Hospital readmission after noncardiac surgery: the role of major complications.

This retrospective cohort study applied the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program's risk calculator for post-operative complications to ascertain whether it would predict 30-day readmissions. As expected, patients who were predicted to have a high rate of complications were also more likely to be readmitted. The authors suggest that identifying patients at risk for both readmissions and complications prospectively may facilitate targeted intervention.