Readmission rates for hidradenitis suppurativa, heart failure may be similar

Readmission rate for those with hidradenitis suppurativa may be comparable to the rate for those with heart failure at 180 days, according to a short communication analysis published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

“Hidradenitis suppurative (HS) is an underdiagnosed, disabling skin condition with unsatisfactory treatments options that lasts about 20 years and is characterized by frequent acute exacerbations,” Ehizogie Edigin, MD, of the department of internal medicine at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, and colleagues wrote.

The researchers evaluated the 2017 Nationwide Readmissions Database , which included 2,204, 1,719 and 1,053 hospitalizations for HS who were discharged alive for 30-, 90- and 180-day readmission analyses. Within 30 days, 392 (17.8%) were readmitted, while 582 (33.9%) and 512 (48.6%) were readmitted within 90 days and 180 days, respectively.

“We found that 6-month HS readmission rates were comparable to, and in 2017 exceeded, [heart failure], the most common cause of readmissions for Medicare patients,” the authors wrote. “HS has no reliable treatment, and patients find it difficult to get effective care.”

This study’s limitations included a possibly lower readmission rate for heart failure due to its high mortality, as well as a possibility of undercounted HS readmissions if they are coded for abscesses and infections rather than HS.