Ernæringsmæssig risiko prædikterer genindlæggelse inden for 30 og 180 dage efter udskrivning hos ældre patienter på tværs af et bredt spektrum af diagnoser

Background and aims
Older adult patients who are at nutritional risk during hospital admission are at higher risk of readmission. There is a lack of studies investigating this relationship across different older adult patient groups while using recommended instruments and adjusting for relevant confounders. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether nutritional status according to the Nutrition Risk Screening 2002 during hospitalization predicted readmission among older adult patients within 30 and 180 days across a broad spectrum of wards and diagnoses when adjusting for relevant confounders.

Materials and methods
The present study is a cohort registry study including older adult patients (≥65 years) hospitalized during a 5-year period. Logistic regression analyses with readmission within 30 days (n = 8,371) and 180 days (n = 7,981) as the dependent variable were performed.

Results
Older adult patients at nutritional risk during the index admission were 1.44 times more likely to be readmitted within 30 days (P < 0.001), and 1.47 times more likely to be readmitted within 180 days (P < 0.001), when adjusting for age, sex, discharge destination, diagnosis group, and length-of-stay.

Conclusions
Our results highlight the importance of focusing on nutritional status in older adults as a factor in readmission prevention, including ensuring that practices, resources, and guidelines support appropriate screening procedures. Because nutritional risk predicts readmission both in a 30-days and 180-days perspective, the results point to the importance of ensuring follow-up on the screening result, both in the hospital context and after discharge.