Same Day Discharge after Pediatric Laparoscopic Appendectomy in Community Hospitals
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Read the article on jpedsurg.org ↗Article · Mar 2022 · 1 min read
In brief
In brief
Study evaluates same-day discharge protocol for pediatric laparoscopic appendectomy across nine community hospitals, including four that closed pediatric units. Post-protocol implementation, same-day discharge rates increased from 45.5% to 84.4% in children ages 6-13 with uncomplicated appendicitis.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Introduction
: Same-day discharge (SDD) protocols after pediatric laparoscopic appendectomy have not been well studied in a community hospital setting, especially when hospitals with low inpatient pediatric censuses are increasingly closing their pediatric units. This study evaluates the outcomes of a SDD protocol after pediatric appendectomy that was implemented across an integrated healthcare system in which hospitals experienced closure of pediatric units.
Methods
: Patients between ages 6 to 13 years-old who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy for uncomplicated appendicitis from January 1st 2015 to December 31st 2020 were reviewed. During the study period, an inter-hospital SDD protocol was introduced at nine hospitals, four of which closed their pediatric units.
Results
: There were 1293 patients in the pre-protocol cohort and 953 patients in the post-protocol cohort. There were 588 (45.5%) patients who underwent SDD in the pre-protocol cohort, compared with 804 (84.4%) patients in the post-protocol cohort (p