• T Thevathasan, S L Shih, K C Safavi, D L Berger, S M Burns, S D Grabitz, R S Glidden, R D Zafonte, M Eikermann, and J C Schneider.
• Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
• Br J Anaesth. 2017 Oct 1; 119 (4): 595-605.

BackgroundWe hypothesised that intraoperative non-depolarising neuromuscular blocking agent (NMBA) dose is associated with 30-day hospital readmission.MethodsData from 13,122 adult patients who underwent abdominal surgery under general anaesthesia at a tertiary care hospital were analysed by multivariable regression, to examine the effects of intraoperatively administered NMBA dose on 30-day readmission (primary endpoint), hospital length of stay, and hospital costs.ResultsClinicians used cisatracurium (mean dose [SD] 0.19 mg kg-1 [0.12]), rocuronium (0.83 mg kg-1 [0.53]) and vecuronium (0.14 mg kg-1 [0.07]). Intraoperative administration of NMBAs was dose-dependently associated with higher risk of 30-day hospital readmission (adjusted odds ratio 1.89 [95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.26-2.84] for 5th quintile vs 1st quintile; P for trend: P<0.001), prolonged hospital length of stay (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] 1.20 [95% CI 1.11-1.29]; P for trend: P<0.001) and increased hospital costs (aIRR 1.18 [95% CI 1.13-1.24]; P for trend: P<0.001). Admission type (same-day vs inpatient surgery) significantly modified the risk (interaction term: aOR 1.31 [95% CI 1.05-1.63], P=0.02), and the adjusted odds of readmission in patients undergoing ambulatory surgical procedures who received high-dose NMBAs vs low-dose NMBAs amounted to 2.61 [95% CI 1.11-6.17], P for trend: P<0.001. Total intraoperative neostigmine dose increased the risk of 30-day readmission (aOR 1.04 [1.0-1.08], P=0.048).ConclusionsIn a retrospective analysis, high doses of NMBAs given during abdominal surgery was associated with an increased risk of 30-day readmission, particularly in patients undergoing ambulatory surgery.© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

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