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INTRODUCTION: 30-day readmission is increasingly used as a hospital quality metric. The objective of this study was to describe the patient factors associated with unplanned 30-day hospital readmission of orthopaedic trauma patients. METHODS: A statewide observational study was undertaken using data from all acute hospitals in California. All hospital inpatients with a primary diagnosis of fracture or dislocation (ICD-9-CM codes 800-829) were included, except for those with isolated injuries to the skull, face, or ribs. The primary outcome measure was unplanned 30-day readmission to any hospital in California. RESULTS: 416,568 trauma admissions were available for analysis. The overall readmission rate was 6.5%, and 27.3% of readmitted patients presented to a different hospital. Factors significantly associated with readmission were male sex (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.19-1.27), age 46-65 (2.61 [2.27-2.99]), black race (1.19 [1.11-1.27]), entitlement to publicly funded healthcare (1.38 [1.25-1.52]), Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥2 (1.84 [1.79-1.90]), discharge against medical advice (3.13 [2.67-3.68]), and spinal fracture (1.42 [1.34-1.49]). Major reasons for readmission included: cardiopulmonary disease (25.6%), infections (20.1%), musculoskeletal problems (18.1%), and procedural complications (12.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Many orthopaedic trauma readmissions are potentially unrelated to the initial hospitalization. Penalties for unplanned readmissions risk penalizing hospitals that serve disadvantaged communities and treat a high proportion of trauma patients.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.injury.2016.05.007

Type

Journal article

Journal

Injury

Publication Date

08/2016

Volume

47

Pages

1794 - 1797

Keywords

Orthopaedic trauma, Readmission, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, California, Child, Child, Preschool, Comorbidity, Female, Humans, Infant, Male, Middle Aged, Orthopedic Procedures, Patient Readmission, Postoperative Complications, Quality Indicators, Health Care, Retrospective Studies, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Surgical Wound Infection, Time Factors, Wounds and Injuries, Young Adult