AUTHOR=Koechlin Luca , Miazza Jules , Gahl Brigitta , Santer David , Vöhringer Luise , Berdajs Denis , Eckstein Friedrich S. , Reuthebuch Oliver 

TITLE=Sex differences in readmission rate after cardiac surgery

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2023.1273785

DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2023.1273785

ISSN=2297-055X

ABSTRACT=The impact of sex on hospital readmission rate after cardiac surgery is unclear. Therefore, we aimed to analyse sex-specific differences and underlying factors in 30-day readmission rate after cardiac surgery.We conducted a single center study including all patients after major cardiac surgery (excluding aortic dissection and left ventricular assist device implantation) from January 2012 to September 2020. Reasons for readmission were adjudicated according to all available medical records. We calculated incidence rate ratios (IRR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for female sex with re-admission crude and adjusted for plausible confounding factors using negative binomial regression.4868 patients were included in the analysis. The median [Interquartile range] age was 68 [60 to 74] years and 24% (n=1149) of the patients were female. Female patients were significantly older (median [IQR] age 70 (63 to 76) versus 67 (59 to 74), p<0.001) and had lower body mass index and fewer cardiovascular risk factors compared to men. Isolated valve surgery was more frequent in female while coronary artery bypass grafting was more often in men. 30-day readmission was comparable between both sexes (7.0% [n=81] in female versus 8.7% [n=322] in men; p=0.078). Cardiac related readmissions and infections were the most common reasons for readmission in both groups. The overall incidence rate ratios of female sex with readmission (0.80, 95% CI 0.63 to 1.03, p=0.078) remained robust after adjustment for EuroSCORE 2 (0.78, CI 0.61 to 1.0, p=0.051).Readmission rate and reasons for 30-day readmission after major cardiac surgery were similar between men and women.