High Risk Of Hospital Readmission Research Articles

Rehospitalization of preterm infants below 32 weeks of gestational age in the first 2 years post discharge

To describe the frequency and characteristics of readmissions in preterm infants younger than 32 weeks of GA or weighing less than 1500 g (< 32w/< 1500 g) at 2 years post-discharge from neonatology. Retrospective observational study of a cohort of newborns < 32w/< 1500 g discharged from a public health care center (2009-2017). The frequency, time of occurrence, risk factors, causes, and severity of hospital readmissions were analyzed. The respective perinatal characteristics and subsequent readmissions were described. The Ethics Committee approved the data collection protocol. 989 newborns < 32w/< 1500 g were included; 410 (41.5%) were readmitted at least once before the age of 2 years, equivalent to 686 episodes (1.7/child); 129 children (31.4%) were admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), with a mean length of stay of 7.7 days. The greatest risk for hospital readmission was during the first 6 months post-discharge. The main cause was respiratory (70%) and respiratory syncytial virus was the most frequent germ. The risk factors associated with readmission due to respiratory causes were bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (OR: 1.73; 95%CI: 1.26-2.37) and number of siblings (OR: 1.18; 95%CI: 1.04-1.33). Newborns < 32s/< 1500 g are at high risk of hospital readmission due to respiratory causes and PICU admission in the first months post-discharge; BPD and number of siblings were the main risk factors.

Estimating Clostridioides difficile infection-associated readmission rates: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The economic burden of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is considerable and mostly associated with a high frequency of hospitalizations. Numerous publications have demonstrated that CDI is associated with a higher risk of hospital readmission, but not always a specific rate or attributable to disease recurrence. In this systematic review, we describe the incidence of 30-day CDI-associated readmission rates and the effect of active interventions. Three search engines were utilized for the literature search, and a total of 9 studies were included in this review. Hospital readmission proportions from interventional and observational studies were analyzed through meta-analysis with random effects. Two thousand five hundred and twenty-one articles were identified. After screening full-text articles, 9 eligible articles published between 2002 and 2023 met the inclusion criteria. In total, 132,862 CDI patients were evaluated. Thirty-day CDI-associated readmissions were defined as either an ICD9/10 code indicating CDI admission with a prior admission within the past 30 days (n = 4) or a medical chart evaluation of signs and symptoms consistent with CDI (diarrhea) along with a positive diagnostic test (n = 5) with a prior hospitalization for CDI within the past 30 days. Meta-analysis of observational studies estimated 30-day CDI readmissions were 6% (95% CI, 5%-7%). Three studies evaluated the effect of active interventions to reduce CDI-associated 30-day readmission rates. Two of 3 interventions reduced the likelihood of CDI-associated 30-day readmissions. This systematic review identified a 6% rate of 30-day CDI-associated hospital readmission. Antimicrobial stewardship efforts and the use of specific therapeutics were shown to reduce these rates.

#1604 LACE index as predictors of 30 day rehospitalisation among patients on maintenance hemodialysis, cohort study

