Outpatient Upper Extremity Fracture Surgery Is Associated with Increased Post-operative Emergency Department Visits.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine if outpatient upper extremity fracture surgery was associated with increased post-operative ED visits and identify related risk factors.

Methods: Design: Retrospective cohort.

Setting: This multi-center study was conducted within a single academic institution, encompassing two level 1, two level 2, and one level 3 trauma center.

Patient selection criteria: All patients >18 years of age that underwent upper extremity fracture surgery from 2015-2021 were included.

Outcome measures and comparisons: Risk factors for postoperative ED visit that were investigated included age, sex, tobacco use, alcohol abuse, psychiatric diagnosis, Elixhauser comorbidity score, race, location of upper extremity fracture, surgical setting (inpatient vs. outpatient), upper extremity block, surgical specialty, and Area Deprivation Index. Variables with a p<0.1 in bivariate analysis were included in a multivariable logistic regression to determine factors associated with a postoperative ED visit at 30 and 90-days.

Results: A total of 6,315 patients with an average age of 51±19 years were identified of which 52% were female and 65% had outpatient surgery. Post-operatively, 188 patients (3.0%) presented to the ED within 30 days and 304 (4.8%) presented within 90 days. Thirty-seven percent of ED visits were directly related to the procedure, most commonly for pain (20%), cast issues (4.3%), and swelling (3.9%). At 30 days postoperatively, 2.8% of patients who underwent surgery in an outpatient setting and 3.4% of those who underwent inpatient surgery returned to the ED, with these rates increasing to 4.4% and 5.6%, respectively, by 90 days. In multivariable analysis, outpatient surgery (OR:1.5, p=0.030), tobacco use (OR:2.1, p<0.001), higher Elixhauser Comorbidity scores (OR:1.2, p<0.001), non-White race (OR:1.9, p<0.001) elbow fractures (OR:1.8, p=0.016), and hand fractures (OR: 1.6, p=0.046) were associated with 30-day ED visits.

Conclusions: Outpatient surgery was associated with increased rate of 30-day ED visits. Patients that smoke, had increased number of comorbidities or were non-White presented to the ED more frequently.

Level of evidence: III.