Sex and Racial/Ethnic Differences in Within-Stay Readmissions During Inpatient Rehabilitation Among Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury.
Tolu O Oyesanya, Michael P Cary, Gabrielle Harris Walker and 3 others
PMID 35302952WHAT IT FOUND
In 210,440 adults with traumatic brain injury, within-stay readmission rates were similar for men and women.
Readmission was linked to older age, complications, lower admission function, and longer time from injury to rehabilitation; racial/ethnic minority patients had longer delays and stays before readmission.
Key findings
01Among 210,440 adults with traumatic brain injury in inpatient rehabilitation, 11.77% of male patients and 11.79% of female patients had a within-stay readmission.
02Within-stay readmission occurred in 11.63% of White patients, 11.32% of Black patients, 9.78% of Hispanic/Latino patients, and 10.61% of patients from other racial/ethnic groups.
03Across racial/ethnic groups, older age, lower admission motor and cognitive function, symptoms/signs/ill-defined conditions, and longer time from injury to rehabilitation were associated with within-stay readmission; symptoms/signs/ill-defined conditions were the only factor that predicted within-stay readmission in all racial/ethnic groups.
STILL TO COME
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What it does not show
Observational design means the study cannot show that any factor caused within-stay readmission or that treating it would prevent readmission. The models explained only 10% of the differences, so many important predictors were not captured. Only variables available in the rehabilitation database were used, so unmeasured patient, physician, and institutional factors may affect the results. Conditions such as depression may have been underestimated or not captured. The analysis excluded patients who did not live in the community before admission, had an inpatient rehabilitation stay shorter than 3 days, had missing key data, or were discharged to a skilled nursing facility, nursing home, or death.
Declared interests
The paper is listed as supported by NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support. The article text does not include an author conflict-of-interest statement.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these associations as proof that treating a listed factor will prevent within-stay readmission. The study was observational, and the models explained 10% of the differences.