Researchers used the National Inpatient Sample database to examine patients that underwent laparoscopic or open fundoplication to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease between 2000 and 2013.
The researchers used patient demographics, comorbidities and hospital characteristics to assess the laparoscopic approach’s effects on clinical outcomes.
Researchers studied 75,544 patients. Of that, 44,089 underwent LARS while 31,455 had OARS performed.
Here’s what they found.
1. The number of LARS procedures increased greatly from 24.8 LARS per 100 procedures in 2000 to 84.3 LARS per 100 procedures in 2013.
2. The LARS patients had better outcomes. They were less likely to “experience postoperative venous thromboembolism, wound complications, infection, esophageal perforation, bleeding, cardiac failure, renal failure, respiratory failure, shock and inpatient mortality”
3. On average, LARS reduced length of stays by 2.1 days and decreased hospital charges by $9,530.
Researchers concluded, “The use of the laparoscopic approach for the surgical treatment of GERD has increased significantly in the last decade in the United States. This approach is associated with lower morbidity and mortality, shorter hospital stay and lower costs for the healthcare system.”
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