Table 1. Characteristics of hospital discharges to PAC facilities by readmission status.
The most common 5 hospital discharge diagnoses were chosen to display. Higher Barthel Index scores are equivalent to higher function. This score was categorized with scores 0–30 = low function, 31–60= moderate function, and >60 high function. In contrast, higher cognitive performance scores connote lower function; these were also categorized as 0 = high cognitive function, 1 = moderate cognitive function, 2–6 = low cognitive function.
| Readmitted N=739 (22.8%) |
Not readmitted N=2507 (77.2%) |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | (95%CI) | (95%CI) | p-value |
| Patient Characteristics | |||
| Age ≥ 80 (%) | 64.4 (61.0–67.9) | 66.2 (64.3–68.0) | 0.37 |
| Male (%) | 38.4 (35.1–42.1) | 34.9 (33.1–36.8) | 0.07 |
| Minority race/ethnicity (%) | 15.0 (12.4–17.6) | 10.5 (9.3–11.7) | <0.001 |
| Dual-eligible (%) | 51.2 (47.6–54.8) | 70.5 (68.7–72.3) | <0.001 |
| Charlson-Deyo score (mean) | 1.2 (1.1–1.3) | 0.8 (0.7–0.8) | <0.001 |
| Hospitalizations in prior 6 mos (mean) | 0.6 (0.5–0.7) | 0.3 (0.3–0.4) | <0.001 |
| Hospital discharge diagnosis (%) | |||
| Congestive heart failure | 6.9 (5.1–8.7) | 4.0 (3.3–4.8) | <0.001 |
| Pneumonia | 6.9 (5.1–8.7) | 5.5 (4.6–6.4) | 0.15 |
| Hip fracture | 2.8 (1.6–3.9) | 5.0 (4.1–5.8) | 0.01 |
| Acute CVA | 2.7 (1.5–3.9) | 2.8 (2.2–3.4) | 0.77 |
| Osteoarthritis | 1.4 (0.6–2.3) | 2.5 (1.9–3.1) | 0.09 |
| Hospital length of stay, days (mean) | 11.9 (10.9–12.9) | 8.8 (8.4–9.2) | <0.001 |
| Functional status on PAC admission | |||
| High function | 6.5 (4.7–8.3) | 14.5 (13.1–15.9) | <0.001 |
| Moderate function | 25.9 (27.7–29.1) | 33.7 (31.9–35.6) | <0.001 |
| Low function | 67.7 (64.3–71.1) | 51.8 (49.8–53.8) | <0.001 |
| Cognitive Performance Score | |||
| High (most disabled) | 55.5 (51.9–59.1) | 50.0 (48.0–52.0) | 0.002 |
| Moderate | 11.6 (9.3–13.9) | 11.3 (10.1–12.5) | 0.80 |
| Low (least disabled) | 32.9 (29.5–36.3) | 39.7 (37.8–41.6) | <0.001 |
| PAC facility characteristics | |||
| For-profit ownership (%) | 72.0 (68.8–75.2) | 62.9 (61.0–64.8) | <0.001 |
| Number of residents (mean) | 142.0 (135.0–149.0) | 130.4 (126.8–134.0) | <0.001 |
| % Medicare-certified beds (mean) | 98.8 (98.3–99.3) | 98.2 (97.8–98.6) | 0.13 |
| Average length of stay, days | 23.1 (21.1–25.1) | 32.2 (31.1–33.4) | <0.001 |
| Average cost of stay, dollars | 7827 (7198–8456) | 11053 (10672–11433) | <0.001 |
| Number of MD visits in PAC (mean) | 3.6 (3.4–3.8) | 2.6 (2.5–2.7) | <0.001 |
| Invasive devices in PAC | |||
| Intravenous catheter (%) | 14.1 (11.6–16.7) | 12.7 (11.4–14.0) | 0.30 |
| Feeding tube (%) | 9.4 (7.3–11.5) | 430 (3.4–4.9) | <0.001 |
| Urinary catheter (%) | 30.4 (27.0–33.7) | 22.9 (21.2–24.5) | <0.001 |
| Advanced care provided in PAC | |||
| Chemotherapy (%) | 0.5 (0.0–1.1) | 0.4 (0.0–0.6) | 0.72 |
| Dialysis (%) | 5.0 (3.4–6.6) | 1.9 (1.4–2.5) | <0.001 |
| Intravenous medications (%) | 64.8 (61.4–68.3) | 58.8 (56.9–60.7) | 0.003 |
| Monitor fluid balance (%) | 55.5 (51.9–59.1) | 51.5 (49.5–53.5) | 0.06 |
| Ostomy care (%) | 7.0 (5.2–8.9) | 3.7 (3.0–4.5) | <0.001 |
| Tracheostomy care (%) | 1.0 (0.3–1.7) | 0.7 (0.4–1.0) | 0.54 |
| Oxygen therapy (%) | 41.3 (37.7–44.8) | 33.4 (31.5–35.2) | <0.001 |
| Transfusions (%) | 8.7 (6.9–8.7) | 7.5 (6.5–8.6) | 0.31 |
| Active medical conditions in PAC | |||
| Dyspnea (%) | 25.2 (22.0–28.3) | 17.6 (16.2–19.1) | <0.001 |
| Dehydration (%) | 3.3 (2.0–4.5) | 4.9 (4.1–5.8) | 0.06 |
| Edema (%) | 36.9 (33.5–40.4) | 34.1 (32.2–35.9) | 0.15 |
| Fever (%) | 7.2 (5.3–9.0) | 5.6 (5.3–9.0) | 0.12 |
| Hallucinations (%) | 3.4 (2.1–4.7) | 2.8 (2.2–3.5) | 0.44 |
| Internal bleeding (%) | 3.9 (2.5–5.3) | 1.6 (1.1–2.1) | <0.001 |
| Lung aspiration (%) | 1.4 (0.5–2.2) | 0.6 (0.3–0.9) | 0.04 |
| Vomiting (%) | 4.3 (2.9–5.8) | 2.3 (1.6–2.8) | 0.002 |
| Presence of surgical wounds (%) | 25.4 (22.3–28.6) | 29.8 (28.0–31.6) | 0.02 |
| Pressure ulcers (%) | 27.5 (24.3–30.7) | 17.4 (15.9–18.8) | <0.001 |
| Active complaints of pain (%) | 56.9 (53.3–60.4) | 59.1 (57.2–61.0) | 0.29 |
| High-risk medications in PAC | |||
| Meds received in last 7 days (mean) | 12.0 (11.7–12.4) | 11.3 (11.1–11.5) | <0.001 |
| Received antipsychotic (%) | 0.9 (0.7–1.0) | 0.8 (0.7–0.9) | 0.33 |
| Received anxiolytic/hypnotic (%) | 1.1 (1.0–1.2) | 1.2 (1.0–1.3) | 0.46 |