A retrospective cohort study of 17,761 30-day readmissions in an academic health system was conducted to identify risk factors present during the index hospitalization associated with death or transition to hospice care. Sepsis and shock during the index admission were associated with in-hospital mortality. In patients who died, infection was the primary cause for readmission in 51.6 percent of readmissions after sepsis and 28.6 percent of readmissions after a non-sepsis hospitalization.
Post-sepsis readmissions, in particular, are remarkably frequent and have been tied to poor patient outcomes, with 30-day readmission rates ranging from 18-27 percent, and rates of in-hospital death or transition to hospice care during readmission are apparently more than double that of patients readmitted following other conditions. Read the study. (Sue Bergmann)