Abstract Background and Aims Over 35% of patients on maintenance dialysis are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of hospital discharge. Validated risk assessment tools such as the LACE index (Length of stay, Acuity of admission, Co-morbidities, and Emergency department visits) have been developed to identify patients at high risk of hospital readmission in non-dialysis patients but have not been tested in dialysis patients. Method Data was collected from electronic medical records of patients on maintenance hemodialysis in Diaverum outpatient clinics hospitalized during 2023. Data included Age, gender, duration of hospital stay, Charlson comorbidity index (CCS), urgent or planned, and cause of Hospitalization. Multivariable logistic regression models with 30-day readmission for the same reason as the dependent outcome were used to identify readmission risk factors and whether the LACE score validly predicts 30-day rehospitalization among our cohort. Results Among (4829) patients received dialysis in Diaverum Saudi Arabia during 2023. (1487) episodes of hospitalization were reported due to various reasons rate of hospitalization was 0.54 Episodes per patient-years at risk, and 372(25%) of hospitalized patients were re-hospitalized for the same reason within 30 days. The proportion of patients with 30 days of rehospitalization for the same reason was higher in patients with post-initial discharge LACE index ≥10 in comparison to patients with LACE index&amp;lt;10, 348(32.6%) &amp; 24(5.7) respectively P-VALUE&amp;lt;0.001. also significantly higher in patients ≥65years old than those younger 163(27.7%) &amp;209(23.3%) respectively P-VALUE&amp;lt;0.05, those in high risk group (defined as those with higher comorbidity index ≥6 and/or lower Individual Patient Performance Score&amp;lt;75) than those who are not in high risk group 215(35%) &amp; 157(17.9%) respectively P-VALUE&amp;lt;0.001. Multivariate logistic regression including covariates significantly associated with higher 30-day rehospitalization to avoid confounder effect with model including ( age, gender, dialysis duration, body mass index, comorbidity index, diabetes, vascular access, cause of hospitalization and inclusion in high-risk group ) showed significantly higher rehospitalization in patients with post-initial discharge LACE index ≥10 in comparison to patients with LACE index&amp;lt;10 ODDS RATIO (95%CI) 7.95(5.1-12.5) P-VALUE&amp;lt;0.001. independent of other covariates in the model Conclusion LACE index at discharge is an independent predictor of (30) days re-hospitalization in patients on maintenance Hemodialysis. Further analysis needed for a specific model for HD patients taking into consideration the unique characteristics of this cohort of patients.

Development of a Discharge Counseling and Medication Reconciliation Process for Pediatric Patients Within a Large, Academic Health System

OBJECTIVE This study aims to characterize the impact of a pharmacist-driven discharge medication reconciliation and counseling program targeting high-risk pediatric patients to mitigate barriers in transitions of care. METHODS This was a single-center quality improvement initiative including high-risk pediatric patients within a large academic medical center. Pharmacy, medical, and information technology team members developed a scoring system to identify patients at high risk of hospital readmission that resulted in a trigger tool built within the electronic medical record (EMR). Pharmacy workflow, the EMR documentation, and staff training were implemented. The primary end point was the number of high-risk patients with complete medication reconciliation and/or discharge counseling performed during the first 2 months after implementation. The secondary end points included quantification and qualification of the interventions conducted by a pharmacist. RESULTS Pediatric clinical pharmacists conducted discharge medication reconciliation and/or counseling for 60 patients during the first 2 months after implementation. There were 65 interventions performed, including 60 discharge medication reconciliations and 5 discharge counseling sessions. Of these interventions, 22 were recommendations on appropriate medication dosing and frequency (37%), 12 on duration of therapy (20%), and 8 were medication additions (13%). There were 6 interventions on adherence assistance (10%), 6 involved selection of medication formulation (10%), 3 involved medication discontinuation (5%), 2 involved appropriate therapy selection (3%), and 1 involved medication stability (1%). All interventions were accepted and implemented by the prescribing providers. CONCLUSIONS Pharmacist-driven discharge medication reconciliation and counseling programs targeting pediatric high-risk population might be an effective tool to mitigate gaps in transitions of care.

Rural caregivers’ preparedness for detecting and responding to the signs of worsening health conditions in recently hospitalised patients at risk for readmission: a qualitative descriptive study

ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore informal rural caregivers’ perceived preparedness to detect and respond to the signs of worsening health conditions in patients recently discharged from hospital and at risk...

Comparing Machine Learning Classifiers for Predicting Hospital Readmission of Heart Failure Patients in Rwanda.

High rates of hospital readmission and the cost of treating heart failure (HF) are significant public health issues globally and in Rwanda. Using machine learning (ML) to predict which patients are at high risk for HF hospital readmission 20 days after their discharge has the potential to improve HF management by enabling early interventions and individualized treatment approaches. In this paper, we compared six different ML models for this task, including multi-layer perceptron (MLP), K-nearest neighbors (KNN), logistic regression (LR), decision trees (DT), random forests (RF), and support vector machines (SVM) with both linear and radial basis kernels. The outputs of the classifiers are compared using performance metrics including the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity. We found that RF outperforms all the remaining models with an AUC of 94% while SVM, MLP, and KNN all yield 88% AUC. In contrast, DT performs poorly, with an AUC value of 57%. Hence, hospitals in Rwanda can benefit from using the RF classifier to determine which HF patients are at high risk of hospital readmission.

