This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Nearly half of rehospitalizations after severe sepsis preventable
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Among patients discharged after hospitalization for severe sepsis, readmission was common within 90 days for conditions that could have been prevented or treated early, according to researchers from the University of Michigan.
“The high prevalence and concentration of specific diagnoses during the early postdischarge period suggest that further study is warranted of the feasibility and potential benefit of postdischarge interventions tailored to patients’ personalized risk for a limited number of common conditions,” the researchers wrote in a research letter published in JAMA.
Hallie C. Prescott, MD, MSc, and colleagues evaluated the 90-day readmission rates in a cohort of 2,617 patients who were discharged after severe sepsis. The patients were matched to hospitalizations for other acute medical conditions. The researchers determined the most common diagnoses at readmission and measured ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) for which outpatient care may have prevented hospitalization.
ACSCs among sepsis survivors accounted for 41.6% of all readmissions compared with ACSCs among the matched patients, which accounted for 37.1% of all readmissions (P = .009). Among patients with severe sepsis, 21.6% were readmitted for ACSCs compared with 19.1% of the matched patients (P = .02). Among the severe sepsis survivors, 11.9% were readmitted for infections (sepsis, pneumonia, urinary tract infection or skin or soft tissue infection) vs. 8% of the matched patients (P < .001).
“A limitation of the present study is that we inferred the potential preventability of rehospitalizations by measuring readmissions for ACSCs,” the researchers wrote. “Whether these diagnoses represent preventable admissions, especially after sepsis, is not clear.” – by Emily Shafer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts