The following is a summary of “Burden and predictors of 30-day unplanned readmission in patients with acute liver failure: a national representative database study,” published in the May 2024 issue of Gastroenterology by Xu et al.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess 30-day unplanned readmission rates, causes, costs, and predictors in patients with acute liver failure (ALF).

They enrolled patients admitted for ALF from the 2019 National Readmission Database. Weighted multivariable logistic regression models were utilized based on Directed Acyclic Graphs. The incidence, causes, cost, and predictors of 30-day unplanned readmissions were also identified.

The results showed 3,281 patients with ALF, 18.3% (600) were readmitted within 30 days. The mean time to early readmission was 12.6 days. The average hospital cost and readmission charges were $19,629 and $86,228, respectively. The main causes of readmission were liver-related events (26.6%) and infection (20.9%). Predictive factors independently associated with readmissions included age, male sex (OR 1.227, 95% CI 1.023–1.472; P = 0.028), renal failure (OR 1.401, 95% CI 1.139–1.723; P=0.001), diabetes with chronic complications (OR 1.327, 95% CI 1.053–1.672; P=0.017), complicated hypertension (OR 1.436, 95% CI 1.111–1.857; P=0.006), peritoneal drainage (OR 1.600, 95% CI 1.092–2.345; P=0.016), etc.

Investigators found that patients with ALF experienced high rates of costly early readmissions, highlighting the need for a stronger focus on preventing readmissions and developing better management strategies.

Source: bmcgastroenterol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12876-024-03249-0