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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Sep 1.
Published in final edited form as: Surgery. 2012 Sep;152(3):355–362. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2012.06.009

Table 4.

Reasons for readmission by procedure type

Normal Weight Obese
BMI 20–30 BMI ≥ 35
N = 819 readmissions N = 209 readmissions

COLECTOMY p = 0.67
N = 322 N = 49

GI Complications (33%) GI Complications (36%)
Infection (19%) Infection (19%)
Cardiac (9%) Electrolyte/renal abnormality (8%)
Pulmonary (7%) Cardiac (6%)
Electrolye/renal abnormality (7%) Pulmonary (3%)
Bleeding (4%) Bleeding (3%)
Urinary (3%) Neurologic (3%)
Vascular (3%) Ortho (3%)
Neurologic (3%) Pain (3%)
Pain (2%) Urinary (0%)
Psychiatric (0%) Vascular (0%)
Ortho (0%) Psychiatric (0%)
Other (11%) Other (17%)

THORACOTOMY p = 0.82
N = 203 N = 31

Pulmonary (37%) Pulmonary (44%)
Cardiac (13%) Cardiac (22%)
GI complications (8%) Infection (7%)
Infection (6%) Neurologic (7%)
Bleeding (4%) GI complications (4%)
Neurologic (3%) Ortho (4%)
Electrolyte/renal abnormality (3%) Bleeding (0%)
Pain (3%) Electrolyte/renal abnormality (0%)
Psychiatric (2%) Pain (0%)
Urinary (1%) Psychiatric (0%)
Vascular (1%) Urinary (0%)
Ortho (1%) Vascular (0%)
Other (17%) Other (11%)

ORTHOPEDIC PROCEDURE p = 0.91
N = 294 N=129

Ortho (23%) Ortho (27%)
Cardiac (16%) Infection (16%)
Infection (14%) Cardiac (12%)
Bleeding (9%) GI complications (12%)
GI complications (7%) Bleeding (10%)
Neurologic (5%) Neurologic (4%)
Vascular (5%) Pulmonary (4%)
Pulmonary (3%) Vascular (3%)
Pain (3%) Pain (3%)
Urinary (2%) Electrolyte/renal abnormalities (2%)
Electrolyte/renal abnormalities (2%) Urinary (1%)
Psychiatric (1%) Psychiatric (0%)
Other (10%) Other (9%)

Fisher exact test to compare the distribution of reasons for readmission between the obese and normal weight patients. See online appendix for ICD-9 principal diagnosis codes associated with each reason for readmission.