Pharmacist-Led Transition of Care Pilot Targeting Older People After Emergency Department Discharge.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a pharmacist-led transitional care intervention targeting high-risk older people after an emergency department (ED) visit.
DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of older people with ED visits prior to and during a pharmacist-led intervention.
SETTING: Patients receiving primary care from the University of Colorado Health Seniors Clinic.
PARTICIPANTS: The intervention cohort comprised 170 patients with an ED visit between August 18, 2018, and February 19, 2019, and the historical cohort included 166 patients with an ED visit between August 18, 2017, and February 19, 2018. All included patients either had a historical diagnosis of heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or they had an additional ED visit in the previous six months.
INTERVENTIONS: The pilot intervention involved postED discharge telephonic outreach and assessment by a clinical pharmacist, with triaging to other staff if necessary.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with at least one repeat ED visit, hospitalization, or death within 30 days of ED discharge. Outcome rates were also assessed at 90 days postdischarge.
RESULTS: The primary outcome occurred in 21% of the historical cohort and 25% of the intervention cohort (adjusted P-value = 0.48). The incidence of the composite outcome within 90 days of ED discharge was 43% in the historical group compared with 38% in the intervention group (adjusted P-value = 0.29).
CONCLUSION: A pharmacist-led telephonic intervention pilot targeting older people did not appear to have a significant effect on the composite of repeat ED visit, hospitalization, or death within 30 or 90 days of ED discharge. A limited sample size may hinder the ability to make definitive conclusions based on these findings.

Preoperative status and risk of complications in patients with hip fracture.

BACKGROUND: Limited information is available on preoperative status and risks for complications for older patients having surgery for hip fracture. Our objective was to identify potentially modifiable clinical findings that should be considered in decisions about the timing of surgery. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study with data obtained from medical records and through structured interviews with patients. A total of 571 adults with hip fracture who were admitted to 4 metropolitan hospitals were included. RESULTS: Multiple logistic regression was used to identify risk factors (including 11 categories of physical and laboratory findings, classified as mild and severe abnormalities) for in-hospital complications. The presence of more than 1 (odds ratio [OR] 9.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.8 to 33.0) major abnormality before surgery or the presence of major abnormalities on admission that were not corrected prior to surgery (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.2 to 6.4) was independently associated with the development of postoperative complications. We also found that minor abnormalities, while warranting correction, did not increase risk (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.28 to 1.73). CONCLUSIONS: In this study of older adults undergoing urgent surgery, potentially reversible abnormalities in laboratory and physical examination occurred frequently and significantly increased the risk of postoperative complications. Major clinical abnormalities should be corrected prior to surgery, but patients with minor abnormalities may proceed to surgery with attention to these medical problems perioperatively.

Frequency and impact of active clinical issues and new impairments on hospital discharge in patients with hip fracture.

BACKGROUND: Hip fracture is associated with significant mortality and disability. Patients who are discharged from the hospital with active clinical problems may have worse outcomes than those patients without active clinical problems. OBJECTIVE: To assess the frequency and impact of clinical problems at discharge on clinical and functional hip fracture outcomes. METHODS: Detailed clinical data were collected from 559 patients in a prospective, multicenter observational cohort study. Active clinical issues (ACIs) on discharge included the following: temperature of 38.3 degrees C or higher, heart rate of more than 100/min or less than 60/min, systolic blood pressure higher than 180 mm Hg or lower than 90 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure higher than 110 mm Hg or lower than 60 mm Hg, respiratory rate of more than 24/min, oxygen saturation of less than 90%, altered mental status, no oral intake, shortness of breath, chest pain, arrhythmias, or wound infection. New impairments (NIs) included bowel and bladder incontinence, inability to get out of bed, and decubitus ulcer. Outcomes were deaths, readmissions, and functional mobility 60 days after discharge. RESULTS: Overall, 94 patients (16.8%) had 1 or more ACIs, and 229 (41.0%) had 1 or more NIs on discharge. Both ACIs and NIs on discharge were associated with increased risk-adjusted rates of death (odds ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-2.8) or readmission (odds ratio, 1.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-2.3). The NIs on discharge were also associated with worse functional mobility (P<.004). These relationships persisted in multivariate analyses that controlled for a previously validated, hip fracture-specific risk adjustment measure. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should consider information about ACIs and NIs when deciding readiness for discharge and planning post-acute care.

Hip fracture in the older patient: reasons for delay in hospitalization and timing of surgical repair.

