Outpatient versus inpatient parotidectomy: Comparison of postoperative complication rates

Objectives Parotidectomies have become a common outpatient procedure, but their impact on postoperative complications as compared to inpatient procedures has not been evaluated in a multi-institutional study. Study Design The aim of this retrospective analysis was to evaluate the differences in outcomes using a standardized cohort of patients undergoing outpatient or inpatient parotidectomies. Methods The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was queried for parotidectomies between 2005 and 2014. Univariate analyses were conducted to compare the outpatient and inpatient cohorts. A propensity-matching algorithm was used to ensure equal distribution of demographics and preoperative comorbidities. Results Among the 4,368 parotidectomies examined, 2,915 (66.7%) were outpatient and 1,453 (33.3%) were inpatient. In the unmatched analysis, the inpatient group had higher rates of smokers (P = < 0.001), hypertension (P = 0.003), and disseminated cancer (P = 0.014). The outpatient group had higher rates of patients under age 40 years (P = 0.015), females (P = 0.016), and American Society of Anesthesiology class 1 and 2 (P = < 0.001). The total work relative value units (RVUs) were 17.01 +/- 3.44 for the inpatient cohort and 16.19 +/- 3.70 for the outpatient cohort (P = < 0.001). Following propensity matching, 1,352 cases were selected for each cohort, with no significant differences in comorbidities. Total work RVU after matching was 16.90 +/- 3.47 for the inpatient group and 16.75 +/- 3.44 for the outpatient group (P = .235). The matched inpatient cohort had increased rates of surgical complications (3.1% vs. 1.8%, P = 0.033), pneumonia (0.5% vs. 0.0%, P = 0.016), and overall complications (4.5% vs. 2.6%, P = 0.009). Conclusion Outpatient parotidectomies are associated with similar as well as decreased complication rates as compared to inpatient parotid