Decreasing Readmissions after Ileostomy Creation Through a Perioperative Quality Improvement Program

BACKGROUND: Readmission after ileostomy creation in patients undergoing colorectal surgery creates a significant burden on health care cost and patient quality of care, with a 30-day readmission rate of 40%. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of our perioperative quality improvement program, Decreasing Readmissions After Ileostomy Creation. DESIGN: Perioperative interventions were administered to patients who underwent ileostomy creation. SETTINGS: A single tertiary care academic center. PATIENTS: Eighty patients participated in this program from February 2020 to January 2021. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes measured were 30-day readmission rates and causes of readmission, which were compared to a historical national database. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the effectiveness of this quality improvement program. RESULTS: Eighty patients were enrolled in this prospective quality improvement program. The mean age was 52 (±15.06) years. The most common indication for patients undergoing creation of an ileostomy was colorectal cancer (40%; n = 32). The overall 30-day readmission rate was 8.75% (n = 7) throughout the study period, which was significantly lower than historical cohort data (20.10%; p = 0.01). Among the 7 readmitted patients, 3 (3.75%) were readmitted due to dehydration. The most significant associated risk factor for all-cause readmission was urgent/emergent operative status, which was associated with an increased risk of readmission (p = 0.01). The 3 readmitted patients with dehydration had a mean Dehydration Readmission After Ileostomy Prediction risk score of 11.71 points, compared to 9.59 points in nondehydrated patients, who did not require readmission (p = 0.38). LIMITATIONS: This study is limited by its small sample size (N = 80). CONCLUSIONS: The Decreasing Readmissions After Ileostomy Creation program has been successful in reducing both the all-cause readmission rate and readmission due to dehydration both within an academic tertiary care referral center and in comparison with historical readmission rates.