One-third of septic shock survivors readmitted

(HealthDay)—About one-third of survivors of sepsis or septic shock are readmitted within 30 days, according to a study published online July 20 in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.

Marya D. Zilberberg, M.D., M.P.H., from the EviMed Research Group in Goshen, Mass., and colleagues examined the frequency of and risk factors for 30-day readmission among patients surviving sepsis in a single-center study. Readmission risk was examined among 1,697 survivors of hospitalization with culture-positive severe sepsis or septic shock.

The researchers found that 32.0 percent of survivors required 30-day readmission. Compared with nonreadmitted survivors, readmitted patients had a higher chronic illness burden (median Charlson score 5 versus 4; P < 0.001), but not acute illness burden (median Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score 15 and 15; P = 0.275); they also had higher prevalence of health care-associated sepsis (94.2 versus 90.2 percent; P = 0.014). The odds of 30-day readmission were increased with three factors: extended spectrum β-lactamase organism (odds ratio, 4.50); injury or failure on Risk Injury, Failure, Loss, End-stage criteria (odds ratio, 1.95); and Bacteroides species (odds ratio, 2.04), while two factors decreased risk: urine as source (odds ratio, 0.58) and Escherichia coli organism (odds ratio, 0.49).

"We have demonstrated that survivors of culture-positive severe sepsis or septic shock have a high rate of 30-day rehospitalization," the authors write.

The study was funded by a grant from Cubist Pharmaceuticals.

Copyright © 2015 HealthDay. All rights reserved.