The Relationship Between Index Hospitalizations, Sepsis, and Death or Transition to Hospice Care During 30-Day Hospital Readmissions

BACKGROUND: Hospital readmissions are common, expensive, and increasingly used as a metric for assessing quality of care. The relationship between index hospitalizations and specific outcomes among those readmitted remains largely unknown. OBJECTIVES: Identify risk factors present during the index hospitalization associated with death or transition to hospice care during 30-day readmissions and examine the contribution of infection in readmissions resulting in death. RESEARCH DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SUBJECTS: A total of 17,716 30-day readmissions in an academic health system. MEASURES: We used mixed-effects multivariable logistic regression models to identify risk factors associated with the primary outcome, in-hospital death, or transition to hospice during 30-day readmissions. RESULTS: Of 17,716 30-day readmissions, 1144 readmissions resulted in death or transition to hospice care (6.5%). Risk factors identified included: age, burden, and type of comorbid conditions, recent hospitalizations, nonelective index admission type, outside hospital transfer, low discharge hemoglobin, low discharge sodium, high discharge red blood cell distribution width, and disposition to a setting other than home. Sepsis (OR=1.33; 95% CI, 1.02-1.72; P=0.03) and shock (OR=1.78; 95% CI, 1.22-2.58; P=0.002) during the index admission were associated with the primary outcome, and in-hospital mortality specifically. In patients who died, infection was the primary cause for readmission in 51.6% of readmissions after sepsis and 28.6% of readmissions after a nonsepsis hospitalization (P=0.009). CONCLUSIONS: We identified factors, including sepsis and shock during the index hospitalization, associated with death or transition to hospice care during readmission. Infection was frequently implicated as the cause of a readmission that ended in death

Intensive care medicine · Logistic regression · Retrospective cohort study · Sepsis · Septic shock · Emergency Medicine · Heart Failure Treatment and Management · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues · Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment

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