Risk Factors of Brodsky et al for 30-Day Readmission for an Adult with Sickle Cell Disease and Vaso-Occlusive Pain

Patient selection: adult (age > 18 years) admitted for vaso-occlusive pain episode

Outcome: 30-day readmission within 30 days of index admission (presumably from discharge day)

Potentially modifiable risk factors for readmission:

(1) no primary care provider recorded in the EHR

(2) >= 5 hospital admissions for vaso-occlusive pain episodes in the previous year

A patient with one or both of these risk factors should be targeted for improved discharge planning and follow-up.

Limitations:

• The study was retrospective and excluded a number of patients which may have affected the results.

• 18% of patients with 0 to 4 admissions in the previous year were readmitted so should not be overlooked.

• A primary care provider being listed in the EHR may or may not indicate an effective relationship.