Long term risk of death and readmission after hospital admission with covid-19 among older adults: retrospective cohort study

ObjectivesTo characterize the long term risk of death and hospital readmission after an index admission with covid-19 among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, and to compare these outcomes with historical control patients...

Effects of a Multimodal Transitional Care Intervention in Patients at High Risk of Readmission

Hospital readmissions are frequent, costly, and sometimes preventable. Although these issues have been well publicized and incentives to reduce them introduced, the best interventions for reducing readmissions remain unclear. To evaluate the effects of a multimodal transitional care intervention targeting patients at high risk of hospital readmission on the composite outcome of 30-day unplanned readmission or death. A single-blinded, multicenter randomized clinical trial was conducted from April 2018 to January 2020, with a 30-day follow-up in 4 medium-to-large-sized teaching hospitals in Switzerland. Participants were consecutive patients discharged from general internal medicine wards and at higher risk of unplanned readmission based on their simplified HOSPITAL score (≥4 points). Data were analyzed between April and September 2022. The intervention group underwent systematic medication reconciliation, a 15-minute patient education session with teach-back, a planned first follow-up visit with their primary care physician, and postdischarge follow-up telephone calls from the study team at 3 and 14 days. The control group received usual care from their hospitalist, plus a 1-page standard study information sheet. Thirty-day postdischarge unplanned readmission or death. A total of 1386 patients were included with a mean (SD) age of 72 (14) years; 712 (51%) were male. The composite outcome of 30-day unplanned readmission or death was 21% (95% CI, 18% to 24%) in the intervention group and 19% (95% CI, 17% to 22%) in the control group. The intention-to-treat analysis risk difference was 1.7% (95% CI, -2.5% to 5.9%; P = .44). There was no evidence of any intervention effects on time to unplanned readmission or death, postdischarge health care use, patient satisfaction with the quality of their care transition, or readmission costs. In this randomized clinical trial, use of a standardized multimodal care transition intervention targeting higher-risk patients did not significantly decrease the risks of 30-day postdischarge unplanned readmission or death; it demonstrated the difficulties in preventing hospital readmissions, even when multimodal interventions specifically target higher-risk patients. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03496896.

Insufficient Food Intake At Hospital Is Associated With Higher Risk Of Hospital Readmission. An Observational Study Of Patients Managed By The Nutrition Support Team Of An University Hospital

Insufficient Food Intake At Hospital Is Associated With Higher Risk Of Hospital Readmission. An Observational Study Of Patients Managed By The Nutrition Support Team Of An University Hospital

Relationship between large and small for gestational age and hospital readmission after postpartum discharge: a population-based, data-linkage study.

In contrast to SGA, LGA was associated with hospital readmission during the first month of life. Follow-up protocols that include LGA should be evaluated. •Newborns are at high risk of hospital readmission during the postpartum period. •However, the influence of appropriateness for gestational age at birth, i.e. being born small for gestational age(SGA) or large for gestational age (LGA), has been little evaluated. •In contrast to SGA born infants, we found that infants born LGA were at high risk of hospital admission and the maincause was infectious diseases. •This population should be considered at risk of early adverse outcomes and should require attentive medical follow-up after postpartum discharge.

Validation of the HOSPITAL score as predictor of 30-day potentially avoidable readmissions in pediatric hospitalized population: retrospective cohort study.

