The following is a summary of “Unplanned 120-Day ED Visits and Readmission Rates Following Common Stone Procedures,” published in the JUNE 2023 issue of Urology by Wahlstedt, et al.

For a retrospective cohort study, researchers sought to quantify emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions (HA) following standard urologic stone procedures, including ureteroscopy (URS), shockwave lithotripsy (SWL), and percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCL). The outcomes were of concern to payors, providers, and patients.

Claims data from the IBM MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Supplement databases were used for the study. The cohort included adults with a urologic stone diagnosis and no history of stone procedures in the prior 12 months who underwent stone procedures between 2012 and 2017. All-cause ED visits and HA were evaluated during 30, 60, 90, and 120-day periods following the index urologic stone procedure.

A total of 166,287 patients were included in the analysis. Among inpatient-indexed procedures, the cumulative rate of ED visits at 120 days following the stone procedure was 18.8% for URS, 19.2% for SWL, and 23.6% for PCL. A similar trend was observed for outpatient-indexed procedures, with a cumulative rate of ED visits at 120 days of 14.2% for SWL, 14.9% for URS, and 17.3% for PCL. The trend was also evident when examining HA rates. Both ED and HA rates increased steadily over the 120 days.

The rates of ED visits and HA following common stone procedures continue to increase for at least 120 days following the index procedure, regardless of whether the procedure was performed in the outpatient or inpatient setting. While rates of unplanned care were similar for URS and SWL, patients undergoing PCL had higher rates of returning to the hospital. The findings highlighted the need for ongoing monitoring and management of patients following urologic stone procedures to optimize their post-procedure care.

Source: goldjournal.net/article/S0090-4295(23)00211-X/fulltext