Hospital Readmission and Post-Acute Care Use After Intensive Care Unit Admissions: New ICU Quality Metrics?

Intensive Care Unit Readmissions in a Level I Trauma Center

INTRODUCTION

Intensive care unit (ICU) readmissions are associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates, longer hospitalization, and increased health-care expenditures. This study sought to present a large cohort of trauma patients readmitted to the ICU, characterizing risk factors and providing quality improvement strategies to limit ICU readmission.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted on adult trauma patients admitted to the ICU at a single level I trauma center from 2014 to 2021. Patients were split into readmission and no readmission groups. Patients experiencing readmission were compared to a similar group that was not readmitted using descriptive statistics and logistic regression.

RESULTS

In this study, 3632 patients were included and 278 (7.7%) were readmitted to the ICU. Significant differences were found in age, Elixhauser Comorbidity score, number of days on a ventilator, and number of patients requiring ventilator support. Furthermore, logistic regression showed that increasing age and the Elixhauser Comorbidity Score were associated with an increased likelihood of ICU readmission. Over the study period, the ICU readmission rate increased while the ICU length decreased.

CONCLUSIONS

Age, Elixhauser Comorbidity score, and ventilator use were all significant risk factors for ICU readmission. During our study period, a concerning trend of increasing ICU readmissions and decreased ICU length of stay was found. By identifying this trend, our institution was able to employ mitigation strategies that have successfully reversed the trend in ICU readmissions, decreasing the rate below the national average.

Easing Suffering for ICU Patients and Their Families: Evidence and Opportunities for Primary and Specialty Palliative Care in the ICU

Intensive care unit (ICU) admissions are often accompanied by many physical and existential pressure points that can be extraordinarily wearing on patients and their families and surrogate decision makers (SDMs). Multidisciplinary palliative support, including physicians, advanced practice nurses, nutritionists, chaplains and other team members, may alleviate many of these sources of potential suffering. However, the palliative needs of ICU patients undoubtedly exceed the bandwidth of current consultative specialty palliative medicine teams. Informed by standard-of-care palliative medicine domains, we review common ICU symptoms (pain, dyspnea and thirst) and their prevalence, sources and their treatment. We then identify palliative needs and impacts in the domains of communication, SDM support and transitions of care for patients and their families through their journey in the ICU, from discharge and recovery at home to chronic critical illness, post-ICU disability or death. Finally, we examine the evidence for strategies to incorporate specialty palliative medicine and palliative principles into ICU care for the improvement of patient- and family-centered care. While randomized controlled studies have failed to demonstrate measurable improvement in pre-determined outcomes for patient- and family-relevant outcomes, embracing the principles of palliative medicine and assuring their delivery in the ICU is likely to translate to overall improvement in humanistic, person-centered care that supports patients and their SDMs during and following critical illness.

Three-year mortality, readmission, and medical expenses in critical care survivors: A population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Due to the increasing number of critical care survivors, population-based studies on the long-term outcomes after discharge are necessary to inform local decision-making.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to investigate mortality and its risk factors, readmissions, and medical expenses of intensive care unit survivors for 3 years after hospital discharge.

METHODS

This retrospective study analysed data from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort in Korea. Of the 195,702 patients who survived and were discharged from hospital in 2012, 2693 intensive care unit patients were assigned to the case group for the study, and the remaining 193,009 were assigned to the comparison group. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality for 3 years after discharge. Secondary outcomes were all-cause hospital readmission and medical expenses in 3 years. We analysed risk factors for mortality using the Cox proportional hazard regression. The differences in hospital readmission and medical expenses between the case and comparison groups were analysed by multivariate logistic regression and independent t-tests.

RESULTS

The 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year cumulative mortality rates in the case group were 15.9%, 20.5%, and 24.4%, respectively, and older age, disability, medical admission, and longer hospital stay increased mortality. Almost 40% of intensive care unit survivors were readmitted to hospital within 6 months of discharge, and their odds of being readmitted were significantly higher than those of the comparison group. Medical expenses were also significantly higher in the case group, with the highest paid within 6 months.

CONCLUSIONS

Mortality, hospital readmission, and medical expenses for intensive care unit survivors were the worst within 6 months of discharge. In light of the long-term recovery trajectory of critical illness, it is necessary to investigate what factors may have contributed to the negative outcome during this period. Further research is needed to determine which services primarily contributed to the increase in medical expenses.

