National Estimates and Predictors for Pulmonary Hypertension Readmission Categorized by Age Group

Abstract

Background Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is increasingly recognized but understudied. We sought to determine national estimate measures and predictors of 30-day readmission after PH-related hospitalization categorized by age group. Methods We used the 2014 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Readmission Database that represents weighted estimates of 35 million discharges in the US. Adult patients with primary ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes of 416.0 and 416.8 for primary and secondary PH with an index admission, and any readmission within 30-days of the index event were identified. Multivariate logistic regression modeling by age groups (Group1 ≥18 to Results Using sampling weights, national estimate of PH related index events was 2338 and readmission rate was 0.20. Predictors of Group1 readmissions were anemia, coagulopathy, congestive heart failure (CHF), lung disease (LD), solid tumor without metastasis (TS), fluid and electrolyte disorders (FED) while Group2 predictors were CHF, LD, renal failure and FED. Mean charges for Group1 admissions and readmissions were $67,183 and $68,874, with Group2 totaling $44,421 and $61,094 respectively. Conclusions 20% of PH-related hospitalizations result in 30-day readmission with underlying predictors varying by age category. Mean readmission charges significantly exceeded that of index hospitalization in age group ≥ 65 years.