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Emergency department recidivism in adults older than 65 years treated for fractures.

ABSTRACT: Fractures in older adults are a commonly diagnosed injury in the emergency department (ED). We performed a retrospective medical record review to determine the rate of return to the same ED within 72 hours (returns) and the risk factors associated with returning.A retrospective medical record review of patients at least 65 years old discharged from a large, academic ED with a new diagnosis of upper extremity, lower extremity, or rib fractures was performed. Risk factors analyzed included demographic data, type of fracture, analgesic prescriptions, assistive devices provided, other concurrent injuries, and comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index). Our primary outcome was return to the ED within 72 hours.Three hundred fifteen patients qualified. Most fractures were in the upper extremity (64% [95% confidence interval {CI}, 58%-69%]). Twenty patients (6.3% [95% CI, 3.9%-9.6%]) returned within 72 hours. Most returns (15/20, 75%) were for reasons associated with the fracture itself, such as cast problems and inadequate pain control. Only 3 (<1% of all patients) patients returned for cardiac etiologies. Patients with distal forearm fractures had higher return rates (10.7% vs 4.5%, P = .03), and most commonly returned for cast or splint problems. Age, sex, other injuries, assistive devices, and Charlson Comorbidity Index score (median, 1 [interquartile range, 1-2] for both groups) did not predict 72-hour returns.Older adults with distal forearm fractures may have more unscheduled health care usage in the first 3 days after fracture diagnosis than older adults with other fracture types. Overall, revisits for cardiac reasons or repeat falls were rare (<1%).

SUBMITTER: Southerland LT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4160107 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Emergency department recidivism in adults older than 65 years treated for fractures.

Southerland Lauren T LT Richardson Daniel S DS Caterino Jeffrey M JM Essenmacher Alex C AC Swor Robert A RA

The American journal of emergency medicine 20140510 9

<h4>Objectives</h4>Fractures in older adults are a commonly diagnosed injury in the emergency department (ED). We performed a retrospective medical record review to determine the rate of return to the same ED within 72 hours (returns) and the risk factors associated with returning.<h4>Methods</h4>A retrospective medical record review of patients at least 65 years old discharged from a large, academic ED with a new diagnosis of upper extremity, lower extremity, or rib fractures was performed. Ris ...[more]

PMID: 24929775

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Project description:The objective was to measure the variation in missed diagnosis and costs of care for older acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) and to identify the hospital and ED characteristics associated with this variation.Using 2004-2005 Medicare inpatient and outpatient records, the authors identified a cohort of AMI patients age 65 years and older who presented to the ED for initial care. The primary outcome was missed diagnosis of AMI, i.e., AMI hospital admission within 7 days of an ED discharge for a condition suggestive of cardiac ischemia. Costs were defined as Medicare hospital payments for all services associated with and immediately resulting from the ED evaluation. The effect of ED and hospital characteristics on quality and costs were estimated using multilevel models with hospital random effects.There were 371,638 AMI patients age 65 and older included in the study, of whom 4,707 were discharged home from their initial ED visits and subsequently admitted to the hospital. The median unadjusted hospital-level missed diagnosis percentage was 0.52% (interquartile range [IQR] = 0 to 3.45%). ED characteristics protective of adverse outcomes include higher ED chest pain acuity (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.23, 99% confidence interval [CI] = 0.19 to 0.27) and American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) certification (aOR = 0.60, 99% CI = 0.50 to 0.73). Protective hospital characteristics include larger hospital size (aOR = 0.46, 99% CI = 0.37 to 0.57) and academic status (aOR = 0.74, 99% CI = 0.58 to 0.94). All of these characteristics were associated with higher costs as well.The proportion of missed AMI diagnoses and cost of care for patients age 65 years and older presenting to EDs with AMI varies across hospitals. Hospitals with more board-certified emergency physicians (EPs) and higher average acuity are associated with significantly higher quality. All hospital characteristics associated with better ED outcomes are associated with higher costs.

Project description:Importance:Falls are common among older adults, particularly those with previous falls and cognitive impairment and in the postdischarge period. Hospitals have financial incentives to reduce both inpatient falls and hospital readmissions, yet little is known about whether fall-related injuries (FRIs) are common diagnoses for 30-day hospital readmissions. Objective:To compare fall-related readmissions with other leading rehospitalization diagnoses, including for patients at greatest risk of readmission. Design, Setting, and Participants:Retrospective cohort study of the Hospital Cost and Utilization Project's Nationwide Readmissions Database of nationally representative US hospital discharges among Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older from January 1, 2013, to November 30, 2014. The prevalence and ranking of FRIs compared with other diagnostic factors for 30-day unplanned hospital-wide readmissions were determined, overall and for 2 acute geriatric cohorts, classified by fall injury or cognitive impairment diagnoses observed at the index admission. Analyses were also stratified by patient discharge disposition (home, home health care, skilled nursing facility). Analyses were conducted from February 1, 2018, to February 26, 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures:Unplanned hospital-wide readmission within 30 days of discharge. Results:From the database, 8?382?074 eligible index admissions were identified, including 746?397 (8.9%) in the FRI cohort and 1?367?759 (16.3%) in the cognitive impairment cohort. Among the entire 8 382 074-discharge cohort, mean (SD) age was 77.7 (7.8) years and 4?736?281 (56.5%) were female. Overall, 1?205?962 (14.4%) of index admissions resulted in readmission, with readmission rates of 12.9% for those with a previous fall and 16.0% for patients with cognitive impairment. Overall, FRIs ranked as the third-leading readmission diagnosis, accounting for 60?954 (5.1%) of all readmission diagnoses. Within the novel acute geriatric cohorts, FRIs were the second-leading diagnosis for readmission both for patients with an FRI at index admission (10.3% of all readmission diagnoses) and those with cognitive impairment (7.0% of all readmission diagnoses). For those with an FRI at index admission and discharged home or to home health care, FRIs were the leading readmission diagnosis. Conclusions and Relevance:This study found that posthospital FRIs were a leading readmission diagnosis, particularly for patients originally admitted with a FRI or cognitive impairment. Targeting at-risk hospitalized older adults, particularly those discharged to home or home health care, is an underexplored, cost-effective mechanism with potential to reduce readmissions and improve patient care.

Dataset Information

Emergency department recidivism in adults older than 65 years treated for fractures.

Publications

Emergency department recidivism in adults older than 65 years treated for fractures.

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