Perioperative complications and the cost of rescue or failure to rescue in hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery

Background: It is unclear how either the successful or failed rescue of hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) patients from complications impacts costs. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of HPB surgical patients was performed using claims data from 2013 to 2015 in the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) database. Patient demographics, characteristics, outcomes and risk-adjusted Medicare payments were compared. Results: 11,596 patients were identified. Over half of the patients (n = 5,810, 50.1 %) underwent liver surgery, while 42% (n = 4892) had pancreatic and 8% (n = 894) had biliary operations. The overall complication rate varied (liver: 19.6%; pancreas: 20.3%; biliary: 25.2%, p = 0.001). In general, both minor and serious complications resulted in higher Medicare payments. Failed rescue led to higher average Medicare payments during index hospitalization compared to successful rescue ($53,476 versus $44,636, p < 0.001). The reverse was true on readmission; successful rescue was associated with higher average Medicare payments ($25,746 versus $15,654, p < 0.001). Taken together (index plus readmission), total hospitalization payments were higher for failed compared to successful rescue ($66,604 versus $52,143, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Following HPB surgery, there is a significant cost associated with both rescue and failure-to-rescue from perioperative complications. Total hospitalization cost was highest for patients who experienced failure-to-rescue.