Determinants of survival and hospitalization in older, heart failure patients receiving home healthcare

Mortality rate and its determinants among people with dementia receiving home healthcare: a nationwide cohort study

People with dementia (PwD) who receive home healthcare (HHC) may have distressing symptoms, complex care needs and high mortality rates. However, there are few studies investigating the determinants of mortality in HHC recipients. To identify end-of-life care needs and tailor individualized care goals, we aim to explore the mortality rate and its determinants among PwD receiving HHC. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a Taiwanese national population database. People with new dementia diagnosis in 2007-2016 who received HHC were included. We calculated the accumulative mortality rate and applied Poisson regression model to estimate the risk of mortality for each variable (adjusted risk ratios, aRR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). We included 95,831 PwD and 57,036 (59.5%) of them died during the follow-up period (30.5% died in the first-year). Among comorbidities, cirrhosis was associated with the highest mortality risks (aRR 1.65, 95% CI 1.49-1.83). Among HHC-related factors, higher visit frequency of HHC (> 2 versus ≦1 times/month, aRR 3.52, 95% CI 3.39-3.66) and higher level of resource utilization group (RUG, RUG 4 versus 1, aRR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.25-1.51) were risk factor of mortality risk. Meanwhile, HHC provided by physician and nurse was related to reduced mortality risk (aRR 0.79, 95% CI 0.77-0.81) compared to those provided by nurse only. Anticipatory care planning and timely end-of life care should be integrated in light of the high mortality rate among PwD receiving HHC. Determinants associated with increased mortality risk facilitate the identification of high risk group and tailoring the appropriate care goals. Trial registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier is NCT04250103 which has been registered on 31st January 2020.

Survival and characteristics of older adults receiving home-based medical care: A nationwide analysis in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

In Taiwan, the National Health Insurance Administration initiated the integrated home-based medical care (iHBMC) program in 2016 to improve accessibility to health care for homebound patients. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of older people receiving iHBMC services in Taiwan as well as the relationship between patient characteristics and survival.

METHODS

All older adults registered in the iHBMC application dataset were enrolled between March 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018. Data on social determinants of health (income level, residential area), functional status, consciousness status, nasogastric tube or urinary catheter placement, and major diseases were retrieved from the database. Data on the frequency of multidisciplinary team members' visits were collected. The survival rate was investigated using the Kaplan-Meier method. A Cox proportional hazards univariate regression was conducted to analyze factors influencing survival rates.

RESULTS

A total of 41,079 patients aged ≥65 years were enrolled in iHBMC services. The results showed that the one-year survival rates were 72.1%, 67.4%, and 14.7% in the home-based primary care (HBPC), home-based primary care plus (HBPC-Plus), and home-based palliative care (HBPalC), respectively. Nearly two-thirds of the HBPC-Plus patients underwent nasogastric tube placement. The Cox proportional hazards univariate regression analysis showed that a low urbanization level, a low income level, a low functional status, and an impaired consciousness status were significant predictors of poor survival after adjustment for confounding variables.

CONCLUSIONS

Older adults receiving iHBMC services had a high mortality rate. The high rate of feeding tube use indicated that education and support for both clinical practitioners and family caregivers regarding careful hand feeding are warranted. There was a relationship between low income levels and poor survival in rural areas. Further research on whether social care could impact prognosis should be considered.

Feasibility of Extracting Meaningful Patient Centered Outcomes From the Electronic Health Record Following Critical Illness in the Elderly

Background

Meaningful patient centered outcomes of critical illness such as functional status, cognition and mental health are studied using validated measurement tools that may often be impractical outside the research setting. The Electronic health record (EHR) contains a plethora of information pertaining to these domains. We sought to determine how feasible and reliable it is to assess meaningful patient centered outcomes from the EHR.

Methods

Two independent investigators reviewed EHR of a random sample of ICU patients looking at documented assessments of trajectory of functional status, cognition, and mental health. Cohen's kappa was used to measure agreement between 2 reviewers. Post ICU health in these domains 12 month after admission was compared to pre- ICU health in the 12 months prior to assess qualitatively whether a patient's condition was “better,” “unchanged” or “worse.” Days alive and out of hospital/health care facility was a secondary outcome.

Results

Thirty six of the 41 randomly selected patients (88%) survived critical illness. EHR contained sufficient information to determine the difference in health status before and after critical illness in most survivors (86%). Decline in functional status (36%), cognition (11%), and mental health (11%) following ICU admission was observed compared to premorbid baseline. Agreement between reviewers was excellent (kappa ranging from 0.966 to 1). Eighteen patients (44%) remained home after discharge from hospital and rehabilitation during the 12- month follow up.

