Patient Characteristics Predicting Readmission Among Individuals Hospitalized for Heart Failure

• Published in: Medical care research and review Vol. 73; no. 1; p. 3
• Main Authors: O'Connor, Melissa, Murtaugh, Christopher M, Shah, Shivani, Barrón-Vaya, Yolanda, Bowles, Kathryn H, Peng, Timothy R, Zhu, Carolyn W, Feldman, Penny H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.02.2016
• Subjects: Heart Failure - therapy; Humans; Patient Readmission - statistics & numerical data; Patients; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Time Factors; patient characteristics; rehospitalization; heart failure; readmission
• ISSN: 1552-6801
• DOI: 10.1177/1077558715595156

Heart failure is difficult to manage and increasingly common with many individuals experiencing frequent hospitalizations. Little is known about patient factors consistently associated with hospital readmission. A literature review was conducted to identify heart failure patient characteristics, measured before discharge, that contribute to variation in hospital readmission rates. Database searches yielded 950 potential articles, of which 34 studies met inclusion criteria. Patient characteristics generally have a very modest effect on all-cause or heart failure-related readmission within 7 to 180 days of index hospital discharge. A range of cardiac diseases and other comorbidities only minimally increase readmission rates. No single patient characteristic stands out as a key contributor across multiple studies underscoring the challenge of developing successful interventions to reduce readmissions. Interventions may need to be general in design with the specific intervention depending on each patient's unique clinical profile.