title: Blood transfusion and 30-day readmission rate in adult patients hospitalized with sickle cell disease crisis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sickle cell disease (SCD) patients hospitalized with vasoocclusive pain crisis tend to have prolonged length of stay (LOS) and high 30-day readmission rates. We investigated the associations of demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and blood transfusion during hospitalization with these outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Repeated regression analysis was used to analyze 39,324 admissions of 4348 adults with sickle cell crisis from 2007 to 2012 in the Truven Health MarketScan Medicaid Databases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean (95% range) LOS was 5.9 (1.0-19.0) days and the 30-day readmission rate was 39.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 39.1%-40.0%). Older age; chronic cardiopulmonary, renal, or liver disease; and sepsis were associated with both longer LOS and greater 30-day readmission rate. Female sex, iron overload, acute chest syndrome, acute renal failure, and stroke were additional predictors of longer LOS. Simple red blood cell transfusion was administered in 31.8% of the admissions, and these patients tended to have more severe disease (chronic cardiopulmonary or kidney disease, acute chest syndrome, acute kidney or liver failure, sepsis). Nevertheless, transfusion was associated with a reduced estimated odds ratio (OR) of inpatient mortality of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.57-0.99) and a decreased OR of 30-day readmission of 0.78 (95% CI, 0.73-0.83).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings point to blood transfusion as a potential means to reduce the 30-day readmission rate among Medicaid patients hospitalized with sickle cell crisis. There is a need for a prospective study to examine the potential benefit and safety of simple blood transfusion for this purpose.
authors.affiliation: Center for Sickle Cell Disease and Department of Medicine, Howard University, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nouraie
authors.affiliation: Sickle Cell Center and Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Victor R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Gordeuk
mesh_terms: D056586:Acute Chest Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D019190:Iron Overload / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D007902:Length of Stay; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D010359:Patient Readmission; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy