Study: Increased risk of mortality seen in glioblastoma patients readmitted to a hospital within 30 days

Patients who were readmitted to hospitals after a recent diagnosis of glioblastoma within 30 days were at a 30% greater risk for mortality, according to results of this study.

“After adjusting for multiple confounders, we have demonstrated that 30-day readmission is significantly associated with shorter overall survival among [glioblastoma multiforme] GBM patients,” Miriam Nũno, PhD, and colleagues from the University and California wrote in the study. “Neurological, infection, and thromboembolic complications were the leading reasons for readmission.”

Nũno and colleagues analyzed 437 of 2,774 patients across 442 hospitals who were diagnosed with GBM between 1991 and 2007, according to the abstract. Patient information was collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Medicare database to determine the reasons for readmission.

They found that neurological symptoms were the cause of readmission in 30.2% of cases, thromboembolic complications in 19.7% of cases and infection in 17.6% of cases, according to the abstract. Additionally, 63% of patients were readmitted to the same hospital where they were originally diagnosed; however, 37% of patients were admitted to different hospitals. — by Jeff Craven

Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.

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Source:

Nũno M. Neurosurgery. 2014;doi:10.1227/NEU.0000000000000243.