HE patients’ rate of hospital readmissions within 1 year almost 40%

WASHINGTON — Just less than 40% of patients discharged from a hospital with hepatic encephalopathy were readmitted within 1 year, a speaker said here.

“HE [hepatic encephalopathy] is very costly in terms of readmissions,” Camelia M. Graham, MSPH, of Premier Healthcare Alliance of Charlotte, N.C., said at The Liver Meeting. She noted that this evaluation was completed in hopes of reducing the “economic burden associated with readmission.”

Researchers analyzed 8,766 adult inpatients in a Premier Healthcare database discharged from June 2010 through December 2011 with a primary diagnosis of HE. Mean length of hospital stay was 5.8 days, including a mean of 0.9 days in intensive care.

The mean cost per hospital stay was $10,629, which included a mean of $5,518 for room and board, $1,470 for intensive care and $1,233 for pharmacy costs.

At 30 days after discharge, 17.6% of patients were readmitted for HE-related causes out of 27.4% readmitted for any cause.

At 180 days, 33.7% of patients were readmitted for HE-related causes out of 49.7% readmitted for any cause. And at 1 year, 39.5% of patients were readmitted for HE-related causes out of 56.4% readmitted for any cause.

“Evaluation of optimal treatment strategies for patients with HE has the potential to reduce the significant economic burden of this disease,” the researchers concluded.

A multivariate analysis of safety and efficacy of potential therapies was not yet available for presentation.

Disclosure: Graham reports no relevant financial disclosures.

For more information:

Graham C. #37: Hospital Costs, Length of Stay, and Readmission Rates in a Cohort of Cirrhotic Patients Discharged with Hepatic Encephalopathy. Presented at: The Liver Meeting 2013; Nov. 1-5, Washington.