Table 1. Characteristics of Patients Who Underwent Autologous Free Flap Breast Reconstruction From 2008 to 2010 in the United Statesa.
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| No. of patients | 3302 |
| Cost of hospital stay, median (IQR), $US | 22 677 (14 907-33 391) |
| Age at time of breast reconstruction, median (IQR), y | 50 (44-57) |
| Timing of free flap, No. (%) | |
| Immediate | 1999 (60.5) |
| Delayed | 1303 (39.5) |
| Radiotherapy, No. (%) | |
| No | 2944 (89.2) |
| Yes | 308 (9.3) |
| Length of stay, median (IQR), d | 4 (3-5) |
| Insurance type, No. (%) | |
| Medicare | 245 (7.4) |
| Medicaid | 218 (6.6) |
| Private | 2712 (82.1) |
| Other | 116 (3.5) |
| Median household income national quartile, No. (%) | |
| First | 453 (13.7) |
| Second | 572 (17.3) |
| Third | 844 (25.6) |
| Fourth, richest | 1346 (40.8) |
| Race/ethnicity, No. (%) | |
| White | 2029 (61.4) |
| Black | 282 (8.5) |
| Hispanic | 311 (9.4) |
| Other minorities | 210 (6.4) |
| Unspecified | 470 (14.2) |
| Hospital location, No. (%) | |
| Northeast | 617 (18.7) |
| Midwest | 766 (23.2) |
| South | 1121 (33.9) |
| West | 798 (24.2) |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, No. (%) | |
| 0 | 1629 (49.3) |
| 1 | 227 (6.9) |
| ≥2 | 1446 (43.8) |
| Teaching hospital, No. (%) | |
| Yes | 2576 (78.0) |
| No | 679 (20.6) |
| Hospital type, No. (%) | |
| Government | 2868 (86.9) |
| Private | 434 (13.1) |
| Surgical complications, No. (%) | |
| Yes | 750 (22.7) |
| No | 2552 (77.3) |
| Systemic complications, No. (%) | |
| Yes | 953 (28.9) |
| No | 2349 (71.1) |
| Hospital bed size, No. (%) | |
| Small | 375 (11.4) |
| Medium | 441 (13.4) |
| Large | 2439 (73.9) |
Abbreviation: IQR, interquartile range.
a
From the 2008 to 2012 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample database. Some numbers do not sum to heading totals because of missing values.