Abstract: Objective To investigate the incidence, causes and risk factors for 30-day unplanned readmission after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer in the elderly. Methods The clinical and surgical-related data of 626 elderly patients underwent radical gastric cancer surgery in our hospital from 2009 to 2019 were collected.All the patients were divided into the readmission group(19 cases) and the non- readmission group(607 cases) according to whether they were readmitted within 30 days after discharge, and the data of the two groups were compared to analyze the risk factors for 30-day unplanned readmission after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer in the elderly. Results There were 19 patients(3.04%) readmitted within 30 days after initial discharge, with a median time of 10 d. Reasons for readmission were abdominal distention(n=7), infection(n=6), anastomotic fistula(n=3), intestinal obstruction(n=2), and renal insufficiency(n=1). There were significant differences in preoperative albumin level, Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) score, operative time, and severity of postoperative complications between the readmission group and the non-readmission group(P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that KPS score(OR=0.971, 95%CI: 0.949-0.993, P=0.011) and postoperative complications(OR=4.895, 95%CI: 1.843-12.999, P=0.001) were independent risk factors for 30-day unplanned readmission. Conclusions The incidence of unplanned readmission is 3.04%, and the KPS scores and postoperative complications are the independent risk factors for 30-day unplanned readmission after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer in the elderly.

Key words: gastric cancer, aged, unplanned readmission, risk factors