Prevalence of hospital readmission, related causes and determinants in older people from 2010 to 2022

Reducing the rate of re-hospitalization is an important goal to improve the quality of care and reduce healthcare costs. The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of hospital readmissions, to investigate the causes of index admissions, readmissions and related determinants in an older population. Data from the REgistro dei pazienti per le POlipatologie e politerapie in reparti della rete SIMI (REPOSI) register were used. Older patients (65 + years old) acutely hospitalized and discharged from internal medicine and geriatric wards were followed-up by phone interview after 3 months. Prevalence of hospital readmission was calculated from 2010 to 2022, as well as the patterns of causes of index admission and readmission. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association with 3-month readmissions of patients' variables. Out of 4216 patients evaluated, 828 (19.6%) were re-hospitalized within 3 months. The most frequent causes of index hospitalization were ill-defined conditions (28.6%) and heart failure (12.1%), and those of re-hospitalization heart failure (14.0%) and rehabilitation procedures (11.7%). Multimorbidity, functional dependence and previous hospital admissions were the most important risk factors for re-hospitalization. Among the patients readmitted, 24.3% (201/828) were re-hospitalized with the same condition of their index admission. These results demonstrate that the prevalence of hospital readmission remains high, thus underlying the need for increased medical and social attention towards elderly patients at the time of hospital discharge.