Distance of Residence From the Cancer Center Influences Perioperative Outcomes After Robotic-Assisted Pulmonary Lobectomy?

Introduction Increased distance of residence from the hospital has been previously associated with worse postoperative outcomes, especially increased hospital length of stay (LOS) after elective surgery in the USA as well as after pulmonary lobectomy in Japan. We sought to determine if the distance from our cancer center affects postoperative outcomes after robotic-assisted pulmonary lobectomy. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 449 patients who underwent robotic-assisted pulmonary lobectomy by one surgeon for known or suspected lung cancer. Two patients were excluded due to incomplete data. Each patient's residential ZIP code was used to determine the distance of their primary residence from our cancer center. Group 1 consisted of patients living less than 120 miles away while Group 2 consisted of patients living more than 120 miles away. Demographic factors, preoperative comorbidities, the incidence of postoperative complications, chest tube duration, and hospital LOS were compared by the Pearson chi-square or Kruskal-Wallis tests, and Kaplan-Meier survival was compared by Cox regression. Statistical significance was established as ≤0.05. Results Group 1 was found to have a higher mean body mass index (BMI) (28.3 kg/m) than Group 2 (27.0 kg/m; =.031). Group 1 also tended to have a higher rate of preoperative hypertension (HTN; 59%) than Group 2 (47%; =.018). No other preoperative comorbidities were significant. Median hospital LOS was found to differ between Group 1 (4 days) and Group 2 (5 days; =.048). Postoperative complication rates did not differ between Group 1 (35%) and Group 2 (40%; =.370). Median chest tube durations for Group 1 (4 days) vs. Group 2 (4 days) did not differ (=.093). Five-year overall survival (OS) did not differ between the two groups (=.550). Conclusions Longer distance from patient residence to our cancer center was associated with higher BMI, higher rates of preoperative HTN, and longer LOS. Postoperative complication rates, chest tube duration, and five-year OS were not significantly affected by distance. These results supported similar results in a Japanese study that indicated distance extends the LOS, regardless of the type of transportation used by patients. Further research analyzing the effects of socioeconomic status and insurance coverage on perioperative outcomes should be conducted to identify subpopulations in the USA that suffer disparities in access to and delivery of healthcare.