
Understanding 30-day re-admission after hospitalisation of older patients for diabetes: identifying those at greatest risk
Understanding 30-day re-admission after hospitalisation of older patients for diabetes: identifying those at greatest risk
Gillian E Caughey, Nicole L Pratt, John D Barratt, Sepehr Shakib, Anna R Kemp-Casey and Elizabeth E Roughead
Med J Aust 2017; 206 (4): 170-175. || doi: 10.5694/mja16.00671
Objective: To identify factors that contribute to older Australians admitted to hospital with diabetes being re-hospitalised within 30 days of discharge.
Design, setting and participants: A retrospective cohort study of Department of Veterans Affairs administrative data for all patients hospitalised for diabetes and discharged alive during the period 1 January 31 December 2012.
Main outcome measures: Causes of re-hospitalisation and prevalence of clinical factors associated with re-hospitalisation within 30 days of discharge.
Methods: Multivariate logistic regression analysis (backward stepwise) was used to identify characteristics predictive of 30-day re-hospitalisation.
Results: 848 people were hospitalised for diabetes; their median age was 87 years (interquartile range, 7789 years) and 60% were men. 209 patients (24.6%) were re-hospitalised within 30 days of discharge, of whom 77.5% were re-admitted within 14 days of discharge. 51 re-hospitalisations (24%) were for diabetes-related conditions; 41% of those re-admitted within 14 days had not seen their general practitioner between discharge and re-admission. Factors predictive of re-hospitalisation included comorbid heart failure (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.032.17; P = 0.036), numbers
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