title: Opportunities for Improvement in the Care of Patients Hospitalized for Inflammatory Bowel Disease-Related Colitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Algorithms for the diagnosis, management, and follow-up have been proposed for patients hospitalized for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) colitis flare. The degree to which providers adhere to these algorithms is unknown. This study evaluated the quality of care in IBD patients hospitalized for disease-associated exacerbations and factors correlated with higher degrees of care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective chart review of 34 patients during 60 admissions to the medicine service for IBD colitis exacerbation between 2005 and 2012 at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Medical Center. Examined factors included laboratory testing, timing of consultation and intravenous steroids, abdominal imaging, endoscopic examination, venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis, narcotic use, Clostridium difficile and cytomegalovirus testing, symptomatology at discharge, timing of follow-up, and rates of readmission and mortality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Quality of care varied among the factors studied, ranging from 30.5 % for pharmacologic VTE prophylaxis to 84.7 % for gastroenterology consultation within 24 h. Of 60 admissions, 22 % were not tested for C. difficile. Fifteen percent of patients were discharged before meeting commonly used discharge criteria. Eighty percent were seen in clinic at any time post-discharge; 6.7 % were readmitted; 10 % were lost to follow-up; 1.7 % opted for outside follow-up; and 1.7 % expired.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The quality of care for patients admitted with IBD colitis flares is variable. These data outline opportunities for improvement, particularly in regard to pain management, VTE prophylaxis, and follow-up. Further studies are needed to test intervention strategies for practice improvement.
authors: VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA, 92161, USA.|University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors: Noel S
authors: NS
authors: Lee
authors: Kaiser Permanente San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors: Suresh
authors: S
authors: Pola
authors: VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA, 92161, USA.|University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors: Erik J
authors: EJ
authors: Groessl
authors: VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA, 92161, USA.|University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors: Jesus
authors: J
authors: Rivera-Nieves
authors: VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA, 92161, USA. samuel.ho2@va.gov.|University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA. samuel.ho2@va.gov.
authors: Samuel B
authors: SB
authors: Ho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Crohn’s disease; Inflammatory bowel disease; Quality indicators; Ulcerative colitis