More problems, more money: Identifying and predicting high-cost rescue after colorectal surgery

Successful rescue after elective surgery is associated with increased healthcare costs, but costs vary widely. Treating all rescue events the same may overlook targeted opportunities for improvement. The purpose of this study was to predict high-cost rescue after elective colorectal surgery. We identified adult patients in the National Inpatient Sample (2016–2021) who underwent elective colectomy or proctectomy. Rescued patients were defined as those who underwent additional major procedures. Three groups were stratified: 1) uneventful recovery; 2) Low-cost rescue; 3) High-cost rescue. Multivariable Poisson regression was used to identify preoperative clinical predictors of high-cost versus low-cost rescue. We identified 448,590 elective surgeries, and rescued patients composed 4.8 %(21,635) of the total sample. The median increase in costs in rescued patients was $25,544( p  < 0.001). Median total inpatient costs were $95,926 in the most expensive rescued versus $34,811 in the less expensive rescued versus $16,751 in the uneventfully discharged( p  < 0.001). When comparing the secondary procedures between the less expensive and most expensive rescued groups, the most expensive had an increased proportion of reoperation (73.4 % versus 53.0 %, p  < 0.001). When controlling for other factors and stratification by congestive heart failure due to an interaction effect, a reoperation was independently associated with high-cost rescue (RR with CHF = 3.29,95%CI:2.69–4.04; RR without CHF = 2.29,95%CI:1.97–2.67). High-cost rescue after colorectal surgery is associated with disproportionately greater healthcare utilization and reoperation. For cost-conscious care, preemptive strategies that reduce reoperation-related complications can be prioritized.