Though it is not discussed as often, readmissions from severe sepsis are along the lines of readmissions from more commonly discussed conditions like heart failure and pneumonia, according to a study presented at the 2015 American Thoracic Society International Conference.
To measure the rate of 30-day readmissions, researchers examined inpatient discharges from New York City-based Bellevue Hospital between July 2011 and July 2014 and found subsequent readmissions to the hospital within 30 days. They used three different methods to identify patients with severe sepsis: Angus, Martin and ICD-9 sepsis codes.
They tracked 22,712 discharges and found an overall readmission rate of 15.31 percent. Of the total discharges, 1,801 were identified as sepsis using Angus, 798 using Martin and 579 using ICD-9. "Of those, 266, 119 and 71 were readmitted within 30 days, accounting for 14.77 percent, 14.91 percent and 12.26 percent, respectively," said Darya Rudym, MD, the study's lead author.
Comparatively, the heart failure readmission rate was 15 percent and the pneumonia rate was 14.46 percent.