scholarly journals Death and readmissions after hospital discharge during the December holiday period: cohort study

BMJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. k4481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Lapointe-Shaw ◽  
Peter C Austin ◽  
Noah M Ivers ◽  
Jin Luo ◽  
Donald A Redelmeier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Hospital Discharge ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Healthcare Utilisation ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Emergency Department Visits ◽  
Risk Of Death ◽  
Holiday Period

Abstract Objective To determine whether patients discharged from hospital during the December holiday period have fewer outpatient follow-ups and higher rates of death or readmission than patients discharged at other times. Design Population based retrospective cohort study. Setting Acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada, 1 April 2002 to 31 January 2016. Participants 217 305 children and adults discharged home after an urgent admission, during the two week December holiday period, compared with 453 641 children and adults discharged during two control periods in late November and January. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was death or readmission, defined as a visit to an emergency department or urgent rehospitalisation, within 30 days. Secondary outcomes were death or readmission and outpatient follow-up with a physician within seven and 14 days after discharge. Multivariable logistic regression with generalised estimating equations was used to adjust for characteristics of patients, admissions, and hospital. Results 217 305 (32.4%) patients discharged during the holiday period and 453 641 (67.6%) discharged during control periods had similar baseline characteristics and previous healthcare utilisation. Patients who were discharged during the holiday period were less likely to have follow-up with a physician within seven days (36.3% v 47.8%, adjusted odds ratio 0.61, 95% confidence interval 0.60 to 0.62) and 14 days (59.5% v 68.7%, 0.65, 0.64 to 0.66) after discharge. Patients discharged during the holiday period were also at higher risk of 30 day death or readmission (25.9% v 24.7%, 1.09, 1.07 to 1.10). This relative increase was also seen at seven days (13.2% v 11.7%, 1.16, 1.14 to 1.18) and 14 days (18.6% v 17.0%, 1.14, 1.12 to 1.15). Per 100 000 patients, there were 2999 fewer follow-up appointments within 14 days, 26 excess deaths, 188 excess hospital admissions, and 483 excess emergency department visits attributable to hospital discharge during the holiday period. Conclusions Patients discharged from hospital during the December holiday period are less likely to have prompt outpatient follow-up and are at higher risk of death or readmission within 30 days.

scholarly journals Fall-risk increasing drugs and recurrent injurious falls association in older patients after hip fracture: a cohort study protocol

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 204209861986864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Correa-Pérez ◽  
Eva Delgado-Silveira ◽  
Sagrario Martín-Aragón ◽  
Alfonso J. Cruz-Jentoft
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Hip Fracture ◽  
Hospital Discharge ◽  
Fall Risk ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Emergency Department Visits ◽  
High Risk Population ◽  
Very Old ◽  
Injurious Falls

Polypharmacy and fall-risk increasing drugs (FRIDS) have been associated with injurious falls. However, no information is available about the association between FRIDS and injurious falls after hospital discharge due to hip fracture in a very old population. We aim to assess the association between the use of FRIDS at discharge and injurious falls in patients older than 80 years hospitalized due to a hip fracture. A retrospective cohort study using routinely collected health data will be conducted at the Orthogeriatric Unit of a teaching hospital. Patients will be included at hospital discharge (2014), with a 2-year follow-up. Fall-risk increasing drugs will be recorded at hospital discharge, and exposure to drugs will be estimated from usage records during the 2-year follow-up. Injurious falls are defined as falls that lead to any kind of health care (primary or specialized care, including emergency department visits and hospital admissions). A sample size of 193 participants was calculated, assuming that 40% of patients who receive any FRID at discharge, and 20% who do not, will experience an injurious fall during follow up. This protocol explains the study methods and the planned analysis. We expect to find a relevant association between FRIDS at hospital discharge and the incidence of injurious falls in this very old, high risk population. If confirmed, this would support the need for a careful pharmacotherapeutic review in patients discharged after a hip fracture. However, results should be carefully interpreted due to the risk of bias inherent to the study design.

scholarly journals P143: A prospective cohort study characterizing 30-day recurrent emergency department visits for hyperglycemia

CJEM ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (S1) ◽  
pp. S116
Author(s):  
J. Yan ◽  
D. Azzam ◽  
M. Columbus ◽  
K. Van Aarsen
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Prospective Cohort Study ◽  
Prospective Cohort ◽  
Diabetes Management ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Emergency Department Visits ◽  
Local Health