Potentially avoidable pediatric readmissions are a burden to patients and their families. Identifying patients with higher risk of readmission could help minimize hospital costs and facilitate the targeting of care interventions. HOSPITAL score is a tool developed and widely used to predict adult patient's readmissions; however its predictive capacity for pediatric readmissions has not yet been evaluated. The aim of the study was to validate the HOSPITAL score application to predict 30-day potentially avoidable readmissions in a pediatric hospitalized population. This is a retrospective cohort study with patients under 18years old admitted to a tertiary university hospital (n = 6,344). The HOSPITAL score was estimated for each admission. Subsequently, we classified the patients as low (0-4), intermediate (5-6), and high (7-12) risk groups. In order to estimate the discrimination power, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were determined by the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) and the calibration by the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit. The 30-day hospital readmission was 11.70% (745). The accuracy was 0.80 (CI 95%, 0.77, 0.83), with a sensitivity of 70.96% and specificity of 78.29%, and a good calibration (p = 0.34). Conclusion: HOSPITAL score showed a good discrimination and can be used to predict 30-day potentially avoidable readmission in a large pediatric population with different medical diagnoses. Our study validates and expands the usefulness of the HOSPITAL score as a tool to predict avoidable hospital readmissions for pediatric population. What is Known: • Pediatric readmissions burden patients, the family network, and the health system. In addition, it influences negatively child development. • The HOSPITAL score is one of the tools developed and widely used to identify patients at high risk of hospital readmission, but its predictive capacity for pediatric readmissions has not been yet assessed. What is New: •The HOSPITAL score showed good ability to identify a risk of 30-day potentially avoidable readmission in a pediatric population in different clinical contexts and diagnoses. •Our study expands the usefulness of the HOSPITAL score as a tool for predicting hospital readmissions for children and adolescents.

Family caregivers' perspectives on the acceptability of four interventions proposed for rural transitional care: A multi-method study.

There is a critical need for hospital-to-home transitional care interventions to prepare family caregivers for patients' post-discharge care in rural communities. Four evidence-based interventions (named discharge planning, treatments, warning signs, and physical activity) have the potential to meet this need but family caregivers' perspectives on the acceptability of the interventions have not been examined. This gap is significant because unacceptable interventions are unlikely to be used or used as designed, thereby undermining outcome achievement. Accordingly, this study examined the perceived acceptability of the four interventions to rural family caregivers. A multi-method descriptive design was used. The quantitative method entailed the administration of an established scale to assess the interventions' perceived acceptability to family caregivers. The qualitative method involved semi-structured interviews to explore family caregivers' perceived acceptability of the interventions in greater depth, including acceptable and unacceptable aspects, in the context of their own transitional care experience. Participants were the family caregivers of a relative who had been discharged home in a rural community from an acute care hospital in Ontario, Canada. The purposive sample included 16 participants who were mostly middle-aged women (n = 14; 87.5%) caring for a parent (n = 9; 56.3%) at high risk for hospital readmission. The mean scores on the acceptability measure were 3 or higher for all interventions, indicating that, on average, the four interventions were perceived as acceptable. In terms of acceptable aspects, four themes were identified: the interventions: 1) involve family caregivers and proactively prepare them for discharge, 2) provide clear, written, and detailed guidance, 3) place the onus on healthcare providers to initiate communication, and 4) ensure post-discharge follow-up. In terms of unacceptable aspects, one theme was identified: the physical activity intervention would be challenging to implement. The findings support implementing the four interventions in practice throughout the hospital-to-home transition. Healthcare providers should assess family caregivers' comfort in participating in the physical activity intervention and tailor their role accordingly.

Validation of the Hospital Score as Predictor of 30-Day Potentially Avoidable Readmissions in a Brazilian Population: Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: Hospital readmissions are associated with several negative health outcomes and higher hospital costs. The HOSPITAL score is one of the tools developed to identify patients at high risk of hospital readmission, but its predictive capacity in more heterogeneous populations involving different diagnoses and clinical contexts is poorly understood. Objective: The aim of this study is to externally validate the HOSPITAL score in a hospitalized Brazilian population. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was carried out with patients over the age of 18 years in a tertiary university hospital. We performed a refitted HOSPITAL score with the same definitions and predictive variables included in the original HOSPITAL score and compared the predictive capacity of both. The receiver operating characteristic was constructed by comparing the performance risk forecasting tools measuring the area under the curve (AUC). Results: Of the 47,464 patients, 50.9% were over 60 years and 58.4% were male. The frequency of 30-day potentially avoidable readmission was 7.70%. The accuracy of original and refitted HOSPITAL scores was close, although statistically different ([Formula: see text]), AUC: 0.733 (CI 95%: 0.718, 0.748) and 0.7401 (CI 95%: 0.7256, 0.7547), respectively. The frequency of 60, 90, 180, and 365-days readmissions ranged from 10.60% to 18.30%. Conclusion: The original and refitted HOSPITAL score is a useful tool to identify patients at high risk of 30-day potentially avoidable readmission, in patients with different diagnoses in public tertiary hospitals. In this sense, our study expands and reinforces the usefulness of the HOSPITAL score as a tool that can be used as part of intervention strategies to reduce the rate of hospital readmission.

