Multimorbidity and the Risk of All-Cause 30-Day Readmission in the Setting of Multidisciplinary Management of Chronic Heart Failure: A Retrospective Analysis of 830 Hospitalized Patients in Australia

Background: Multimorbidity has an adverse effect on health outcomes in hospitalized individuals with chronic heart failure (CHF), but the modulating effect of multidisciplinary management is unknown. Objective: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that increasing morbidity would independently predict an increasing risk of 30-day readmission despite multidisciplinary management of CHF. Methods: We studied patients hospitalized for any reason with heart failure receiving nurse-led, postdischarge multidisciplinary management. We profiled a matrix of expected comorbidities involving the most common coexisting conditions associated with CHF and examined the relationship between multimorbidity and 30-day all-cause readmission. Results: A total of 830 patients (mean age 73 ± 13 years and 65% men) were assessed. Multimorbidity was common, with an average of 6.6 ± 2.4 comorbid conditions with sex-based differences in prevalence of 4 of 10 conditions. Within 30 days of initial hospitalization, 216 of 830 (26%) patients were readmitted for any reason. Greater multimorbidity was associated with increasing readmission (4%–44% for those with 0–1 to 8–9 morbid conditions; adjusted odds ratio, 1.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.13–1.38) for each additional condition. Three distinct classes of patient emerged: class 1—diabetes, metabolic, and mood disorders; class 2—renal impairment; and class 3—low with relatively fewer comorbid conditions. Classes 1 and ...
Source: Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing - Category: Nursing Tags: ARTICLES: Heart Failure Source Type: research