Abstract

Objective:

Intensive care unit (ICU) readmission is a common and unwanted situation. Mortality rates, length of stay in ICU and treatment expenses are also higher in readmitted patients. This study aimed to examine the hospital/ICU readmission rates and risk factors among patients discharged from the ICU.

Materials and Methods:

Patients older than 18 years who were hospitalised in the ICU between January 1, 2012 and October 31, 2016 and were re-admitted to the hospital/ICU within 30 days after discharge were retrospectively analysed.

Results:

A total of 510 patients met the inclusion criteria, of whom 91 (17.84%) patients were readmitted to the ICU. The average age was higher (p=0.002) among the readmitted patients. The acute physiology and chronic health evaluation-II and sequential organ failure assessment scores at admission and discharge, stability and workload index for transfer (SWIFT) scores at discharge and comorbid disease rates were higher among readmitted patients (p<0.05 for all). Patients discharged with mechanical ventilation support had higher readmission rates (p=0.041). In our risk analysis model, factors that increased the risk of readmission were identified as age [odds ratio (OR), 1.02; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.03] and presence of renal disease (OR, 5.72; 95% CI, 2.81-11.65) among patient-related reasons.

Conclusion:

High acute physiology and chronic health evaluation and SWIFT scores during discharge as well as presence of comorbidities can predict hospital/ICU readmission.

Keywords: SWIFT score, intensive care, readmission, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation-II score

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Copyright and license

Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to cite?

1.
Ulusaloğlu C, Ceylan İ, Kelebek Girgin N, İşçimen R, Şöhret Kahveci F. A Retrospective Analysis of Causes for Readmission to Hospital and Intensive Care Unit in Patients Discharged from Intensive Care Units. Turk J Intensive Care. 2022;20(2):93-101. https://doi.org/10.4274/tybd.galenos.2021.09709