Health Trajectories of Skilled Nursing Facility Patients With Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Evidence for Practicing Nurses.
Mark Toles, Cameron Ulmer, Jennifer Leeman
PMID 38569102WHAT IT FOUND
Most skilled nursing facility patients with dementia returned home or to assisted living and remained stable for 30 days.
Those who were readmitted tended to be older than 81, had acute infections, multiple conditions, or recurrent issues from their initial hospital stay.
Key findings
01Of the patients with complete data, 68.3% had a stable health trajectory after discharge, 24.4% required acute care within 30 days, and 7.3% died.
02Factors associated with hospital readmission included age greater than 81 years, acute infections, multi-morbidity, recurrent injury or illness, and discharge to assisted living.
03In the three detailed case summaries, two of three patients were readmitted for the same medical problem that led to their initial hospitalization, such as heart failure symptoms or hip fractures from falls.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The analysis included only 49 patients from a single state, limiting how widely the findings apply. Outcome data were incomplete for eight patients, so results rely on 41 cases. As a descriptive case study, it identifies associations but cannot prove that specific factors cause readmission. The study used secondary data from a trial of transitional care, which may not reflect usual practice in all settings.
Declared interests
The paper does not report funding sources or conflicts of interest in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the associations found in this small descriptive analysis as evidence that specific nursing interventions reduce readmission. The study describes who was at risk but does not test whether any specific action prevented these outcomes.