A validated preoperative score for predicting 30-day readmission after 1–2 level elective posterior lumbar fusion

Purpose To develop a model to predict 30-day readmission rates in elective 1–2 level posterior lumbar spine fusion (PSF) patients. Methods In this retrospective case control study, patients were identified in the State Inpatient Database using ICD-9 codes. Data were queried for 30-day readmission, as well as demographic and surgical data. Patients were randomly assigned to either the derivation or the validation cohort. Stepwise multivariate analysis was conducted on the derivation cohort to predict 30-day readmission. Readmission after posterior spinal fusion (RAPSF) score was created by including variables with odds ratio (OR) > 1.1 and p