Impact of vision impairment on discharge destination for patients with hip fracture

Abstract

IntroductionVision impairment (VI) due to low vision or blindness is a major sensory health problem affecting quality of life and contributing to increased risk of falls and hip fractures (HF). Up to 60% of patients with hip fracture have VI, and VI increases further susceptibility to falls due to mobility challenges after HF. We sought to determine if VI affects discharge destination for patients with HF. Materials and methodsCross-sectional analysis of 2015 Inpatient Medicare claims was performed and VI, blindness/low vision), HF and HF surgery were identified using ICD-9, and ICD-10 codes. Patients who sustained a HF with a diagnosis of VI were categorized as HF + VI. The outcome measure was discharge destination of home, skilled nursing facility (SNF), long-term care facility (LTCF) or other. ResultsDuring the one-year ascertainment of inpatient claims, there were 10,336 total HF patients, 66.82% female, 91.21% non-Hispanic white with mean (standard deviation) age 82.3 (8.2) years. There was an age-related increase in diagnosis of VI with 1.49% (29/1941) of patients aged 65–74, 1.76% (63/3574) of patients aged 75–84, and 2.07% (100/4821) of patients aged 85 and older. The prevalence of VI increased with age, representing 1.5% (29/1941) of adults aged 65–74, 1.8% (63/3574) of adults aged 75–84, and 2.1% (100/4821) of adults aged 85 and older. The age-related increase in VI was not significant (P = 0.235). Patients with HF were most commonly discharged to a SNF (64.46%), followed by ‘Other’ (25.70%), home (7.15%), and LTCF (2.67%). VI was not associated with discharge destination. Male gender, Black race, systemic complications, and late postoperative discharge significantly predicted discharge to LTCF with odds ratios (95%CI) 1.42 (1.07–1.89), 1.90 (1.13–3.18), 2.27 (1.66–3.10), and 1.73 (1.25–2.39) respectively. ConclusionsThe co-morbid presence of VI was not associated with altered discharge destinations to home, skilled nursing facility, LTCF or other setting.