Effect of Length of stay with Post-operative Robotic Partial Nephrectomy care

Abstract

Abstract Background To compare the 30-day readmission rates and emergency department visit rates for patients who underwent robotic partial nephrectomy before and after March 31st, 2020. Methods Patients who were treated at the University of Arizona Department of Urology for renal cell carcinoma from 2017–2023 were reviewed. The patients were assigned into 2 groups, Group A underwent surgery between February 1st 2017 and March 31st 2020, and Group B underwent surgery between April 1st 2020 through May 2023. All the data were collected using REDCAP database. Results A total of 210 cases were reviewed (105 cases in Group A, and 105 cases in Group B). There was no statistically significant difference between Emergency department visits and re-admission rates between Group A and Group B. Group B had a significantly shorter length of stay than Group A (2.32 days and 1.34 days, p < 0.001) with no other differences between the groups. Conclusion There was no increase in 30-day emergency department visits and readmission rates when patients who underwent robotic partial nephrectomy were discharged on post-operative day one, when compared with those discharged on post-operative day two. Thus, our preliminary data supports that this is a safe and effective change that will allow for more open hospital beds.