OBJECTIVES: To quantify the interval between injury and hospitalization in older hip fracture patients, to quantify the time from hospital arrival to surgical repair of hip fracture, and to describe factors contributing to extended intervals between injury, hospitalization, and surgical repair of hip fracture. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Four hospitals in the New York City metropolitan area. PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive patients aged 50 and older admitted with diagnosis of hip fracture to these four hospitals between August 1997 and August 1998. MEASUREMENTS: Time of injury, time of arrival to the emergency room, and time of surgery were recorded and used to calculate intervals between injury and hospital arrival and between hospital arrival and surgical repair. RESULTS: Of the 571 patients enrolled, 99 (17%) arrived at the hospital more than 24 hours after injury. After hospital arrival, 17 (3%) patients did not have surgery, 166 (29%) had surgery within 24 hours of arrival, and 388 (68.0%) had surgery more than 24 hours after arrival (median 41 hours, range 25-584). For those patients who had surgery after 24 hours, 163 (29.4%) had surgery 25 to 36 hours after hospital arrival, 102 (18.4%) had surgery 37 to 48 hours after arrival, and 123 (22.2%) had surgery more than 48 hours after arrival. The primary reasons for delaying surgery more than 24 hours after hospital arrival were waiting for routine medical clearance (52%) and unavailability of the operating suite or surgeon (29%). Stabilization of associated medical conditions resulted in the lengthiest periods of delay. CONCLUSION: A wait time of more than 24 hours from hospitalization to surgical repair of hip fracture in older patients is common. Some of this delay time is patient related and some occurs because of systems factors and may be avoidable. The extent to which surgical timing affects survival and functional recovery needs more detailed examination.

Physical therapy and mobility 2 and 6 months after hip fracture.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between early physical therapy (PT), later therapy, and mobility 2 and 6 months after hip fracture. DESIGN: Prospective, multisite observational study. SETTING: Four hospitals in the New York City area. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred forty-three hospitalized older patients discharged after surgery for hip fracture in 1997-98. MEASUREMENTS: Patient demographics, fracture type, comorbidities, dementia, number of new impairments at discharge, amount of PT between day of surgery and postoperative day (POD) 3, amount of therapy between POD4 and 8 weeks later, and prefracture, 2-, and 6-month mobility measured using the Functional Independence Measure. RESULTS: More PT immediately after hip fracture surgery was associated with significantly better locomotion 2 months later. Each additional session from the day of surgery through POD3 was associated with an increase of 0.4 points (P=.032) on the 14-point locomotion scale, but the positive relationship between early PT and mobility was attenuated by 6 months postfracture. There was no association between later therapy and 2- or 6-month mobility. CONCLUSION: PT immediately after hip fracture surgery is beneficial. The effects of later therapy on mobility were difficult to assess because of limitations of the data. Well-designed randomized, controlled trials of the effect of varying schedules and amounts of therapy on functional status after hip fracture would be informative.

Association of timing of surgery for hip fracture and patient outcomes.

CONTEXT: Previous studies of surgical timing in patients with hip fracture have yielded conflicting findings on mortality and have not focused on functional outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of timing of surgical repair of hip fracture with function and other outcomes. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study including analyses matching cases of early (< or =24 hours) and late (>24 hours) surgery with propensity scores and excluding patients who might not be candidates for early surgery. SETTING: Four hospitals in the New York City metropolitan area. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1206 patients aged 50 years or older admitted with hip fracture over 29 months, ending December 1999. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Function (using the Functional Independence Measure), survival, pain, and length of stay (LOS). RESULTS: Of the patients treated with surgery (n = 1178), 33.8% had surgery within 24 hours. Earlier surgery was not associated with improved mortality (hazard ratio, 0.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52-1.08) or improved locomotion (difference of -0.04 points; 95% CI, -0.49 to 0.39). Earlier surgery was associated with fewer days of severe and very severe pain (difference of -0.22 days; 95% CI, -0.41 to -0.03) and shorter LOS by 1.94 days (P<.001), but postoperative pain and LOS after surgery did not differ. Analyses with propensity scores yielded similar results. When the cohort included only patients who were medically stable at admission and therefore eligible for early surgery, the results were unchanged except that early surgery was associated with fewer major complications (odds ratio, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.07-0.95). CONCLUSIONS: Early surgery was not associated with improved function or mortality, but it was associated with reduced pain and LOS and probably major complications among patients medically stable at admission. Additional research is needed on whether functional outcomes may be improved. In the meantime, patients with hip fracture who are medically stable should receive early surgery when possible.