. Overall, 7113 children (80%) underwent cervical spine imaging, compared with 7882 (63%) in PEDSPINE. Several candidate models were fitted for the multiclass classification problem. After comparative analysis, the multinomial regression model was chosen with one-vs-rest area under the curve (AUC) of 0.903 (95% CI, 0.836-0.943) and was able to discriminate between bony and ligamentous injury. PEDSPINE and PEDSPINE II models' ability to identify CSI were compared. In predicting the presence of any injury, PEDSPINE II obtained a one-vs-rest AUC of 0.885 (95% CI, 0.804-0.934), outperforming the PEDSPINE score (AUC, 0.845; 95% CI, 0.769-0.915). Conclusion and Relevance: This study found wide clinical variability in the evaluation of pediatric trauma patients with increased use of cervical spine imaging. This has implications of increased cost, increased radiation exposure, and a potential for overdiagnosis. This prediction tool could help to decrease the use of imaging, aid in clinical decision-making, and decrease hospital resource use and cost.

Impact of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion on Reimbursement in Emergency General Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Kentucky had one of the nation's largest increases in insurance coverage with the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) Medicaid expansion, quadrupling the proportion of Kentuckians with insurance coverage. This study compares reimbursement rates for surgical procedures performed by emergency general surgery (EGS) services at the University of Kentucky (UK) before and after Medicaid expansion in January 2014. METHODS: This IRB-approved, single-institution study retrospectively evaluated all patients undergoing surgical treatment by our EGS team from 1/1/2011 to 12/31/2016. We queried operative records for the most frequently performed procedures by the EGS service. We reviewed patient electronic medical records and hospital financial records to identify insurance status, diagnosis codes, and expected hospital reimbursements, based on UK Hospital's procedure/payer accounting models. RESULTS: Four thousand six hundred ninety-three patient procedures met inclusion criteria; 46.5% of these came before ACA expansion and 53.5% after expansion. The most frequent procedures performed were incision and drainage, laparoscopic appendectomy, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and exploratory laparotomy. After ACA expansion, the proportion of patients with Medicaid nearly doubled (19.8% vs. 35.6%, p < 0.001). Concomitantly, there was a more than fivefold decrease in the uninsured patient population after expansion (23.3% vs. 4.6%, p < 0.001), and mean hospital reimbursement increased for laparoscopic appendectomy (13.7%, p < 0.001), laparoscopic cholecystectomy (50.7%, p < 0.001), and incision and drainage (70.2%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: After ACA expansion, there was a sustained decrease in proportion of uninsured patients and a concomitant sustained increase in proportion of patients with access to Medicaid services in the EGS operative population, leading to increased mean hospital reimbursements and decreased patient financial burden.

Clinical and Quality of Life Assessment of Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Hiatal Hernia Repair.

Hiatal hernia repair (HHR) and fundoplication are similarly performed among all hiatal hernia types with similar techniques. This study evaluates the effect of HHR using a standardized technique for cruroplasty with a reinforcing polyglycolic acid and trimethylene carbonate mesh (PGA/TMC) on patient symptoms and outcomes. A retrospective review of patient perioperative characteristics and postoperative outcomes was conducted for cases of laparoscopic hiatal hernia repair (LHHR) using a PGA/TMC mesh performed over 21 months. Gastroesophageal reflux disease symptom questionnaire responses were compared between preoperative and three postoperative time points. Ninety-six patients underwent LHHR with a PGA/TMC mesh. Postoperatively, the number of overall symptoms reported by patients decreased across all postoperative periods (P < 0.001). Patients reported a significant reduction in antacid use long term (P < 0.001). Laryngeal and regurgitation symptoms decreased at all time points (P < 0.05). There was no difference in dysphagia preoperatively and postoperatively at any time point. Individuals undergoing HHR with PGA/TMC mesh experienced improved regurgitation and laryngeal symptoms, and decreased use of antacid medication.