Table 2.
Comparison of Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Between Index Cases With No Readmissions and Cases Readmitted Within 60 Days
| HSE Cases Survive (Index Cases)a | HSE at Index With No Readmits | HSE at Index With 60-day Readmission | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nb | % | nb | % | nb | % | P-value | |
| All hospitalizations | 10 009 | (100) | 7206 | (100) | 2815 | (100) | … |
| Gender | |||||||
| Male | 4877 | (48.7) | 3504 | (48.7) | 1373 | (48.9) | .5 |
| Female | 5132 | (51.3) | 3699 | (51.4) | 1434 | (51.1) | |
| Age (continuous) | |||||||
| Age, mean (SD) | 59 | (19.23) | 57.95 | (19.6) | 62.41 | (17.1) | <.001 |
| Age (categorical) | |||||||
| 1–17 | 417 | (4.2) | 351 | (4.9) | 66 | (2.4) | <.001 |
| 18–44 | 1621 | (16.2) | 1310 | (18.2) | 310 | (11.1) | |
| 45–64 | 3650 | (36.5) | 2609 | (36.2) | 1041 | (37.1) | |
| ≥65 | 4322 | (43.2) | 2933 | (40.7) | 1389 | (49.5) | |
| Primary payorc | |||||||
| Medicare/Medicaid | 5782 | (57.8) | 3957 | (55) | 1824 | (65) | <.001 |
| Private | 3382 | (33.8) | 2547 | (35.3) | 835 | (29.7) | |
| Uninsured/other | 846 | (8.5) | 698 | (9.7) | 148 | (5.3) | |
| Discharge dispositiond | |||||||
| Discharge home or self care | 3625 | (36.2) | 2887 | (40.1) | 738 | (26.2) | <.001 |
| Transfer, home health care | 6286 | (62.8) | 4243 | (58.9) | 2043 | (72.9) | |
| Against medical advice | 91 | (0.9) | 65 | (0.9) | 26 | (0.9) | |
| Other | 7 | (0.1) | 7 | (0.1) | 0 | (0) | |
| Death | 0 | (0) | 0 | (0) | 0 | (0) | |
| Zip code income quartilee | |||||||
| 0–25th percentile | 2513 | (25.5) | 1723 | (24.2) | 789 | (28.6) | .28 |
| 26–50th percentile | 2539 | (25.7) | 1787 | (25.1) | 752 | (27.24) | |
| 51–75th percentile | 2510 | (25.4) | 1876 | (26.4) | 634 | (22.9) | |
| 76–100th percentile | 2305 | (23.4) | 1720 | (24.2) | 586 | (21.2) | |
| Clinical features at index, mean (SD) | |||||||
| Length of stay | 13.24 | 15.6 | 12.72 | 14.9 | 15.41 | 17.7 | <.001 |
| Number of diagnoses | 13.66 | 7.5 | 13.19 | 7.4 | 15.46 | 7.4 | <.001 |
| Number of procedures | 3.02 | 2.9 | 2.91 | 2.7 | 3.45 | 3.3 | <.001 |
| Charlson comorbidity score | 1.12 | 1.2 | 1.04 | 1.2 | 1.44 | 1.3 | <.001 |
| Procedures at index | |||||||
| Intubated | 1577 | (15.8) | 1113 | (15.4) | 464 | (16.5) | .25 |
| Trach placement | 1359 | (13.6) | 970 | (13.5) | 388 | (13.8) | .61 |
| Signs and symptoms at index | |||||||
| Fever | 3202 | (32) | 2288 | (31.7) | 914 | (32.5) | .79 |
| Seizures | 2702 | (27) | 1884 | (26.1) | 818 | (29.1) | .14 |
| Aphasia | 1250 | (12.5) | 921 | (12.8) | 329 | (11.7) | .19 |
| Cerebral edema | 906 | (9.1) | 606 | (8.4) | 300 | (10.6) | .16 |
| Dysphagia | 804 | (8) | 509 | (7.1) | 295 | (10.5) | .001 |
| Leukocytosis | 558 | (5.6) | 390 | (5.4) | 169 | (6.0) | 1.00 |
| Thrombocytopenia | 463 | (4.6) | 318 | (4.4) | 145 | (5.1) | .23 |
| Abnormal gait | 449 | (4.5) | 338 | (4.7) | 111 | (3.9) | .27 |
| Leukocytopenia | 73 | (0.7) | 45 | (0.6) | 27 | (1.0) | .20 |
Abbreviations: HSE, herpes simplex encephalitis; SD, standard deviation.
aIndex cases only included hospitalizations with primary diagnosis of HSE; hospitalization did not occur in the last 60 days of the data set, ≥1 year of age, and did not die during hospitalization.
bValues are surveyed weighted counts.
cPayor groups: Medicare/Medicaid = includes both fee-for-service and managed care patients; private = includes commercial carriers and private health maintenance organizations (HMOs)/preferred provider organizations (PPOs); uninsured/other = includes worker’s compensation, CHAMPUS, CHAMPVA, Title V, and other government programs.
dTransfer includes short-term hospitals, skilled nursing facility, or intermediate care facility.
eBased on estimated median household income of residents in the patient’s ZIP code; approximate dollar ranges: 0–25% = 1–40 000; 26–50% = 41 000–50 000; 51–75% = 51 000–65 000; 76–100% >65 000.