Effects of COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Intensive Care Unit Survivor Telemedicine Clinic on Patient Readmission, Pain Perception, and Self-Assessed Health Scores: Randomized, Prospective, Single-Center, Exploratory Study

BACKGROUND

Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) affects up to 50% of intensive care unit (ICU) survivors, leading to long-term neurocognitive, psychosocial, and physical impairments. Approximately 80% of COVID-19 pneumonia ICU patients are at elevated risk for developing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Survivors of COVID-19 ARDS are at high risk of unanticipated health care utilization postdischarge. This patient group commonly has increased readmission rates, long-term decreased mobility, and poorer outcomes. Most multidisciplinary post-ICU clinics for ICU survivors are in large urban academic medical centers providing in-person consultation. Data are lacking on the feasibility of providing telemedicine post-ICU care for COVID-19 ARDS survivors.

OBJECTIVE

We explored the feasibility of instituting a COVID-19 ARDS ICU survivor telemedicine clinic and examined its effect on health care utilization post-hospital discharge.

METHODS

This randomized, unblinded, single-center, parallel-group, exploratory study was conducted at a rural, academic medical center. Study group (SG) participants underwent a telemedicine visit within 14 days of discharge, during which a 6-minute walk test (6MWT), EuroQoL 5-Dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire, and vital signs logs were reviewed by an intensivist. Additional appointments were arranged as needed based on the outcome of this review and tests. The control group (CG) underwent a telemedicine visit within 6 weeks of discharge and completed the EQ-5D questionnaire; additional care was provided as needed based on findings in this telemedicine visit.

RESULTS

Both SG (n=20) and CG (n=20) participants had similar baseline characteristics and dropout rate (10%). Among SG participants, 72% (13/18) agreed to pulmonary clinic follow-up, compared with 50% (9/18) of CG participants (P=.31). Unanticipated visits to the emergency department occurred for 11% (2/18) of the SG compared with 6% (1/18) of the CG (>.99). The rate of pain or discomfort was 67% (12/18) in the SG compared with 61% (11/18) in the CG (P=.72). The anxiety or depression rate was 72% (13/18) in the SG versus 61% (11/18; P=.59) in the CG. Participants' mean self-assessed health rating scores were 73.9 (SD 16.1) in the SG compared with 70.6 (SD 20.9) in the CG (P=.59). Both primary care physicians (PCPs) and participants in the SG perceived the telemedicine clinic as a favorable model for postdischarge critical illness follow-up in an open-ended questionnaire regarding care.

CONCLUSIONS

This exploratory study found no statistically significant results in reducing health care utilization postdischarge and health-related quality of life. However, PCPs and patients perceived telemedicine as a feasible and favorable model for postdischarge care among COVID-19 ICU survivors to facilitate expedited subspecialty assessment, decrease unanticipated postdischarge health care utilization, and reduce PICS. Further investigation is warranted to determine the feasibility of incorporating telemedicine-based post-hospitalization follow-up for all medical ICU survivors that may show improvement in health care utilization in a larger population.

Patterns of Healthcare Resource Utilisation of Critical Care Survivors between 2006 and 2017 in Wales: A Population-Based Study

In this retrospective cohort study, we used the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank to characterise and identify predictors of the one-year post-discharge healthcare resource utilisation (HRU) of adults who were admitted to critical care units in Wales between 1 April 2006 and 31 December 2017. We modelled one-year post-critical-care HRU using negative binomial models and used linear models for the difference from one-year pre-critical-care HRU. We estimated the association between critical illness and post-hospitalisation HRU using multilevel negative binomial models among people hospitalised in 2015. We studied 55,151 patients. Post-critical-care HRU was 11-87% greater than pre-critical-care levels, whereas emergency department (ED) attendances decreased by 30%. Age ≥50 years was generally associated with greater post-critical-care HRU; those over 80 had three times longer hospital readmissions than those younger than 50 (incidence rate ratio (IRR): 2.96, 95% CI: 2.84, 3.09). However, ED attendances were higher in those younger than 50. High comorbidity was associated with 22-62% greater post-critical-care HRU than no or low comorbidity. The most socioeconomically deprived quintile was associated with 24% more ED attendances (IRR: 1.24 [1.16, 1.32]) and 13% longer hospital stays (IRR: 1.13 [1.09, 1.17]) than the least deprived quintile. Critical care survivors had greater 1-year post-discharge HRU than non-critical inpatients, including 68% longer hospital stays (IRR: 1.68 [1.63, 1.74]). Critical care survivors, particularly those with older ages, high comorbidity, and socioeconomic deprivation, used significantly more primary and secondary care resources after discharge compared with their baseline and non-critical inpatients. Interventions are needed to ensure that key subgroups are identified and adequately supported.

