Risk factors for non-clinical prolonged lengths of stay after elective colorectal surgery

Identification of reasons and causative factors for prolonged lengths of stay (LOS) after elective colorectal surgery in patients with uneventful postoperative recovery. A prospectively maintained database of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients between 2019 and 2021 was reviewed. Peri-operative parameters were evaluated to identify risk factors for prolonged LOS. Uneventful postoperative recovery was defined as Clavien-Dindo (CD) Complication Grade 0. 181 patients had uneventful postoperative recovery. 30 (16.7%) patients had delayed discharge, the underlying reasons were ongoing physiotherapy assessment for discharge (N = 11), caregiver training for stoma/drain (N = 6), family/patient confidence and or pending community placement for continuation of postoperative rehabilitation (N = 14). Factors such as pre-operative status of activity of daily living (ADL) and community ambulance, stoma creation, and high dependency (HD) ward admission were independently associated with delayed discharge. Multiple factors accounted for delayed discharge in in patients after elective surgery for CRC. Pre-operative identification and intervention to some of these factors might pave the way to reduce the overall length of hospitalization.