SICU Readmission More Likely Among Urologic Surgery Patients

NEW ORLEANS—Patients undergoing elective major urologic surgery are twice as likely as other surgical patients to be readmitted to the surgical intensive care unit (SICU), according to a study presented at the American Urological Association annual meeting.

In a study of 114 patients admitted to SICU, researchers found that the most common cause of readmission was respiratory compromise. A Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) higher than 5 was significantly associated with SICU readmission. Patients with a CCI greater than 5 had a significant 6-fold increased odds of readmission compared with those who had a CCI of 5 or less.

Of the 114 patients, 9 (7.9%) were readmitted to the SICU, with 1 patient readmitted twice. Respiratory compromise occurred in 60% of the readmitted patients.