Dataset Information

Intensification of older adults' outpatient blood pressure treatment at hospital discharge: national retrospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To assess how often older adults admitted to hospital for common non-cardiac conditions were discharged with intensified antihypertensive treatment, and to identify markers of appropriateness for these intensifications.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

US Veterans Administration Health System.

Participants

Patients aged 65 years or over with hypertension admitted to hospital with non-cardiac conditions between 2011 and 2013.

Main outcome measures

Intensification of antihypertensive treatment, defined as receiving a new or higher dose antihypertensive agent at discharge compared with drugs used before admission. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses were used to control for characteristics of patients and hospitals.

Results

Among 14?915 older adults (median age 76, interquartile range 69-84), 9636 (65%) had well controlled outpatient blood pressure before hospital admission. Overall, 2074 (14%) patients were discharged with intensified antihypertensive treatment, more than half of whom (1082) had well controlled blood pressure before admission. After adjustment for potential confounders, elevated inpatient blood pressure was strongly associated with being discharged on intensified antihypertensive regimens. Among patients with previously well controlled outpatient blood pressure, 8% (95% confidence interval 7% to 9%) of patients without elevated inpatient blood pressure, 24% (21% to 26%) of patients with moderately elevated inpatient blood pressure, and 40% (34% to 46%) of patients with severely elevated inpatient blood pressure were discharged with intensified antihypertensive regimens. No differences were seen in rates of intensification among patients least likely to benefit from tight blood pressure control (limited life expectancy, dementia, or metastatic malignancy), nor in those most likely to benefit (history of myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular disease, or renal disease).

Conclusions

One in seven older adults admitted to hospital for common non-cardiac conditions were discharged with intensified antihypertensive treatment. More than half of intensifications occurred in patients with previously well controlled outpatient blood pressure. More attention is needed to reduce potentially harmful overtreatment of blood pressure as older adults transition from hospital to home.

SUBMITTER: Anderson TS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6283373 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Intensification of older adults' outpatient blood pressure treatment at hospital discharge: national retrospective cohort study.

Anderson Timothy S TS Wray Charlie M CM Jing Bocheng B Fung Kathy K Ngo Sarah S Xu Edison E Shi Ying Y Steinman Michael A MA

BMJ (Clinical research ed.) 20180912

<h4>Objectives</h4>To assess how often older adults admitted to hospital for common non-cardiac conditions were discharged with intensified antihypertensive treatment, and to identify markers of appropriateness for these intensifications.<h4>Design</h4>Retrospective cohort study.<h4>Setting</h4>US Veterans Administration Health System.<h4>Participants</h4>Patients aged 65 years or over with hypertension admitted to hospital with non-cardiac conditions between 2011 and 2013.<h4>Main outcome measu ...[more]

PMID: 30209052

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Project description:ImportanceTransient elevations of blood glucose levels are common in hospitalized older adults with diabetes and may lead clinicians to discharge patients with more intensive diabetes medications than they were using before hospitalization.ObjectiveTo investigate outcomes associated with intensification of outpatient diabetes medications at discharge.Design, setting, and participantsThis retrospective cohort study assessed patients 65 years and older with diabetes not taking insulin who were hospitalized in the Veterans Health Administration Health System between January 1, 2011, and September 28, 2016, for common medical conditions. Data analysis was performed from January 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.ExposureDischarge with intensified diabetes medications, defined as filling a prescription at hospital discharge for a new or higher-dose medication than was being used before hospitalization. Propensity scores were used to construct a matched cohort of patients who did and did not receive diabetes medication intensifications.Main outcomes and measuresCoprimary outcomes of severe hypoglycemia and severe hyperglycemia were assessed at 30 and 365 days using competing risk regressions. Secondary outcomes included all-cause readmissions, mortality, change in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level, and persistent use of intensified medications at 1 year after discharge.ResultsThe propensity-matched cohort included 5296 older adults with diabetes (mean [SD] age, 73.7 [7.7] years; 5212 [98.4%] male; and 867 [16.4%] Black, 47 [0.9%] Hispanic, 4138 [78.1%] White), equally split between those who did and did not receive diabetes medication intensifications at hospital discharge. Within 30 days, patients who received medication intensifications had a higher risk of severe hypoglycemia (hazard ratio [HR], 2.17; 95% CI, 1.10-4.28), no difference in risk of severe hyperglycemia (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.33-3.08), and a lower risk of death (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.33-0.92). At 1 year, no differences were found in the risk of severe hypoglycemia events, severe hyperglycemia events, or death and no difference in change in HbA1c level was found among those who did vs did not receive intensifications (mean postdischarge HbA1c, 7.72% vs 7.70%; difference-in-differences, 0.02%; 95% CI, -0.12% to 0.16%). At 1 year, 48.0% (591 of 1231) of new oral diabetes medications and 38.5% (548 of 1423) of new insulin prescriptions filled at discharge were no longer being filled.Conclusions and relevanceIn this national cohort study, among older adults hospitalized for common medical conditions, discharge with intensified diabetes medications was associated with an increased short-term risk of severe hypoglycemia events but was not associated with reduced severe hyperglycemia events or improve HbA1c control. These findings indicate that short-term hospitalization may not be an effective time to intervene in long-term diabetes management.

