Pediatric procedures in which most foreign bodies are left behind are gynecologic
TUESDAY, Nov. 16 (HealthDay News) -- The procedures during which foreign bodies are most likely to be left behind in pediatric patients tend to be gynecologic, and although these mishaps increase hospital stay and cost, they do not appear to increase mortality, according to research published in the November issue of the Archives of Surgery.
Melissa Camp, M.D., of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues analyzed data on 413 pediatric patients with foreign bodies retained after a procedure (PDI 3) who were matched with 1,227 controls. Cases and controls were stratified into procedure categories.
The researchers found significantly higher odds for PDI 3 in gynecology procedures (odds ratio, 4.13). Patients with PDI 3 were not more likely to die than controls but their hospital stays were eight days longer and their additional hospital costs totaled $35,681.
"One can speculate that patients who experienced a foreign body left during a procedure required an additional procedure that translated into a longer hospital stay at greater cost. Interestingly, however, there was no statistically significant difference in mortality between patients with PDI 3 and patients without PDI 3," the authors write.
Abstract
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