Conclusion

We demonstrated the feasibility and reliability of assessing the trajectory of changes in functional status, cognition, and selected mental health outcomes from EHR of critically ill patients. If validated in a larger, representative sample, these outcomes could be used alongside survival in quality improvement studies and pragmatic clinical trials.

Assessments of heart failure and frailty-related health instability provide complementary and useful information for home care planning and prognosis

BACKGROUND

Health instability, measured with the Changes in Health and End-stage disease Signs and Symptoms (CHESS) scale, predicts hospitalizations and mortality in home care clients. Heart failure (HF) is also common among home care clients. We seek to understand how HF contributes to the odds of death, hospitalization or worsening health among new home care clients depending on admission health instability.

METHODS

We undertook a retrospective cohort study of home care clients aged 65 years and older between January 1st 2010 and March 31st 2015 from Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and the Yukon, Canada. We used multistate Markov models to derive adjusted odds ratios (OR) for transitions to different health instability states, hospitalization, and death. We examined the role of HF and CHESS at 6 months after home care admission.

RESULTS

The sample included 286,232 clients. Those with HF had greater odds of worsening health instability than those without HF. At low-moderate admission health instability (CHESS 0-2), clients with HF had greater odds of hospitalization and death than those without HF. Clients with HF and high health instability (CHESS≥3) had slightly greater odds of hospitalization (OR 1.08, 95% Confidence Interval 1.02-1.13) but similar odds of death (OR 1.024, 95% CI 0.937-1.120) compared to clients without HF.

CONCLUSIONS

Among new home care clients, a HF diagnosis predicts death, hospitalization and worsening health, predominantly among those with low-moderate admission health instability. A HF diagnosis and admission CHESS score provide complementary information to support care planning in this population.

Prognostic Impact of the Preservation of Activities of Daily Living on Post-Discharge Outcomes in Patients With Acute Heart Failure

BACKGROUND

Hospitalization for heart failure (HF) carries a risk of impairment in physical activity. We assessed the association between changes in Barthel index (BI) during hospitalization and prognosis in patients with acute HF.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We evaluated the BI in 256 patients with acute HF at the time of hospital admission (pre-BI) and at discharge (post-BI). All patients were followed for 1 year after discharge. BI significantly decreased during hospitalization in enrolled patients. Patients with a post-BI <60 had longer hospital stays and higher rates of non-home discharge, and had a lower 1-year survival rate than those with a post-BI ≥60. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that post-BI, not pre-BI or changes in BI, significantly correlated with all-cause death and the composite of all-cause death or rehospitalization for HF for 1 year after discharge. Patients with decreasing BI during hospitalization had significantly lower all-cause death- or HF readmission-free survival following acute HF than those having a pre-BI ≥60 and changes in BI ≥0.

CONCLUSIONS

Results demonstrate that low BI at discharge and decreased BI during hospitalization predicted poor outcomes in Japanese patients with acute HF. A comprehensive approach, beginning in the acute phase, aiming to maintain patients' ability to perform activities of daily living could provide better management of HF.

Impact of Home Health Care on Health Care Resource Utilization Following Hospital Discharge: A Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

As healthcare costs rise, home health care represents an opportunity to reduce preventable adverse events and costs following hospital discharge. No studies have investigated the utility of home health care within the context of a large and diverse patient population.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted between 1/1/2013 and 6/30/2015 at a single tertiary care institution to assess healthcare utilization after discharge with home health care. Control patients discharged with "self-care" were matched by propensity score to home health care patients. The primary outcome was total healthcare costs in the 365-day post-discharge period. Secondary outcomes included follow-up readmission and death. Multivariable linear and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to adjust for covariates.

RESULTS

Among 64,541 total patients, 11,266 controls were matched to 6,363 home health care patients across 11 disease-based Institutes. During the 365-day post-discharge period, home health care was associated with a mean unadjusted savings of $15,233 per patient, or $6,433 after adjusting for covariates (p < 0.0001). Home health care independently decreased the hazard of follow-up readmission (HR 0.82, p < 0.0001) and death (HR 0.80, p < 0.0001). Subgroup analyses revealed that home health care most benefited patients discharged from the Digestive Disease (death HR 0.72, p < 0.01), Heart & Vascular (adjusted savings of $11,453, p < 0.0001), Medicine (readmission HR 0.71, p < 0.0001), and Neurological (readmission HR 0.67, p < 0.0001) Institutes.

CONCLUSIONS

Discharge with home health care was associated with significant reduction in healthcare utilization and decreased hazard of readmission and death. These data inform development of value-based care plans.