Free Essay About Healthcare Statistical Brief Author 1

Healthcare Statistical Brief

According to Elixhauser, Steiner and Gould (2012), “Clostridium difficile is a common cause of health care associated infectious colitis with symptoms ranging from mild diarrhea to pseudomembranous colitis and toxic megacolon. Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) often occur as a complication of antibiotic therapy with certain populations, such as the elderly, at highest risk.” The problem is the amount of hospital stays due to CDI had risen at a consistent rate for the last ten years until remaining at the same level from 2008-2010, but readmission levels as a result of CDI have increased. As there is much information on the subject this statistical brief reviews the number of hospital readmittances for CDI in the year 2009 based on figures from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project based on 30 and 90 day stays (Elixhauser, Steiner and Gould, 2012).
The data analyzed was presented in three charts and three graphs. The first table depicted readmissions following hospital stays associated with CDI and how much each stay cost. The first graph illustrated readmissions following hospital stays associated with CDI according to age of the patient. The second graph showed readmissions following hospital stays associated with CDI based on gender. The third graph illustrated readmissions following hospital stays associated with CDI and the rates according to who paid the hospital bill. The second table provided readmissions following index hospital stays associated with CDI for patients discharged to long term care (LTC) after their initial stay. The last table produced data for the top 10 principal diagnoses for readmissions following a CDI index stay. The major discovery unearth by Elixhauser, Steiner and Gould (2012) was, “patients with a principal or secondary diagnosis of CDI during hospitalization, 4.8 percent were readmitted within 30 days with CDI as

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a principal diagnosis, 12.8 percent were readmitted with anylisted CDI, and 29.1 percent were readmitted for any cause.” In addition, “Overall, 41.5 percent of CDI index stays resulted in discharge to long term care, and readmission rates for these patients were higher than for patients overall. Most striking was the all-cause readmission rate for long term care patients—nearly half of these patients (49.0 percent) were readmitted to the hospital within 90 days” (Elixhauser, Stein and Gould, 2012).
The purpose of this study was to deduce why so many patients were being readmitted to the hospital for CDI stays and if there was a statistical prevalence in a category such as age group or by gender. According to an article by Infectious Disease News (2014) there is definitely such a correlation as “People older than 65 have about an eightfold increased risk for C. difficile and also a higher risk of recurrence. We saw approximately a 10% readmission rate, which is a bit higher than the typical literature reports. They were also more likely to be readmitted within the first 2 months after discharge from the index hospital stay.” Infectious Disease News (2014) claims this is due to older patients having more “comorbidities” and may not be able to be trusted to take the prescribed regimen of medication after being released. Therefore, the solution is to keep them in the hospital until every last sign of infection has resolved and the physicians feel confident the patients will follow the aftercare regimen. This information directly supports Elixhauser, Stein and Gould’s (2012) discoveries that patients on Medicare were much more likely to be readmitted for this condition. They would also be the ones that would be released to long-term care facilities. That is interesting considering a long-term care facility would appear to be the best place for elderly people that may forget or not realize how important their aftercare regimen is upon release from the hospital. Could this point to patients that are elderly and on

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insurance provided by the government may not be having services provided or paid for they should be receiving?

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Elderly at high risk for CDI hospital readmission. (May 6, 2014). Infectious Disease News. Web.
Retrieved from http://www.healio.com/infectious-disease/gastrointestinal-infections/news/online/%7B890b199f-ffd3-417f-b9f4-71039fdb3b4d%7D/elderly-at-high-risk-for-cdi-hospital-r.
Elixhauser, Anne, Steiner, Claudia and Gould, Carolyn. (December 2012). Readmissions

Following Hospitalizations with Clostridium difficile infections. Web

Retrieved from http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb145.pdf.