Evaluation of Pharmacy Resident-Driven Medication Reconciliation on Patients at High Risk of Hospital Readmission.

Purpose: Pharmacists play a key role in preventing medication errors during transitions of care and preventing hospital readmissions through medication reconciliation (MR) programs. This study retrospectively evaluated the implementation of a standardized pharmacy residentdriven MR program for patients at high risk for readmission as defined by the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP). Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective cross sectional study of a pharmacy resident-driven MR program including patients at high risk of readmission defined by HRRP. The primary objective was to determine the number of inpatient regimen interventions identified during the MR. Secondary objectives include severity of interventions, number of medication discrepancies identified, types of interventions and discrepancies identified, and all-cause hospital readmission rates within 30 days of discharge.. Results: Fifty-three high-risk patients were included in the study. Pharmacy intervention recommendations were accepted by prescribers for nine patients (9/53; 17.0%) with a total of 13 accepted inpatient regimen interventions. The two most commonly identified medication classes for interventions were anticonvulsants (3/13; 23.1%) and antidepressants (6/13; 46.2%). Discrepancies on the admission MR were identified for 46 (46/53; 86.8%) patients with a median of three discrepancies per patient (interquartile range 2-4). The most common type of discrepancy was an incorrect or unnecessary drug. The 30-day all-cause readmission rate was 35.8% (19/53) for the total patient Conclusion: A pharmacy-resident driven MR program provided value in clarifying prior to admission medications and may help prevent drugrelated adverse events.

Family caregivers’ preparedness to support the physical activity of patients at risk for hospital readmission in rural communities: an interpretive descriptive study

BackgroundPhysical activity in the post-discharge period is important to maximize patient recovery and prevent hospital readmission. Healthcare providers have identified family caregivers as potential facilitators of patients’ engagement in physical activity. Yet, there is very little research on family caregivers’ perspectives on their preparedness to support the physical activity of patients, particularly those at risk for hospital readmission in rural communities. Accordingly, this study explored the challenges related to family caregivers’ preparedness to support the physical activity of a recently discharged, rural-dwelling relative at risk for hospital readmission.MethodsIn this interpretive descriptive study, semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone with 16 family caregivers. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsParticipants were predominantly women (n = 14; 87.5%) with an average age of 49 years (range 26–67) who were the primary caregivers of a relative who had been hospitalized for a medical illness (n = 12; 75%) and was at high risk for hospital readmission. Four themes were identified: 1) family caregivers generally felt unprepared to support their relative’s physical activity, 2) some family caregivers believed that rest was more important than physical activity to their relative’s recovery, 3) insufficient physical activity preparation led to family caregiver-relative conflicts, and 4) to defuse these conflicts, some family caregivers wanted healthcare providers to be responsible for promoting physical activity.ConclusionsDespite assertions that family caregivers are a potential source of support for patient physical activity, our findings indicate that family caregivers are largely unprepared to assume that role and that more work needs to be done to ensure they can do so effectively. We suggest that healthcare providers be conscious of the potential for family caregiver-patient conflict surrounding physical activity, assess family caregivers’ ability and willingness to support physical activity, educate them on the hazards of inactivity, and provide physical activity instructions to family caregivers and patients conjointly. Preparing family caregivers to support their relative’s physical activity is particularly important given the current emphasis on early discharge in many jurisdictions, and the limited formal healthcare services available in rural communities.

