Predictors of 90-Day Readmission in Children Undergoing Spinal Cord Tumor Surgery: A Nationwide Readmissions Database Analysis

Objective: A fair number of hospital admissions occur after 30 days; thus, the true readmission rate could have been underestimated. Therefore, we hypothesized that the 90-day readmission rate might better characterize the factors contributing to readmission for pediatric patients undergoing spinal tumor resection. Methods: The Nationwide Readmissions Database was used to study the patient demographic data, comorbidities, admissions, hospital course, spinal tumor behavior (malignant vs. benign), complications, revisions, and 30- and 90-day readmissions. Results: Of the 397 patients included in the 30-day cohort, 43 (10.8%) had been readmitted. In comparison, the 90-day readmission rate was significantly greater; 52 of 325 patients were readmitted (16.0%; P < 0.04). Patients aged 16–20 constituted the largest subgroup. However, the highest readmission rate was observed for patients aged <5 years (30-day, 21.7%; 90-day, 26.4%). Medicaid patients were more likely to be readmitted than were private insurance patients (30-day odds ratio [OR], 3.3 [P < 0.001]; 90-day OR, 2.29 [P < 0.02]). In both cohorts, patients with malignant tumors required readmission more often than did those with benign tumors (30-day OR, 2.78 [P < 0.02]; 90-day OR, 1.92 [P = 0.08]). In the 90-day cohort, the patients had been readmitted 26.4 days after discharge versus 10.6 days in the 30-day cohort. Within the 90-day cohort, 18.6% of the readmissions were for spinal reoperation, 28.3% for chemotherapy or hematologic complications, and 25.6% for other central nervous system disorders. The median charges for each readmission were ∼$50,000 and ∼$40,000 for the 30- and 90-day cohorts, respectively. Medicaid insurance, malignant tumors, and younger age were significant predictors of readmission in the 90-day cohort. Conclusions: The prevalence and charges associated with unplanned hospital readmissions after spinal tumor resection were remarkably high. Younger age, Medicaid insurance, malignant tumors, and complications during the initial admission were significant predictors of 90-day readmission.