Study of California Patients Examines ‘Post-Hospital Syndrome’ Risk
A new study of California patients finds that those who were hospitalized within the last 90 days were particularly vulnerable to "post-hospital syndrome," FierceHealthcare reports.
The study -- conducted by researchers from Loyola University of Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine -- was presented during the Western Surgical Association's annual meeting.
Details of Post-Hospital Syndrome
Post-hospital syndrome is an acquired disorder caused by stressors on hospital patients. The condition can cause:
- Anxiety;
- Dehydration;
- Lack of appetite; and
- Lack of sleep.
Study Findings
For the study, researchers examined data from:
- The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; and
- Medical records on 57,988 California patients who underwent hernia repair in 2011.
Of the California patients included in the study, 1,332 had post-hospital syndrome.
According to the study, 7.6% of the patients with post-hospital syndrome were readmitted within 30 days of undergoing elective outpatient hernia surgery. In comparison, just 1.6% of patients without the condition were readmitted within 30 days.
The study concludes that "[s]urgeons must consider all recent inpatient admissions when risk-stratifying patients for ambulatory, elective surgery."
According to FierceHealthcare, providers can combat post-hospital syndrome by improving discharge procedures (Ferguson, FierceHealthcare, 11/11).
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