Project description:PurposePatients with alcohol misuse are less likely to receive preventive health services but more likely to utilize emergency health services. However, the association between alcohol misuse and outpatient follow-up after hospitalization is unknown and may depend on whether a patient experiences a critical illness. We sought to determine whether alcohol misuse was associated with lower rates of outpatient follow-up after hospital discharge and whether the magnitude of this association differed in patients who experienced a critical illness.Materials and methodsThis was a retrospective cohort study using administrative data from an urban safety net hospital. Patients were included if they were admitted between 2011 and 2015, were between the ages of 18 and 89, resided within the safety net county, were discharged home, and were at moderate to high risk for hospital readmission within the subsequent 30 days. Alcohol misuse was identified using a combination of ICD-9 codes and response to a single screening question. The primary outcome was a combined measure of follow-up with a primary care physician or specialist provider in the 30 days following hospital discharge. Multivariable logistic regression was used to adjust for factors known to be associated with healthcare utilization.ResultsOverall, 17,575 patients were included in the analysis; 4984 (28%) had alcohol misuse. In the 30 days following hospital discharge, 46% of patients saw any outpatient provider. In an unadjusted analysis, the association between alcohol misuse and attending any outpatient follow-up was dependent on whether patients had a critical illness (p value <?0.0001) with the highest rates of follow-up in survivors of critical illness without alcohol misuse (53%, 95% CI 51%, 55%) followed by patients without alcohol misuse or critical illness (49%; 95% CI 48%, 50%), patients with alcohol misuse without critical illness (38%; 95% CI 36%, 39%), and patients with alcohol misuse and a critical illness (37%; 95% CI 35%, 40%). Adjusting for factors associated with healthcare utilization, these findings were modestly attenuated but unchanged.ConclusionsPatients with alcohol misuse who are at moderate to high risk for hospital readmission may benefit from targeted interventions to increase rates of outpatient follow-up after hospital discharge.

Project description:BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that approximately 20% of hospital readmissions can be medication-related and 70% of these readmissions are possibly preventable. This retrospective medical records study aimed to find risk factors associated with medication-related readmissions to hospital within 30 days of discharge in older adults (≥65 years).Methods30-day readmissions (n = 360) were assessed as being either possibly or unlikely medication-related after which selected variables were used to individually compare the two groups to a comparison group (n = 360). The aim was to find individual risk factors of possibly medication-related readmissions focusing on living arrangements, polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate medication therapy, and changes made to medication regimens at initial discharge.ResultsA total of 143 of the 360 readmissions (40%) were assessed as being possibly medication-related. Charlson Comorbidity Index (OR 1.15, 95%CI 1.5-1.25), excessive polypharmacy (OR 1.74, 95%CI 1.07-2.81), having adjustments made to medication dosages at initial discharge (OR 1.63, 95%CI 1.03-2.58) and living in your own home, alone, were variables identified as risk factors of such readmissions. Living in your own home, alone, increased the odds of a possibly medication-related readmission 1.69 times compared to living in your own home with someone (p-value 0.025) and 2.22 times compared to living in a nursing home (p-value 0.037).ConclusionPossibly medication-related readmissions within 30 days of discharge, in patients 65 years and older, are common. The odds of such readmissions increase in comorbid, highly medicated patients living in their own home, alone, and if having medication dosages adjusted at initial discharge. These results indicate that care planning before discharge and the provision of help with, for example, managing medications after discharge, are factors especially important if aiming to reduce the amount of medication-related readmissions among this population. Further research is needed to confirm this hypothesis.

