Risk factors portending extended length of stay following suboccipital decompression for adult Chiari I malformation.

Abstract Objective For adult patients undergoing surgical decompression for Chiari malformation Type 1 (CM-1), the patient-level factors which influence extended length of stay are relatively unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of patient-baseline comorbidities, demographics and post-operative complications on extended LOS following intervention after adult CM-1 decompression surgery. Methods A retrospective cohort study using the National Inpatient Sample years 2010 – 2014 was performed. Adults (≥18 years) with a primary diagnosis of CM-1 undergoing surgical decompression were identified. Weighted patient demographics, comorbidities, complications, LOS, disposition and total cost were recorded. A multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the odds ratio for risk-adjusted LOS. Results A total of 29,961 patients were identified for which 6,802 (22.7%) patients had extended LOS. The Extended LOS cohort had a significantly greater overall complication rate (Normal LOS: 10.6% vs. Extended LOS: 29.1%, p 1 complication. Conclusions Our study demonstrates that extended length of stay after adult CM-I decompression surgery may be influenced by multiple patient-level factors.