Reports from Yale University Add New Data to Findings in Neurosurgery (Trends In Short-term and Delayed Unplanned Readmission In Patients With Adult Spinal Deformity Undergoing Posterior Spinal Fusion): Surgery – Neurosurgery

2025 AUG 12 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Ivy League Daily News -- New research on Surgery - Neurosurgery is the subject of a report. According to news reporting from New Haven, Connecticut, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Adult spinal deformity (ASD) affects many people in the US, often causing significant back pain and disability and disrupting activities of daily living. As a result, surgical intervention for deformity correction can help improve quality of life.”

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Yale University, “Unplanned readmissions after surgery can significantly impact patients and the value of care. The aim of this study was to assess the trends in short-term and delayed unplanned readmissions following treatment for ASD. A retrospective cohort study was performed using the 2016-2019 Nationwide Readmissions Database. All adult patients undergoing thoracic/thoracolumbar posterior spinal fusion (PSF) for ASD were identified using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision coding. Patients were stratified into 7-day readmission (7-R), 30-day readmission (30-R), 90-day readmission (90-R), and no readmission (NonR) cohorts. Patient demographics, comorbidities, adverse events (AEs), and clinical outcomes were assessed. Of the 3628 ASD patients identified, 550 (15.2%) experienced unplanned readmission (7-R: 131 [3.6%], 30-R: 252 [6.9%], 90-R: 167 [4.6%], NonR: 3078 [84.8%]). Patients in the readmission cohorts had higher rates of Medicare coverage, while the NonR cohort had the highest proportion of private insurance (p = 0.004). The 30-R cohort had the highest frailty score, followed by the 90-R, 7-R, and NonR cohorts (p < 0.001), respectively. The 7-R and 30-R cohorts had the highest prevalence of hypertension (p = 0.002), complicated diabetes (p = 0.002), and chronic pulmonary disease (p = 0.011). In addition, the 7-R and 30-R cohorts had a higher frequency of three or more comorbidities (p = 0.002) and two or more AEs (p < 0.001). On initial admission, the 7-R cohort had the longest mean length of stay (LOS) (p < 0.001), while the 30-R cohort had the greatest rate of nonroutine discharge (p < 0.001) and the highest mean cost of index admission (p = 0.039). On readmission, the 7-R cohort experienced the longest mean LOS (p < 0.001) and highest rate of nonroutine discharge (p = 0.025), with no significant differences in costs between cohorts. Our study suggests that increased comorbidities, AEs, LOS, nonroutine discharge, and hospital expenditures are associated with short-term (7 and 30 days) unplanned readmissions following PSF for ASD patients.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Future studies should further investigate these observed trends and work to optimize patient care while minimizing unplanned readmissions and healthcare expenditures.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Trends In Short-term and Delayed Unplanned Readmission In Patients With Adult Spinal Deformity Undergoing Posterior Spinal Fusion. Neurosurgical Focus, 2025;58(6). Neurosurgical Focus can be contacted at: Amer Assoc Neurological Surgeons, 5550 Meadowbrook Drive, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008, USA.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Aladine A. Elsamadicy, Yale University, School of Medicine, Dept. of Neurosurgery, New Haven, CT, United States. Additional authors for this research include Sumaiya Sayeed, Paul Serrato, Shaila D. Ghanekar, Sina Sadeghzadeh, Sheng-Fu Larry Lo and Daniel M. Sciubba.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.3171/2025.3.focus2513. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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