Abstract
BackgroundHospitalisation for heart failure is common and post-discharge outcomes, including readmission and mortality, are often poor and are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine patient- and hospital-level variation in the risk of 30-day unplanned readmission and mortality following discharge from hospital with a diagnosis of heart failure.MethodsProspective cohort study using data from the Sax Institute’s 45 and Up Study, linking baseline survey (Jan 2006-April 2009) to hospital and mortality data (to Dec 2011). Primary outcomes in those admitted to hospital with heart failure included unplanned readmission, mortality and combined unplanned readmission/mortality, within 30 days of discharge. Multilevel models quantified the variation in outcomes between hospitals and examined associations with patient- and hospital-level characteristics.ResultsThere were 5074 participants with a heart failure admission discharged from 251 hospitals; 1052 (21%) had unplanned readmissions, 186 (3.7%) died, and 1146 (23%) had either/both outcomes within 30 days of discharge. Crude outcomes varied across hospitals, but between-hospital variation explained little of the total variation in outcomes (intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) after inclusion of patient factors: 30-day unplanned readmission ICC = 0.0125 (p = 0.24); death ICC = 0.0000 (p > 0.99); unplanned readmission/death ICC = 0.0266 (p = 0.07)). Patient characteristics associated with a higher risk of unplanned readmission included: being male (male vs female, adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.00–1.37); prior hospitalisation for cardiovascular disease (aOR = 1.44, 1.08–1.91) and for anemia (aOR = 1.36, 1.14–1.63); comorbidities at admission (severe vs none: aOR = 1.26, 1.03–1.54); lower body-mass-index (obese vs normal weight: aOR = 0.77, 0.63–0.94); and lower social interaction scores. Similarly, risk of 30-day mortality was associated with patient- rather than hospital-level factors, in particular age (≥85y vs 45–< 75y: aOR = 3.23, 1.93–5.41) and comorbidity (severe vs none: aOR = 2.68, 1.82–3.94).ConclusionsThe issue of high readmission and mortality rates in people with heart failure appear to be system-wide, with the variation in these outcomes essentially attributable to variation between patients rather than hospitals. The findings suggest that there are limitations in using these outcomes as hospital performance measures in this patient population and support the need for patient-centred strategies to optimise heart failure management and outcomes.
Highlights
Hospitalisation for heart failure is common and post-discharge outcomes, including readmission and mortality, are often poor and are poorly understood
We considered restricting readmissions to heart failure admissions only; there was an insufficient number of cases to proceed with these analyses
In the full multilevel model (Model 5, Table 2), the risk of 30-day unplanned readmission was higher in males (adjusted odds ratios (ORs) = 1.18, 95% confidence intervals (CI):1.00–1.37); those with previous hospitalisation for major cardiovascular disease or for anaemia; and with increasing comorbidity; it decreased with increasing social interaction scores and increasing body mass index (BMI)
Summary
Hospitalisation for heart failure is common and post-discharge outcomes, including readmission and mortality, are often poor and are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine patient- and hospital-level variation in the risk of 30-day unplanned readmission and mortality following discharge from hospital with a diagnosis of heart failure. Rates of death and readmission— unplanned returns to hospital—within one month of hospital discharge are used as hospital performance measures, both nationally and internationally [6, 14,15,16]. These measures can reflect the quality of care provided in hospital and access to appropriate follow-up after discharge, providing an indication that patient care could be improved and/or that more efficient use could be made of available resources [14]. There remains a lack of large-scale quantitative data that quantify both patient and hospital-level variation in postdischarge heart failure outcomes, and associations with patient characteristics
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
