Purpose: To investigate patient- and procedure-related factors associated with hospital re-admission (HR) and re-hospitalization following flexible ureteroscopy (f-URS).
Patients and methods: The records of patients who underwent f-URS for renal stones in two reference centers between 2011 and 2015 were examined retrospectively. Patients who were re-admitted to the hospital or re-hospitalized for any reason within 30 days after hospital discharge related to the f-URS procedure were evaluated. The patient- and procedure-related factors affecting the re-admission and re-hospitalization rates were revealed using backward stepwise multiple binary logistic regression analysis.
Results: The study included 647 patients with a mean age of 46.1 ± 13.7 years. The mean BMI was 27.3 ± 4.6 kg/m(2), and the median ASA score was 1.85. The mean stone diameter was 14.2 ± 5.3 mm. The mean operation and fluoroscopy times were 50.2 ± 16.9 min and 43.1 ± 37.6 s, respectively. The mean hospitalization time was 1.42 ± 0.84 days, and the complication rate was 12.8 % (83/647). Overall, 523 (80.3 %) patients became stone-free, while residual fragments <4 mm were detected in 73 (11.3 %) patients. The procedure failed in 7.9 % of the cases. While 82 (12.7 %) patients were re-admitted, 31 (4.8 %) patients were re-hospitalized for further treatment. Stone-free status was an independent predictor of HR, while the stone-free status, hospitalization time, and postoperative complications all predicted re-hospitalization.
Conclusions: We found that inability to achieve stone-free status predicted HR and re-hospitalization, while postoperative complication and prolonged hospitalization also predicted re-hospitalization.
Keywords: Flexible ureteroscopy; Kidney stone; Re-admission; Re-hospitalization; Risk factor.