Longer Postoperative Stays Correlate with Higher Unplanned Readmission Risks

Increasing postoperative length of stay raises the likelihood of unplanned readmissions among surgical patients. In a comprehensive study of over 3 million individuals, those staying 3-10 days post-surgery showed significantly higher odds of readmission compared to those discharged within 0-2 days. This trend persisted across various surgical specialties and procedures, with otolaryngology and laparoscopic bariatric cases experiencing the largest impacts. Notably, surgical site infections accounted for nearly a quarter of these readmissions.