Patients who identified as Black or Asian had significantly higher odds of 7-day readmission compared to white patients, with Black patients having an OR of 1.35 and Asian patients an OR of 1.26.
Observational (n=18,808)
No
Do racial and ethnic disparities exist in 7-day all-cause readmissions among adults discharged from a hospital medicine service?
Black and Asian patients experience significantly higher rates of 7-day readmission compared to white patients after discharge from an adult hospital medicine service, highlighting persistent racial disparities in early readmissions.
Odds Ratio: 1.35 (95% CI 1.15–1.58)
Absolute Event Rate: 8.9% vs 6.4%
p-value: p=<0.001
BACKGROUND: Health systems have targeted hospital readmissions to promote health equity as there may be racial and ethnic disparities across different patient groups. However, 7-day readmissions have been understudied in adult hospital medicine. DESIGN: This is a retrospective study. We performed multivariable logistic regression between patient race/ethnicity and 7-day readmission. Mediation analysis was performed for limited English proficiency (LEP) status. Subgroup analyses were performed for patients with initial admissions for congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cancer. PATIENTS: We identified all adults discharged from the adult hospital medicine service at UCSF Medical Center between July 2016 and June 2019. MAIN MEASURES: The primary outcome was 7-day all-cause readmission back to the discharging hospital. RESULTS: There were 18,808 patients in our dataset who were discharged between July 2016 and June 2019. A total of 1,297 (6.9%) patients were readmitted within 7 days. Following multivariable regression, patients who identified as Black (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.15-1.58, p <0.001) and patients who identified as Asian (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.06-1.50, p = 0.008) had higher odds of readmission compared to white patients. Multivariable regression at the subgroup level for CHF, COPD, and cancer readmissions did not demonstrate significant differences between the racial and ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS: Black patients and Asian patients experienced higher rates of 7-day readmission than patients who identified as white, confirmed on adjusted analysis.
Rambachan et al. (Mon,) conducted a observational in Hospital discharge (n=18,808). Black race/ethnicity vs. White race/ethnicity was evaluated on 7-day all-cause readmission back to the discharging hospital (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.15-1.58, p=<0.001). Patients who identified as Black or Asian had significantly higher odds of 7-day readmission compared to white patients, with Black patients having an OR of 1.35 and Asian patients an OR of 1.26.