The Post-Hospitalization Syndrome: Can Nursing Make the Difference?

Abstract

In 2013, Harlan Krumholz, a well-known professor of medicine at Yale University, wrote an article for the New England Journal of Medicine about a common phenomenon. 1 Krumholz H Post-hospital syndrome: an acquired, transient condition of generalized risk. N Engl J Med. 2013; 368: 100-102 Crossref PubMed Scopus (798) Google Scholar “Patients come to the hospital to be treated for an illness, but they leave with another serious ailment that interferes with their recovery and can lead to long-term disability: the post-hospitalization syndrome. During hospitalization, patients are deprived of sleep, adequate nutrition, and exercise. In addition, patients often receive medications that alter their cognition. Hospitalization-associated disability impacts an estimated one-third of patients 70 years of age and older. Although readmission can occur for various reasons, this syndrome is certainly the cause of many patients returning to the hospital unnecessarily. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, readmissions cost $26 billion annually of which $17 billion are unnecessary.” 1 Krumholz H Post-hospital syndrome: an acquired, transient condition of generalized risk. N Engl J Med. 2013; 368: 100-102 Crossref PubMed Scopus (798) Google Scholar