Background Thirty-day unplanned readmission following endoscopic transsphenoidal pituitary surgery (ETPS) occurs in up to 14% of patients. Delayed hyponatremia is one of the most common causes, accounting for 30% of readmissions and often occurs within 1 week of surgery. The authors' prior retrospective review identified endocrinology follow-up as protective factor. Objectives Implementation of a multidisciplinary postoperative care (POC) pathway: (1) to reduce 30-day hospital readmissions following ETPS and (2) improve inpatient and outpatient coordination of care with endocrinologist. Methods This study is a single institution temporal cohort study of patients prior to (control cohort) and after implementation of the POC pathway (intervention cohort). The POC pathway utilized postdischarge 1 to 1.5 L/d fluid restriction, postoperative days 5 to 7 serum sodium, and endocrinology follow-up within 1 week of discharge to stratify patients into tiered hyponatremia regimens. Results A total of 542 patients were included in the study, 409 (75%) in the control cohort and 133 (25%) in the intervention cohort. All-cause readmission was significantly reduced following implementation of the POC pathway (14 vs. 6%, p = 0.015). Coordination with endocrinologist significantly increased in the inpatient (96 vs. 83%, p < 0.001) and outpatient (77 vs. 68%, p = 0.042) settings. Patients who were not in the POC pathway had the highest risk of readmission (odds ratio: 2.5; 95% confidence interval: 1.1-5.5). Conclusion A multidisciplinary POC pathway incorporating endocrinologist in conjunction with postdischarge weight-based fluid restriction and postoperative serum sodium levels can safely be used to reduce 30-day readmissions following ETPS.
Objective The study aimed to (1) quantify readmission rates and common causes of readmission following endoscopic transsphenoidal pituitary surgery (ETPS); (2) identify risk factors that may predict readmission within 30 days; (3) assess postoperative care coordination with endocrinology follow-up; and (4) identify patients for whom targeted interventions may reduce 30-day readmissions. Methods Retrospective quality improvement review of patients with pituitary adenoma who underwent ETPS from December 2010 to 2018 at a single tertiary care center. Results A total of 409 patients were included in the study, of which 57 (13.9%) were readmitted within 30 days. Hyponatremia was the most common cause of readmission (4.2%) followed by pain/headache (3.9%), cerebrospinal fluid leak (3.4%), epistaxis (2.7%), hypernatremia (1.2%), and adrenal insufficiency (1.2%). Patients with hyponatremia were readmitted significantly earlier than other causes (4.3 ± 2.2 vs. 10.6 ± 10.9 days from discharge, p = 0.032). Readmitted patients had significantly less frequent outpatient follow-up with an endocrinologist than the nonreadmitted cohort (56.1 vs. 70.5%, p = 0.031). Patients who had outpatient follow-up with an endocrinologist were at lower risk of readmission compared with those without (odds ratio: 0.46; 95% confidence interval: 0.24-0.88). Conclusion Delayed hyponatremia is one of the most common causes of 30-day readmission following ETPS. Postoperative follow-up with an endocrinologist may reduce risk of 30-day readmission following ETPS. Implications for Clinical Practice A multidisciplinary team incorporating otolaryngologist, neurosurgeons, and endocrinologist may identify patients at risk of 30-day readmissions. Protocols checking serum sodium within 1 week of surgery in conjunction with endocrinologist to tailor fluid restriction may reduce readmissions from delayed hyponatremia.
