Postoperative complications, length of stay and discharge destination
| Variable | Unmatched | Matched | ||||
| General anesthesia (n=1 49 996) | Regional anesthesia (n=1014) | P value* | General anesthesia (n=3042) | Regional anesthesia (n=1014) | P value* | |
| Complications, n(%) | ||||||
| Any postoperative complication | 8602 (5.7) | 25 (2.5) | <0.0001 | 110 (3.6) | 25 (2.5) | 0.085 |
| Superficial wound infection | 1328 (0.9) | 8 (0.8) | 1.000 | 17 (0.6) | 8 (0.8) | 0.486 |
| Deep wound infection | 648 (0.4) | 2 (0.2) | 0.824 | 5 (0.2) | 2 (0.2) | 1.000 |
| Organ space infection | 474 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0.056 | 4 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0.578 |
| Wound dehiscence | 307 (0.2) | 2 (0.2) | 0.506 | 3 (0.1) | 2 (0.2) | 0.604 |
| Pneumonia | 526 (0.4) | 4 (0.4) | 0.803 | 5 (0.2) | 4 (0.4) | 0.240 |
| Unplanned intubation | 252 (0.2) | 2 (0.2) | 0.724 | 1 (0.0) | 2 (0.2) | 0.156 |
| Deep-vein thrombosis | 592 (0.4) | 0 (0.0) | 0.017 | 7 (0.2) | 0 (0.0) | 0.204 |
| Failure to wean from ventilator | 147 (0.1) | 1 (0.1) | 1.000 | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.1) | 0.250 |
| Pulmonary embolism | 430 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0.085 | 6 (0.2) | 0 (0.0) | 0.347 |
| Renal insufficiency | 104 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1.000 | 5 (0.2) | 0 (0.0) | 0.341 |
| Acute renal failure | 84 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1.000 | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | -- |
| Urinary tract infection | 1377 (0.9) | 6 (0.6) | 0.166 | 20 (0.7) | 6 (0.6) | 1.000 |
| Stroke | 146 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0.631 | 5 (0.2) | 0 (0.0) | 0.341 |
| Cardiac arrest | 111 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1.000 | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | -- |
| Myocardial infarction | 256 (0.2) | 1 (0.1) | 1.000 | 5 (0.2) | 1 (0.1) | 1.000 |
| Bleeding transfusion | 3286 (2.2) | 3 (0.3) | <0.0001 | 40 (1.3) | 3 (0.3) | 0.004 |
| Sepsis | 724 (0.5) | 2 (0.2) | 0.195 | 11 (0.4) | 2 (0.2) | 0.538 |
| Septic shock | 139 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0.633 | 2 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1.000 |
| Reoperation | 3682 (2.5) | 14 (1.4) | 0.034 | 51 (1.7) | 14 (1.4) | 0.567 |
| 30-day mortality | 206 (0.1) | 1 (0.1) | 1.000 | 2 (0.1) | 1 (0.1) | 1.000 |
| Readmission | 6034 (4.0) | 25 (2.5) | 0.002 | 74 (2.4) | 25 (2.5) | 1.000 |
| Length of hospital stay, mean (SD) | 1.9 (3.4) | 1.1 (3.8) | <0.0001 | 1.3 (3.0) | 1.1 (3.8) | <0.0001 |
| Length of hospital stay, median (range) | 1.0 (0.0–122.0) | 0 (0.0–92.0) | N/A | 1.0 (0.0–92.0) | 0 (0.0–92.0) | N/A |
| Discharge destination, n(%) | ||||||
| Home | 138 044 (92.0) | 966 (95.3) | 0.122 | 2902 (95.4) | 966 (95.3) | 0.863 |
| Non-home | 11 755 (7.8) | 46 (4.5) | <0.0001 | 139 (4.6) | 46 (4.5) | 1.000 |
| Rehab | 5672 (3.8) | 23 (2.3) | 0.002 | 69 (2.3) | 23 (2.3) | 1.000 |
| Skilled care | 5657 (3.8) | 21 (2.1) | 0.001 | 65 (2.1) | 21 (2.1) | 1.000 |
| Separate acute care | 341 (0.2) | 2 (0.2) | 1.000 | 4 (0.1) | 2 (0.2) | 0.644 |
| Unskilled facility, not home | 85 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1.000 | 1 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1.000 |
| Expired | 84 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1.000 | 1 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1.000 |
| Unknown | 113 (0.1) | 2 (0.2) | <0.0001 | 0 (0.0) | 2 (0.2) | 0.063 |
*Fisher’s exact test was used for dichotomous and categorical variables; Mann-Whitney (Wilcoxon rank-sum) test was used for continuous variables. Boldface type indicates significance at p<0.05.