Introduction: There has been increased attention focused on reducing postoperative length of stay and mortality following colorectal surgery. We sought to identify adverse events associated with prolonged length of stay and mortality.
Methods: We evaluated postoperative "adverse events," prolonged length of stay, and mortality within 30 days of colorectal surgery in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) hospitals from January 2005 through December 2008. We then used multivariate models to establish the associations between adverse events and prolonged length of stay and mortality.
Results: A total of 54,237 patients underwent colorectal surgery: 39,980 (74 %) experienced no postoperative adverse events, while 14,257 (26 %) experienced one or more adverse events. Length of stay was prolonged (longer than 10 days) in 38 % of patients who experienced a postoperative adverse event and in 15 % of patients without events. Mortality increased with the number of postoperative adverse events. In multivariate models including preoperative comorbidity, patient risk factors, and adverse events, patients who experienced a cardiac arrest, septic shock, stroke, myocardial infarction, and/or renal failure were at highest odds of dying within 30 days of surgery.
Conclusions: Patients with cardiac arrest, septic shock, stroke, myocardial infarction, and/or renal failure are at highest risk of mortality following colorectal surgery.