Outcomes following Total Hip Arthroplasty for Femoral Head Osteonecrosis in Patients with History of Solid Organ Transplant.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a potentially debilitating condition, often requiring total hip arthroplasty (THA). Patients with solid organ transplant (SOT) are at increased risk of postoperative complications after THA for osteoarthritis. The objective of the present study is to evaluate SOT as a potential risk factor for complication after THA for ONFH. This is a retrospective study that identified patients with SOT who underwent THA for ONFH from 2005 to 2014 in a national insurance database and compared them to 5:1 matched controls without transplant. Subgroup analyses of patients with renal transplant (RT) and those with non-RT were also analyzed. A logistic regression analysis was used to compare rates of mortality, hospital readmission, emergency room (ER) visits, infection, revision, and dislocation while controlling for confounders. Differences in hospital charges, reimbursement, and length of stay (LOS) were also compared. 996 patients with SOT who underwent THA were identified and compared to 4,980 controls. SOT patients experienced no increased risk of early postoperative complications compared to controls. Solid organ transplant was associated with higher resource utilization and LOS. Renal transplant patients were found to have significantly higher risk of hospital readmission at 30 days (odds ratio [OR] 1.77; p = 0.001) and 90 days (OR 1.62; p < 0.001) and hospital LOS (p < 0.001), but had lower risk of infection (OR 0.65; p = 0.030). Non-RT patients had higher rate of ER visits at 30 days (OR 2.26; p = 0.004) but lower rates of all-cause revision (OR 0.22; p = 0.043). Patients with history of SOT undergoing THA for ONFH utilize more hospital resources with longer LOS and greater risk of readmission but are not necessarily at an increased risk of early postoperative complications.

Inpatient pharmacists using a readmission risk model in supporting discharge medication reconciliation to reduce unplanned hospital readmissions: a quality improvement intervention.

IntroductionReducing unplanned hospital readmissions is an important priority for all hospitals and health systems. Hospital discharge can be complicated by discrepancies in the medication reconciliation and/or prescribing processes. Clinical pharmacist involvement in the medication reconciliation process at discharge can help prevent these discrepancies and possibly reduce unplanned hospital readmissions.MethodsWe report the results of our quality improvement intervention at Duke University Hospital, in which pharmacists were involved in the discharge medication reconciliation process on select high-risk general medicine patients over 2 years (2018–2020). Pharmacists performed traditional discharge medication reconciliation which included a review of medications for clinical appropriateness and affordability. A total of 1569 patients were identified as high risk for hospital readmission using the Epic readmission risk model and had a clinical pharmacist review the discharge medication reconciliation.ResultsThis intervention was associated with a significantly lower 7-day readmission rate in patients who scored high risk for readmission and received pharmacist support in discharge medication reconciliation versus those patients who did not receive pharmacist support (5.8% vs 7.6%). There was no effect on readmission rates of 14 or 30 days. The clinical pharmacists had at least one intervention on 67% of patients reviewed and averaged 1.75 interventions per patient.ConclusionThis quality improvement study showed that having clinical pharmacists intervene in the discharge medication reconciliation process in patients identified as high risk for readmission is associated with lower unplanned readmission rates at 7 days. The interventions by pharmacists were significant and well received by ordering providers. This study highlights the important role of a clinical pharmacist in the discharge medication reconciliation process.

Factors Related to Hospital Readmission of Frail Older Adults in Korea.

Frail older adults have a higher risk of hospital readmission due to decline in physical, functional, and psychological health status. The impact of readmission on individuals, families, or the healthcare system is tremendously devastating. This study aimed to investigate factors associated with hospital readmission of frail older adults. This was a retrospective descriptive study based on multi-professional health assessments found in electronic medical records of patients from a university-affiliated hospital in Seoul, Korea. The participants were 141 older adults who were admitted to the geriatric department with medical problems. Frailty, components of the comprehensive geriatric assessment including nutrition, physical functions, psychological and cognitive status, clinical data including length of hospital stay, and readmission within 30, 90, and 180 days were collected. Survival analysis was performed, and Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to investigate the risk factors for readmission. The statistically significant variables at each time point were slightly different. However, at most time points, disease-related problems (i.e., comorbidities and medications) and body functions (i.e., grip strength and physical activity) were included. The median duration until readmission was 27 days, and grip strength was found to be significantly related to readmission (p=0.020). After discharge, both medical services to manage the medical condition and intervention to maintain physical function are needed to prevent frail older adults from being readmitted to the hospital.

