Perioperative quality indicators among neurosurgery patients: A retrospective cohort study of 1142 cases at a tertiary center

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to present the first comprehensive analysis of perioperative quality indicators; length of hospital stay; readmission; reoperation; pre-, intra, and postoperative events; and mortality in a diverse neurosurgical patient cohort in Europe. METHODS: Electronic medical records of all patients who were admitted to our institution between January 1 and December 31 of 2020, and underwent an index neurosurgical operation (n = 1142) were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: The median length of hospital stay at the index admission and readmission was 8 days (range: 1-242 days) and 5 days (range: 0-94 days), respectively. Of the 1142 patients, 22.9% (n = 262) had an extended length of hospital stay of ≥14 days. The all-cause 7-, 15-, 30-, 60-, and 90-day readmission rates were 3.9% (n = 44), 5.7% (n = 65), 8.8% (n = 100), 12.3% (n = 141), and 16.5% (n = 188), respectively. The main reason for unplanned readmission was deterioration of medical and/or neurological condition. The all-cause 7-, 15-, 30-, 60-, and 90-day reoperation rates were 11.1% (n = 127), 13.8% (n = 158), 16.5% (n = 189), 18.7% (n = 213), and 19.4% (n = 221), respectively. Unplanned reoperations were due primarily to hydrocephalus. The rate of preoperative events was 1.1% (n = 13), one-third of which were associated with infection. The rate of intraoperative events was 11.0% (n = 126), of which 98 (64.47%) were surgical, 37 (24.34%) were anesthesiologic, and 17 (11.18%) were associated with technical equipment. The rate of postoperative events was 9.5% (n = 109). The most common postoperative event was malfunction, disconnection, or dislocation of an implanted device (n = 24, 17.91%). The mortality rates within 7, 15, 30, 60, and 90 days after the index operation were 0.9% (n = 10), 1.8% (n = 21), 2.5% (n = 29), 3.4% (n = 39), and 4.7% (n = 54), respectively. Several patient characteristics and perioperative factors were significantly associated with outcome parameters. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an in-depth analysis of quality indicators in neurosurgery, highlighting a variety of inherent and modifiable factors influencing patient outcomes.