Factors Affecting Emergency Department Visits, Readmissions, and Reoperations within 30 Days of Ankle Fracture Surgery: An Institutional Retrospective Study

CATEGORY: Ankle; Trauma INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE: With the U.S. healthcare system focused on value of care, providers and hospitals are increasingly measured by factors that increase patient care and decrease healthcare cost. Early postoperative adverse events not only increase healthcare cost, but also illuminate areas of potential improvement in patient care. This study aims to delineate factors that may influence emergency department visits, admissions, and reoperations within 30 days of ankle fracture surgery. METHODS: This retrospective review of patients at a Level 1 trauma center evaluated 30-day outcomes after ankle fracture surgery over a 4-year period (2015-2018). The outcome measures assessed were emergency department visits within 30 days, unplanned readmissions within 30 days and unplanned return to the operating room (OR) within 30 days. Patient and injury characteristics were investigated as potential factors related to these 30-day outcomes. Multiple linear regression was used for outcomes. P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: A total of 619 patients were identified. After exclusion of concurrent pilon fractures, 596 patients were eligible for final analysis. Forty-three (7.2%) patients visited the emergency department within thirty days, 30 (5.0%) patients were readmitted within thirty days, and 10 (1.7%) patients requiring unplanned return to the OR within thirty days. Sex, insurance status, comorbidities such as pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, psychiatric disease, and chronic kidney disease, smoking status, and fracture type/location were not found to be significantly related to 30-day events. Age less than 45 was a significant risk factor for returning to the ED within 30 days (RR 2.1, p=0.02). Open fractures were more likely to require unplanned reoperation than closed fractures (RR 5.7, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Age less than 45 years old was a risk factor for early ED visits. Open fractures were found to be at increased risk of needing unplanned reoperation. While further investigation into these risk factors is necessary to fully delineate a causal relationship, these findings can help physicians identify ‘at-risk’ populations after ankle fracture surgery and provide the necessary care to minimize early postoperative events.