Project description:Importance:Transient elevations of blood pressure (BP) are common in hospitalized older adults and frequently lead practitioners to prescribe more intensive antihypertensive regimens at hospital discharge than the patients were using before hospitalization. Objective:To investigate the association between intensification of antihypertensive regimens at hospital discharge and clinical outcomes after discharge. Design, Setting, and Participants:In this retrospective cohort study, patients 65 years and older with hypertension who were hospitalized in Veterans Health Administration national health system facilities from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, for common noncardiac conditions were studied. Data analysis was performed from October 1, 2018, to March 10, 2019. Exposures:Discharge with antihypertensive intensification, defined as receiving a prescription at hospital discharge for a new or higher-dose antihypertensive than was being used before hospitalization. Propensity scores were used to construct a matched-pairs cohort of patients who did and did not receive antihypertensive intensifications at hospital discharge. Main Outcomes and Measures:The primary outcomes of hospital readmission, serious adverse events, and cardiovascular events were assessed by competing risk analysis. The secondary outcome was the change in systolic BP within 1 year of hospital discharge. Results:The propensity-matched cohort included 4056 hospitalized older adults with hypertension (mean [SD] age, 77 [8] years; 3961 men [97.7%]), equally split between those who did vs did not receive antihypertensive intensifications at hospital discharge. Groups were well matched on all baseline covariates (all standardized mean differences <0.1). Within 30 days, patients receiving intensifications had a higher risk of readmission (hazard ratio [HR], 1.23; 95% CI, 1.07-1.42; number needed to harm [NNH], 27; 95% CI, 16-76) and serious adverse events (HR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.06-1.88; NNH, 63; 95% CI, 34-370). At 1 year, no differences were found in cardiovascular events (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.99-1.40) or change in systolic BP among those who did vs did not receive intensifications (mean BP, 134.7 vs 134.4; difference-in-differences estimate, 0.6 mm Hg; 95% CI, -2.4 to 3.7 mm Hg). Conclusions and Relevance:Among older adults hospitalized for noncardiac conditions, prescription of intensified antihypertensives at discharge was not associated with reduced cardiac events or improved BP control within 1 year but was associated with an increased risk of readmission and serious adverse events within 30 days.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Palivizumab provides passive immunity for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), but poor adherence compromises protection. A hospital initiative promoted administration of first palivizumab doses at an outpatient clinic immediately after discharge. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the impact of the initiative on location and timing of first palivizumab dose, patient adherence, reimbursement, acquisition cost and RSV-positive hospital readmissions. METHODS:This retrospective cohort study included pediatric patients who received palivizumab from 2012 to 2016. Three groups were compared: "before initiative," "transition" and "after initiative." Patients who did not qualify for palivizumab or who were eligible for palivizumab in previous RSV seasons were excluded. Multivariable logistic and linear regressions adjusted for patients' characteristics were used in outcome analysis. RESULTS:After adjusting for patients' characteristics, there was a 13.5-fold (95% confidence interval: 5.9-30.5, P < 0.0001) increase in odds that patients would receive outpatient administration of palivizumab and 2.7-fold (95% confidence interval: 1.3-5.7, P = 0.0103) increase in odds of receiving the second dose within 35 days after initiative implementation compared with before. Although there was no significant difference in reimbursement percentage after initiative implementation (32% ± 30% after initiative and 31% ± 22% before), calculated palivizumab acquisition costs were 20.8% lower. RSV readmissions were not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS:Implementation of an initiative with defined workflow, multidisciplinary collaboration, and early case management efforts to obtain insurance authorization increased outpatient administration of first palivizumab doses. Patient adherence improved as demonstrated by more timely receipt of the second palivizumab dose. There was no difference in reimbursement; however, acquisition cost decreased which is valuable considering low reimbursement rates. RSV-positive readmissions did not change significantly.

Dataset Information

Intensification of older adults' outpatient blood pressure treatment at hospital discharge: national retrospective cohort study.

Objectives

Design

Setting

Participants

Main outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Intensification of older adults' outpatient blood pressure treatment at hospital discharge: national retrospective cohort study.

Similar Datasets

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