Correction to: Removal of a urinary catheter before discontinuation of epidural analgesia is associated with an increased risk of postoperative urinary retention and hospital episode costs in patients undergoing surgical correction for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The spelling of Erin Ohliger's name was incorrect.

Removal of a urinary catheter before discontinuation of epidural analgesia is associated with an increased risk of postoperative urinary retention and hospital episode costs in patients undergoing surgical correction for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

OBJECTIVES: In adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients undergoing posterior spinal instrumented fusion (PSIF), we aimed to answer these questions: (1) is there a difference in postoperative urinary retention (UR) rates among patients who had removal of their Foley catheters before vs. after discontinuation of epidural analgesia (EA)? (2) Can the timing of Foley catheter removal be an independent risk factor for postoperative UR requiring recatheterization? (3) Is there an incurred cost related to treating UR? STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort. BACKGROUND: EA has been widely used for postoperative pain control after PSIF for AIS. In these patients, removing the Foley catheter, inserted for intraoperative monitoring of urine output, is indicated in the early postoperative period. However, a controversy exists as to whether it should be removed before or after the EA has been discontinued. METHODS: A single-institution, longitudinally maintained database was queried to identify 297 patients who met specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patient characteristics and the order and timing of removing the urinary and epidural catheters were collected. Rates of UR were statistically compared in patients who had early vs. late urinary catheter removal. A univariate and multivariate regression analysis was conducted to identify independent risk factors. Hospital episode costs were analyzed. RESULTS: Patients who had early (n = 66, 22%) vs. late (n = 231, 78%) urinary catheter removal had a significantly higher incidence of UR requiring recatheterization (15 vs. 4.7%, p = 0.007). Patient with early removal were almost 4 times more likely to develop UR requiring recatheterization [odds ratio (OR) 3.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.5-9.7, p = 0.005]. UR incurred additional costs averaging $15,000/patient (p = 0.204). CONCLUSION: In patients who had PSIF for AIS, removal of a urinary catheter before discontinuation of EA is an independent risk factor for UR, requiring recatheterization and associated with increased cost. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

Influence of Intraoperative Neuromonitoring on the Outcomes of Surgeries for Pediatric Scoliosis in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) is used to detect impending neurologic damage during complex spinal surgeries. Although IONM is increasingly used during pediatric scoliosis surgeries in the United States, the effect of IONM on the outcomes of such surgeries at a national level is unclear. METHODS: Using National Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2009 to 2012, 32,305 spinal fusions performed in children 18 years old or younger of age with scoliosis were identified using ICD-9 procedure and diagnosis codes. IONM was identified using the ICD-9 procedure code 00.94. The effects of IONM use on length of stay (LOS), discharge disposition, hospital charges, and in-hospital complications were assessed using multivariate regression analysis adjusting for patient and hospital characteristics. RESULTS: IONM was used in 5,706 (18%) of the surgeries. IONM was associated with increased home discharge (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.25 [95% confidence interval 1.10-1.40], p = .001). There was no difference in LOS (p = .096) and hospital charges (p = .750). Neurologic complications were noted in 52 (0.9%) surgeries using IONM and 368 (1.4%) surgeries without IONM (p = .005). Although IONM use trended toward lower risk of neurologic complications in multivariate analysis, it failed to achieve statistical significance (AOR = 0.77 [0.57-1.04], p = .084). CONCLUSIONS: Reported use of IONM in this database was significantly less compared with other databases, suggesting that IONM might be underreported in the NIS database. Nevertheless, in this database, IONM was significantly associated with increased home discharge. Hospital charges and LOS were not affected by IONM. There was a trend toward lower risk of neurologic complications with IONM use, though this finding was not statistically significant.

Cost analysis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis surgery: early discharge decreases hospital costs much less than intraoperative variables under the control of the surgeon.

BACKGROUND: Spinal fusion surgery for the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is increasing. Health systems and surgeons are decreasing hospital length of stay (LOS) to decrease costs. The purpose of this study was to review the contribution of an accelerated discharge protocol on the total cost of a single episode of care related to the surgical treatment of AIS at a single institution. METHODS: A retrospective cost analysis was performed over an 18-month period, from January 2014 through June 2015, before and after the institution of an accelerated discharge program. Patients treated surgically with ICD-9 code 737.30 (Idiopathic Scoliosis) were reviewed. Itemized costs and LOS were analyzed collectively and by surgeon before and after the accelerated discharge protocol. RESULTS: Eighty AIS patients were treated surgically. The accelerated discharge program significantly reduced average LOS from 4.2 days in 2014 to 3.3 days during the first 6 months of 2015 (P≤0.05). There were no increases in complications. There was a 9% decrease in the total average costs per episode of care. A weighted average, a relative average change in costs, and an average cost savings per case were calculated for 12 different categories. Average Surgical Services and Nursing costs decreased during the study period while all other costs increased. The accelerated discharge program did not directly contribute significantly to this decrease in costs. Greatest cost reduction was associated with average bone graft and pedicle screw cost, with an overall 8.5% reduction in pedicle screw use and a 58% reduction in bone graft costs. CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative variables under the direct control of the surgeon contribute much more to cost reduction than an accelerated discharge program for surgically treated AIS patients.