Examining length of stay after commonly performed surgical procedures in ACS NSQIP pediatric

Background: The objective of this study was to identify ranges of postoperative length of stay (LOS) for common pediatric procedures using a large multi-institutional database. Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis of the most frequently performed general surgical procedures in the ACS-NSQIP Pediatric (2013-2015) was performed. These included laparoscopic appendectomy (LA), laparoscopic cholecystectomy, laparoscopic gastrostomy, laparoscopic esophagogastric fundoplication (LF), thoracoscopic repair of pectus excavatum (TPE), open appendectomy (OA), enterostomy closure (OEC), gastrostomy closure (OGC), and bowel resection (OBR). Patients aged <6 mo or >18 y, operations with major concurrent procedures, same-day discharges, operations performed >2 d after admission, and inpatient deaths were excluded. Postoperative LOS was examined for each procedure, including multivariable analysis of risk factors for postoperative LOS > 75th percentile. Results: A total of 29,557 cases were identified and included procedure subgroups ranging from 505 (OBR) to 19,260 (LA) cases. Procedure-specific median postoperative LOS (75th percentile; 90th percentile) were LA 1 d (2 d; 5 d); laparoscopic cholecystectomy 1 d (1 d; 2 d); laparoscopic gastrostomy 2 d (2 d, 4 d); laparoscopic fundoplication 3 d (4 d, 6 d); thoracoscopic repair of pectus excavatum 4 d (5 d, 6 d); OA 3 d (6 d, 9 d); OEC 4 d (6 d, 10 d); OGC 1 d (1 d, 2 d); and OBR 6 d (10 d, 20 d). Preoperative risk factors for high postoperative LOS varied by procedure and included patient demographics, admission factors, case characteristics, and comorbidities. Conclusions: The range of postoperative LOS and risk factors for high postoperative LOS for commonly performed procedures varied considerably. These results may be a useful reference for benchmarking and resource utilization analyses at the institutional and health systems levels.