Using Health-Related Quality of Life to Identify the Incident Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Previous studies have revealed that poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is associated with a higher risk of hospital readmission and mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). The association between HRQoL and incident CVD is still limited for general older people. This study explored the associations between baseline HRQoL and incident and fatal CVD in community-dwelling Australian and the United States older people enrolled in ASPREE clinical trial. A cohort of 19,106 individuals aged 65 to 98 years, who were initially free of CVD, dementia, or disability, were followed between March 2010 and June 2017. The SF-12 questionnaire was used to assess HRQoL, and the physical (PCS) and mental component scores (MCS) of SF-12 were derived using norm-based methods. Incident major adverse CVD events included fatal CVD (death due to atherothrombotic CVD), hospitalizations for heart failure, myocardial infarction or stroke. Analyses were performed using Cox proportional-hazard regression. Over a median 4.7 follow-up years, there were 922 incident CVD events, 203 fatal CVD events, 171 hospitalizations for heart failure, 355 fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction and 403 fatal or nonfatal strokes. A 10-unit higher PCS, but not MCS, was associated with a lower risk of incident CVD (HR=0.86, 95%CI 0.79-0.92), hospitalization for heart failure (HR=0.72, 95%CI 0.60-0.85), and myocardial infarction (HR=0.85, 95%CI 0.75-0.96). Neither PCS nor MCS was associated with fatal CVD events or stroke. Physical HRQoL can be used in combination with clinical data to identify the incident CVD risk among community-dwelling older people.

Abstract 11963: A Digital Heart Failure Coach Intervention for Improving Education, Self-Management and Outcomes in Patients Admitted for Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: Barriers to Effective Implementation

Introduction: Heart Failure (HF) education is fundamental for improving outcomes. The use of mobile health (m-health) devices and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are becoming more broadly available. We designed an avatar style digital HF coach (HF-app) to improve HF knowledge and self-care management. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that an avatar style HF-app could improve outcomes by enhancing HF knowledge and improving quality of life and self-care behaviors in patients admitted for Acute Decompensated HF (ADHF). Methods: The Risk-HF trial recruited patients admitted for ADHF who were at high risk for hospital readmission and/or death (defined by a previously developed risk score, ETHELRED trial). Patients were randomized to usual care or intervention, in which the HF-app was a component of a multifactorial intervention aimed at reducing HF readmissions. Our HF-app was designed to engage daily with the patient by monitoring HF symptoms and delivering education over 52-days. Results: Over a period of 16 months (August 2019 up until December 2020), 36 of 74 high risk patients were randomized to the intervention arm and were offered education with our HF-app. Of these, 26/36 (72%) had restricted access to the HF-app ( unable to use a tablet device and/or unwilling to be taught how to use it, n=20; no internet access, n=4; died in hospital n= 2 ) and 10/36 (28%) were enrolled to use the HF-app [ gender male n=7; median age 71.5 years, p&lt;0.01 (IQR: 57.50 - 78.50); mean years of education 11.6(±2.5), p&lt;0.01 ]. Younger patients [ Odds Ratio (OR) 0.89 [95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.82-0.97], p&lt;0.01 ] and those with a higher education level [ OR 1.58 (1.09-2.28), p=0.03 ] were more likely to enroll. Of those enrolled, only two patients engaged and completed ≥70% of the program. Six of the remaining 8 patients who did not engage were readmitted. Conclusions: Our study provides a note of caution in studies using m-health devices and apps in critically ill and elderly patients with unstable HF. Future research should consider how to use such technology-based interventions with elderly patients as well as to target younger ADHF patients, which may provide stronger evidence of benefits in patient self-care and outcomes.