Safety of outpatient thyroidectomy: Review of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To investigate national trends in admission status after thyroidectomy in the United States and to evaluate the factors associated with 30-day unplanned readmission and reoperation. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) METHODS: The ACS-NSQIP database was queried for patients who underwent a partial or total thyroidectomy between 2005 and 2014. Outpatient surgery was defined as discharge on the day of surgery. Patient demographic information, unplanned hospital readmission, and reoperation were reviewed. Risk factors were identified using logistic regression modeling. RESULTS: A total of 76,604 cases met inclusion criteria as described above. There were 1,473 (1.9%) patients who underwent reoperation and 477 unplanned 30-day readmissions (1.4%) for procedures performed since 2012. There was a significant positive trend in the percentage of thyroidectomy (partial and total) patients who underwent outpatient procedures by year of operation (P < .001). Outpatient procedures were not more likely to have unplanned readmissions or reoperations. Independent patient risk factors for unplanned readmission and reoperation included current dialysis, chronic steroid use, unintentional weight loss, American Society of Anesthesiologists class 3 to 4, and active bleeding disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Over the past decade there has been a clear trend toward increasing outpatient thyroid surgery. Thyroidectomy performed as an outpatient was not found to be an independent risk factor for readmission or reoperation. Patients with serious medical comorbidities and active bleeding disorders are at increased risk of unplanned readmission or reoperation and should have their surgery performed on an inpatient basis. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2c. Laryngoscope, 128:1249-1254, 2018.