ICU Readmission in Cardiac Surgical Subset: A Problem Worth Pondering

Abstract Over the past decades, there have been noteworthy advancements in the cardiac surgical practice that have assisted fast-tracking and enhanced recovery after cardiac surgery (ERACS). With that said, intensive care unit (ICU) readmission in this high-risk patient cohort entails a significant morbidity–mortality burden. As an extension of the same, there has been a heightened emphasis on a comprehensive evaluation of the predisposition to readmission following a primary ICU discharge. However, the variability of the institutional perioperative practices and the research complexities compound our understanding of this heterogeneous outcome of readmission, which is intricately linked to both patient and organizational factors. Moreover, a discussion on ICU readmission in the recent times can only be rendered comprehensive when staged in close conjunction to the fast-tracking practices in cardiac surgery. From a more positive probing of the matter, a preventative outlook can likely mitigate a part of the larger problem of ICU readmission. Herein, focused cardiac prehabilitation programs can play a potential role given the emerging literature on the positive impact of the former on the most relevant readmission causes. Therefore, the index review article aims to address the subject of cardiac surgical ICU readmission, highlighting the magnitude and burden, the causes and risk-factors, and the research complexities alongside deliberating the topic in the present-day context of ERACS and cardiac prehabilitation.