Characteristics and temporal pattern of the readmissions of patients with multiple hospital admissions in the medical departments of a general hospital

Evaluation of a patient-centered integrated care program for individuals with frequent hospital readmissions and multimorbidity

Managing patients with multimorbidity and frequent hospital readmissions is a challenge. Integrated care programs that consider their needs and allow for personalized care are necessary for their early identification and management. This work aims to describe these patients' clinical characteristics and evaluate a program designed to reducing readmissions. This prospective study analyzed all patients with ≥ 3 admissions to a medical department in the previous year who were included in the Internal Medicine Department chronic care program at the Lucus Augusti University Hospital (Lugo, Spain) between April 1, 2019 and April 30, 2021. A multidimensional assessment, personalized care plan, and proactive follow-up with a case manager nurse were provided via an advanced hospital system. Clinical and demographic variables and data on healthcare system use were analyzed at 6 and 12 months before and after inclusion. Descriptive and survival analyses were performed. One hundred sixty-one patients were included. Program participants were elderly (mean 81.4 (SD 11) years), had multimorbidity (10.2 (3) chronic diseases) and polypharmacy (10.6 (3.5) drugs), frequently used the healthcare system, and were highly complex. Most were included for heart failure. The program led to significant reductions in admissions and emergency department visits (p = .0001). A total of 44.7% patients died within 1 year. The PROFUND Index showed good predictive ability (p = .013), with high values associated with mortality (RR 1.15, p = .001). Patients with frequent hospital readmissions are highly complex and need special care. A personalized integrated care program reduced admissions and allowed for individualized decision-making.

The impact of diabetes on multiple avoidable admissions: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Multiple admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) are responsible for an important proportion of health care expenditures. Diabetes is one of the conditions consensually classified as an ACSC being considered a major public health concern. The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of diabetes on the occurrence of multiple admissions for ACSC.

METHODS

We analysed inpatient data of all public Portuguese NHS hospitals from 2013 to 2015 on multiple admissions for ACSC among adults aged 18 or older. Multiple ACSC users were identified if they had two or more admissions for any ACSC during the period of analysis. Two logistic regression models were computed. A baseline model where a logistic regression was performed to assess the association between multiple admissions and the presence of diabetes, adjusting for age and sex. A full model to test if diabetes had no constant association with multiple admissions by any ACSC across age groups.

RESULTS

Among 301,334 ACSC admissions, 144,209 (47.9%) were classified as multiple admissions and from those, 59,436 had diabetes diagnosis, which corresponded to 23,692 patients. Patients with diabetes were 1.49 times (p < 0,001) more likely to be admitted multiple times for any ACSC than patients without diabetes. Younger adults with diabetes (18-39 years old) were more likely to become multiple users.

CONCLUSION

Diabetes increases the risk of multiple admissions for ACSC, especially in younger adults. Diabetes presence is associated with a higher resource utilization, which highlights the need for the implementation of adequate management of chronic diseases policies.

Effectiveness of a nursing training intervention in complex chronic patients

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether a training intervention performed by nursing professionals in complex chronic patients, during hospitalisation in an internal medicine service, can modify the pattern of readmissions or reduce their number.

METHOD

Pragmatic clinical trial of a nursing training intervention vs. habitual performance. For the intervention group, a training plan in care was designed, personalised for each patient, according to the needs detected in a first interview. The intervention was extended during the time of admission and a contact phone was available after discharge to resolve doubts.

RESULTS

Among the 498 patients interviewed initially, 131 were excluded because they were not a complex chronic patient or because they found no deficiencies in their training or care. One patient (.20%) did not agree to participate and there were no dropouts. Of the 366 participants, 190 were included in the intervention group and 176 in the control group. In the first 8 days after discharge, 2 (1.05%) patients from the intervention group and 8 (4.54%) from the control group were re-admitted (p=.05). In the first 30 days after discharge, 26 patients (13.70%) and 33 patients (18.75%) respectively (p=.10) were readmitted.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows how a nursing training intervention during hospitalisation in Internal Medicine in complex chronic patients reduces short-term readmissions.

One-year rehospitalisations for congestive heart failure in Portuguese NHS hospitals: a multilevel approach on patterns of use and contributing factors

OBJECTIVES

Identification of rehospitalisations for heart failure and contributing factors flags health policy intervention opportunities designed to deliver care at a most effective and efficient level. Recognising that heart failure is a condition for which timely and appropriate outpatient care can potentially prevent the use of inpatient services, we aimed to determine to what extent comorbidities and material deprivation were predictive of 1 year heart failure specific rehospitalisation.

SETTING

All Portuguese mainland National Health Service (NHS) hospitals.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 68 565 hospitalisations for heart failure principal cause of admission, from 2011 to 2015, associated to 45 882 distinct patients aged 18 years old or over.

OUTCOME MEASURES

We defined 1 year specific heart failure rehospitalisation and time to rehospitalisation as outcome measures.

