Socioeconomic Characteristics of Patients Undergoing Ambulatory Parathyroidectomy and a Comparison of Institutional Charges

Abstract

Background Parathyroidectomy is frequently performed as ambulatory surgery. This study seeks to characterize the socioeconomic factors that may impact the patient selection for outpatient parathyroidectomy. Methods The 2016 Florida State Inpatient Database (SID) and the 2016 Florida State Ambulatory Surgery Database (SASD) were queried for all patients undergoing parathyroidectomy using the International Classification of Diseases 10 (ICD-10) procedure codes. Univariable comparison and multivariate logistic regression were performed for outpatient versus inpatient parathyroidectomy using all relevant patient and hospital characteristics from the database. Results Seven hundred and sixteen patients underwent parathyroidectomy in Florida in 2016; 322 parathyroidectomies were performed in the ambulatory setting (45.0%). After multivariate logistic regression, patients over age 65 and parathyroidectomies performed at high-volume centers were more likely to be performed at an outpatient center. Those patients who were black, Hispanic, had a Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥3, Medicare, Medicaid, and Self-pay were associated with a decreased likelihood of having an outpatient procedure. Discussion Access to ambulatory parathyroidectomy is more common in patients with private insurance, white ethnicity, and fewer comorbidities.