CD4+ cell count and outcomes among HIV-infected compared with uninfected medical ICU survivors in a national cohort

BACKGROUND

People with HIV (PWH) with access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) experience excess morbidity and mortality compared with uninfected patients, particularly those with persistent viremia and without CD4+ cell recovery. We compared outcomes for medical intensive care unit (MICU) survivors with unsuppressed (>500 copies/ml) and suppressed (≤500 copies/ml) HIV-1 RNA and HIV-uninfected survivors, adjusting for CD4+ cell count.

SETTING

We studied 4537 PWH [unsuppressed = 38%; suppressed = 62%; 72% Veterans Affairs-based (VA) and 10 531 (64% VA) uninfected Veterans who survived MICU admission after entering the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) between fiscal years 2001 and 2015.

METHODS

Primary outcomes were all-cause 30-day and 6-month readmission and mortality, adjusted for demographics, CD4+ cell category (≥350 (reference); 200-349; 50-199; <50), comorbidity and prior healthcare utilization using proportional hazards models. We also adjusted for severity of illness using discharge VACS Index (VI) 2.0 among VA-based survivors.

RESULTS

In adjusted models, CD4+ categories <350 cells/μl were associated with increased risk for both outcomes up to 6 months, and risk increased with lower CD4+ categories (e.g. 6-month mortality CD4+ 200-349 hazard ratio [HR] = 1.35 [1.12-1.63]; CD4+ <50 HR = 2.14 [1.72-2.66]); unsuppressed status was not associated with outcomes. After adjusting for VI in models stratified by HIV, VI quintiles were strongly associated with both outcomes at both time points.

CONCLUSION

PWH who survive MICU admissions are at increased risk for worse outcomes compared with uninfected, especially those without CD4+ cell recovery. Severity of illness at discharge is the strongest predictor for outcomes regardless of HIV status. Strategies including intensive case management for HIV-specific and general organ dysfunction may improve outcomes for MICU survivors.

Early (0-7 day) and late (8-30 day) readmission predictors in acute coronary syndrome, atrial fibrillation, and congestive heart failure patients

OBJECTIVES

Thirty-day readmission following hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome (ACS), atrial fibrillation (AF), or congestive heart failure (CHF) is common, and many occur within one week of discharge. Using a cohort of patients hospitalized for ACS, AF, or CHF, we sought to identify predictors of 30-day, early (0-7 day), and late (8-30 day) all-cause readmission.

METHODS

We identified 3531 hospitalizations for ACS, AF, or CHF at a large academic medical center between 2008 and 2018. Multivariable logistic regression models were created to identify predictors of 30-day, early, and late unplanned, all-cause readmission, adjusting for discharge diagnosis and other demographics and comorbidities.

RESULTS

Of 3531 patients hospitalized for ACS, AF, or CHF, 700 (19.8%) were readmitted within 30 days, and 205 (29.3%) readmissions were early. Of all 30-day readmissions, 34.8% of ACS, 16.8% of AF, and 26.0% of the CHF cohorts' readmissions occurred early. Higher hemoglobin was associated with lower 30-day readmission [adjusted (adj) OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.88-0.97] while patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission were more likely readmitted within 30 days (adj OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.03-1.67). Among patients with a 30-day readmission, females (adj OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.22, 2.47) and patients requiring ICU admission (adj OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.27, 3.26) were more likely readmitted early than late. Readmission predictors did not vary substantively by discharge diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

Patients admitted to the ICU were more likely readmitted in the early and 30-day periods. Other predictors varied between readmission groups. Since outpatient follow-up often occurs beyond 1 week of discharge, early readmission predictors can help healthcare providers identify patients who may benefit from particular post-discharge services.