RESULTS

Heart failure principal diagnosis admissions accounted for 1.6% of total hospital NHS budget, and over 40% of this burden is associated to patients rehospitalised at least once in the 365-day follow-up period. 22.1% of the patients hospitalised for a principal diagnosis of heart failure were rehospitalised for the same cause at least once within 365 days after previous discharge. Nearly 55% of rehospitalised patients were readmitted within 3 months. Results suggest a mediation effect between material deprivation and the chance of 1 year rehospitalisation through the effect that material deprivation has on the prevalence of comorbidities. Heart failure combined with chronic kidney disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease increases by 2.8 and 2.2 times, respectively, the chance of the patient becoming a frequent user of inpatient services for heart failure principal cause of admission.

CONCLUSIONS

One-fifth of patients admitted for heart failure are rehospitalised due to heart failure exacerbation. While the role of material deprivation remained unclear, comorbidities considered increased the chance of 1 year heart failure specific rehospitalisation, in particular, chronic kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The validity of dementia diagnoses in routinely collected electronic health records in the United Kingdom: A systematic review

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study is to assess the validity of codes or algorithms used to identify dementia in UK electronic health record (EHR) primary care and hospitalisation databases.

METHODS

Relevant studies were identified by searching the MEDLINE/EMBASE databases from inception to June 2018, hand-searching reference lists, and consulting experts. The search strategy included synonyms for "Dementia", "Europe", and "EHR". Studies were included if they validated dementia diagnoses in UK primary care or hospitalisation databases, irrespective of validation method used. The Quality Assessment for Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool was used to assess risk of bias.

RESULTS

From 1469 unique records, 14 relevant studies were included. Thirteen validated individual diagnoses against a reference standard, reporting high estimates of validity. Most reported only the positive predictive value (PPV), with estimates ranging between 0.09 and 1.0 and 0.62 and 0.85 in primary care and hospitalisation databases, respectively. One study performed a rate comparison, indicating good generalisability of dementia diagnoses in The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database to the UK population. Studies were of low methodological quality. As studies were not comparable, no summary validity estimates were produced.

CONCLUSION

While heterogenous across studies, reported validity estimates were generally high. However, the credibility of these estimates is limited by the methodological quality of studies, primarily resulting from insufficient blinding of researchers interpreting the reference test. Inadequate reporting, particularly of the specific codes validated, hindered comparison of estimates across studies. Future validation studies should make use of more robust reference tests, follow established reporting guidelines, and calculate all measures of validity.

A mixed methods thematic review: Health-related decision-making by the older person

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To undertake a mixed methods thematic literature review that explored how elderly adults approached decision-making in regard to their health care following discharge.

BACKGROUND

A critical time for appropriate health decisions occurs during hospital discharge planning with nursing staff. However, little is known how the 89% of elderly living at home make decisions regarding their health care. Research into older adults' management of chronic conditions emerges as an important step to potentially encourage symptom monitoring, prevent missed care and detect deterioration. All should reduce the risk of hospital re-admission.

DESIGN

A mixed methods thematic literature review was undertaken. The structure followed the PRISMA reporting guidelines for systematic reviews recommended by the EQUATOR network.

METHODS

PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Scopus online databases were searched using keywords, inclusion and exclusion criteria. References drawn from relevant publications, identified by experts and published between 1995 and 2017 were also considered. Twenty-five qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies and reviews were critically appraised (CASP 2013) before inclusion in the review. Analysis of each study's findings was undertaken using Braun and Clarke's (2006) steps to identify major themes and sub-themes.

RESULTS

Four main themes associated with health-related decision-making in the elderly were identified: "the importance of maintaining independence," "decision making style," "management of conditions at home" and "discharge planning."

CONCLUSION

Health care decision preferences in the elderly emerged as highly complex and influenced by multiple factors. Development of a tool to assess these components has been recommended.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Nurses play a vital role in exploring and understanding the influence that maintaining independence has with each patient. This understanding provides an initial step toward development of a tool to assist collaboration between patients and healthcare professionals involved in their care.

Early in-hospital variation of red blood cell distribution width predicts mortality in patients with acute heart failure

BACKGROUND

Some studies showed that the value of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) at admission may predict clinical outcomes in patients with acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF). Therefore, this study was planned to investigate whether in-hospital variations of RDW may also predict mortality in this condition.

METHODS

The final study population consisted of 588 patients admitted to the local Emergency Department (ED), who were hospitalized for ADHF. The RDW was measured at ED admission and after 48h and 96h of hospital stay. In-hospital variations from admission value, expressed as absolute variation (DeltaRDW) or percent variation (Delta%RDW), were then correlated with 30- and 60-day mortality.

RESULTS

Overall, 87 (14.8%) and 118 (20.1%) patients with ADHF died at 30 or 60days of follow-up. Delta%RDW after 96h of hospital stay independently predicted 30-day mortality (odds ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.07-1.18). An increase >1% of Delta%RDW after 96h of hospital stay independently predicted both 30-day (odds ratio, 2.86; 95% CI, 1.67-4.97) and 60-day (odds ratio, 3.06; 95% CI, 1.89-4.96) mortality. A similar trend was observed for DeltaRDW, since an increase after 96h of hospital stay was associated with a nearly 4-fold higher 30-day mortality (odds ratio, 3.65; 95% CI, 2.02-6.15).

CONCLUSION

Despite it remains unclear whether RDW is a real risk factor or an epiphenomenon in ADHF, these results suggest that more aggressive management may be advisable in ADHF patients with increasing anisocytosis during the first days of hospitalization.