Table I.
Patient characteristics, 1999 to 2010
| 1999* | 2000 | 2004 | 2005 | 2009 | 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total, no. | 190,745 | 197,916 | 207,584 | 200,092 | 169,716 | 169,863 |
| Age, mean (SD) | 78.6 (7.8) | 78.8 (7.8) | 78.8 (8.1) | 78.9 (8.2) | 78.8 (8.6) | 78.8 (8.6) |
| Female, n (%) | 97398 (51.1) | 102061 (51.6) | 105022 (50.6) | 100186 (50.1) | 83214 (49.0) | 82915 (48.8) |
| White, n (%) | 169698 (89.0) | 175784 (88.8) | 182244 (87.8) | 175552 (87.7) | 148338 (87.4) | 148211 (87.3) |
| Black, n (%) | 13451 (7.1) | 14148 (7.1) | 15583 (7.5) | 15097 (7.5) | 13409 (7.9) | 13441 (7.9) |
| Other, n (%) | 7596 (4.0) | 7984 (4.0) | 9757 (4.7) | 9443 (4.7) | 7969 (4.7) | 8211 (4.8) |
| Atherosclerosis, n (%) | 130343 (68.3) | 138158 (69.8) | 152343 (73.4) | 147186 (73.6) | 125652 (74.0) | 125929 (74.1) |
| Respiratory failure, n (%) | 4798 (2.5) | 5333 (2.7) | 6029 (2.9) | 6049 (3.0) | 8126 (4.8) | 8466 (5.0) |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 101361 (53.1) | 108999 (55.1) | 124539 (60.0) | 120195 (60.1) | 112716 (66.4) | 113563 (66.9) |
| Renal failure, n (%) | 8049 (4.2) | 9335 (4.7) | 13988 (6.7) | 14767 (7.4) | 21803 (12.8) | 22986 (13.5) |
| Home, n (%) | 119406 (62.6) | 122708 (62.0) | 115209 (55.5) | 111251 (55.6) | 94702 (55.8) | 95123 (56.0) |
| Homecare, n (%) | 25560 (13.4) | 25729 (13.0) | 33006 (15.9) | 31214 (15.6) | 26645 (15.7) | 27008 (15.9) |
| ICF/SNF, n (%) | 36242 (19.0) | 38198 (19.3) | 42555 (20.5) | 41419 (20.7) | 33434 (19.7) | 32953 (19.4) |
| Hospice, n (%) | 191 (0.1) | 396 (0.2) | 4152 (2.0) | 4602 (2.3) | 5770 (3.4) | 5775 (3.4) |
| Length of stay, mean (SD) | 7.2 (6.2) | 7.1 (6.2) | 6.7 (6.2) | 6.5 (6.0) | 5.8 (5.4) | 5.6 (5.3) |
| Days to readmission, Mean (SD) | 142 (108) | 141 (109) | 138 (108) | 139 (109) | 138 (109) | 142 (110) |
Abbreviation: ICF/SNF, intermediate care facility/skilled nursing facility.
*
Data and the comorbidities that increased by ≥5 absolute percentage points over the study period are reported for 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2009, and 2010 for display purposes (see online Appendix Supplementary Table I for all comorbidities).