• Maleck Louis, Samuel A Johnston, Leonid Churilov, Ronald Ma, Nada Marhoon, Adele Burgess, Chris Christophi, and Laurence Weinberg.
• Department of Anaesthesia, Austin Health, 145 Studley Rd, Heidelberg, Victoria, 3084, Australia.
• Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2020 Jun 1; 54: 37-42.

BackgroundColonic resection is a common surgical procedure associated with a high rate of postoperative complications. The aim of this observational study is to estimate the in-hospital costs of complications and to identify perioperative variables associated with complication development following colon resection surgery.Materials And MethodsWe conducted a single-centre cohort study with retrospective data collection of 487 patients undergoing colonic resection surgery between 2013 and 2018. Postoperative complications were graded according to the Clavien-Dindo classification system. In-hospital cost of index admission is reported in 2019 United States Dollars. Regression modelling was used to investigate the relationship of a priori selected perioperative variables and presence of complications and costs.ResultsOverall complication prevalence was 69.6% (95%CI:65.5%-73.7%). Median [interquartile range] cost of patients with postoperative complications was significantly increased as compared to patients without complications ($17,963 [13,533:25,178] vs $12,578 [10,196:16,140]; p < 0.0001). Clavien-Dindo Grade I, II, III and IV complications increased costs by 15.8%, 36.8%, 169.4% and 240.1% respectively (p < 0.0001). Presence of complications was significantly associated with Charlson Comorbidity Index (Odds ratio (OR) per 1-unit increase: 1.09; 95%CI:1.02 to 1.17), preoperative albumin levels (OR per 1-unit increase: 0.94; 95%CI:0.90 to 0.98) and open as compared to laparoscopic resection (OR: 2.41; 95%CI:1.32 to 4.42).ConclusionsThere is a high prevalence of complications following colonic resection surgery. Postoperative complications, including minor complications (Clavien-Dindo Grade I-II), were associated with a significant increase in hospital costs and are a key target for cost containment strategies.© 2020 The Authors.

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