Introduction: Hyperglycemic emergencies, including diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS), often recur in patients who have poorly controlled diabetes. Identification of those at risk for recurrent hyperglycemia visits may improve health care delivery and reduce ED utilization for these patients. The objective of this study was to prospectively characterize patients re-presenting to the emergency department (ED) for hyperglycemia within 30 days of an initial ED visit. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study of patients ≥18 years presenting to two tertiary care EDs (combined annual census 150,000 visits) with a discharge diagnosis of hyperglycemia, DKA or HHS from Jul 2016-Nov 2018. Trained research personnel collected data from medical records, telephoned patients at 10-14 days after the ED visit for follow-up, and completed an electronic review to determine if patients had a recurrent hyperglycemia visit to any of 11 EDs within our local health integration network within 30 days of the initial visit. Descriptive statistics were used where appropriate to summarize the data. Results: 240 patients were enrolled with a mean (SD) age of 53.9 (18.6) years and 126 (52.5%) were male. 77 (32.1%) patients were admitted from their initial ED visit. Of the 237 patients (98.8%) with 30-day data available, 55 (23.2%) had a recurrent ED visit for hyperglycemia within this time period. 21 (8.9%) were admitted on this subsequent visit, with one admission to intensive care and one death within 30 days. For all patients who had a recurrent 30-day hyperglycemia visit, 22/55 (40.0%) reported having outpatient follow-up with a physician for diabetes management within 10-14 days of their index ED visit. 7/21 (33.3%) patients who were admitted on the subsequent visit had received follow-up within the same 10-14 day period. Conclusion: This prospective study builds on our previous retrospective work and describes patients who present recurrently for hyperglycemia within 30 days of an index ED visit. Further research will attempt to determine if access to prompt follow-up after discharge can reduce recurrent hyperglycemia visits in patients presenting to the ED.

scholarly journals The impact of COVID-19 on hospital admissions and emergency department visits: A population-based study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252441
Author(s):  
Elissa Rennert-May ◽  
Jenine Leal ◽  
Nguyen Xuan Thanh ◽  
Eddy Lang ◽  
Shawn Dowling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Emergency Department Visits ◽  
System Capacity ◽  
Population Based Study ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
The Impact

Background As a result of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there have been widespread changes in healthcare access. We conducted a retrospective population-based study in Alberta, Canada (population 4.4 million), where there have been approximately 1550 hospital admissions for COVID-19, to determine the impact of COVID-19 on hospital admissions and emergency department (ED visits), following initiation of a public health emergency act on March 15, 2020. Methods We used multivariable negative binomial regression models to compare daily numbers of medical/surgical hospital admissions via the ED between March 16-September 23, 2019 (pre COVID-19) and March 16-September 23, 2020 (post COVID-19 public health measures). We compared the most frequent diagnoses for hospital admissions pre/post COVID-19 public health measures. A similar analysis was completed for numbers of daily ED visits for any reason with a particular focus on ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC). Findings There was a significant reduction in both daily medical (incident rate ratio (IRR) 0.86, p<0.001) and surgical (IRR 0.82, p<0.001) admissions through the ED in Alberta post COVID-19 public health measures. There was a significant decline in daily ED visits (IRR 0.65, p<0.001) including ACSC (IRR 0.75, p<0.001). The most common medical/surgical diagnoses for hospital admissions did not vary substantially pre and post COVID-19 public health measures, though there was a significant reduction in admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a significant increase in admissions for mental and behavioral disorders due to use of alcohol. Conclusions Despite a relatively low volume of COVID-19 hospital admissions in Alberta, there was an extensive impact on our healthcare system with fewer admissions to hospital and ED visits. This work generates hypotheses around causes for reduced hospital admissions and ED visits which warrant further investigation. As most publicly funded health systems struggle with health-system capacity routinely, understanding how these reductions can be safely sustained will be critical.

scholarly journals Indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department presentations and hospital admissions for urgent early pregnancy conditions: a population-based retrospective cohort study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Hui ◽  
Wanyu Chu ◽  
Elizabeth McCarthy ◽  
Mary McCarthy ◽  
Paddy Moore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Early Pregnancy ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Linear Prediction ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Termination Of Pregnancy ◽  
The Impact

Objective: To compare emergency department (ED) presentations and hospital admissions for urgent early pregnancy conditions in Victoria before and after the onset of COVID-19 lockdown on 31 March 2020. Design: Population-based retrospective cohort study Setting: Australian state of Victoria Population: Pregnant women presenting to emergency departments or admitted to hospital Methods: We obtained state-wide hospital separation data from the Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset and the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset from January 1, 2018, to October 31, 2020. A linear prediction model based on the pre-COVID period was used to identify the impact of COVID restrictions. Main outcome measures: Monthly ED presentations for miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, hospital admissions for termination of pregnancy, with subgroup analysis by region, socioeconomic status, disease acuity, hospital type. Results: There was an overall decline in monthly ED presentations and hospital admissions for early pregnancy conditions in metropolitan areas where lockdown restrictions were most stringent. Monthly ED presentations for miscarriage during the COVID period were consistently below predicted, with the nadir in April 2020 (790 observed vs 985 predicted, 95% CI 835-1135). Monthly admissions for termination of pregnancy were also below predicted throughout lockdown, with the nadir in August 2020 (893 observed vs 1116 predicted, 95% CI 905-1326). There was no increase in ED presentations for complications following abortion, ectopic or molar pregnancy during the COVID period. Conclusions: Fewer women in metropolitan Victoria utilized hospital-based care for early pregnancy conditions during the first seven months of the pandemic, without any observable increase in maternal morbidity.

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