Open approach, extended pelvic lymph node dissection, and seminal vesicle invasion are independent predictors of hospital readmission after prostate cancer surgery: a large retrospective study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to evaluate factors (clinical, pathological and perioperative) associated with the risk of hospital readmission after radical prostatectomy (RP) over the long term in a single tertiary referral center where both open RP (ORP) and robot assisted RP (RARP) are performed. METHODS: From January 2013 to December 2018 patients older than 18 years, who provided signed consent and underwent open or robot assisted radical prostatectomy were enrolled and retrospectively evaluated. Patients who underwent any previous prostate cancer (PCA) treatments were excluded. Specifically, skilled and experienced surgeons performed the two surgical approaches. Patients were followed for complications and hospital readmission (RAD) for a period of six months. The association of factors with the risk of readmission was assessed by Cox's multivariate proportional hazards. RESULTS: A total of 1062 patients underwent RP. RARP was performed in 891 cases and ORP in 171 subjects. Extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND) was performed in 651 patients. Hospital readmission occurred in 53 cases (5%). Based on the final multivariate model, independent factors associated with the risk of hospital readmission were seminal vesicle invasion (HR=2.093; 95% CI: 1.177-3.722), ORP (HR=4.393; 95% CI: 2.516-7.672) and ePLND (HR=4.418; 95% CI: 1.544-12.639). CONCLUSIONS: ORP, ePLND and seminal vesicle invasion are independent predictors of the risk of hospital readmission over the long term at a large single tertiary referral center. When surgery is chosen as a primary treatment of PCA, patients should be informed of the risk of hospital readmission and related risk factors. Assessing seminal vesicle invasion by preoperative clinical staging identifies locally advanced disease, which is associated with an increased risk of hospital readmission.