title: A telephone call 1 week after hospitalization can identify risk factors for vascular surgery readmission.
abstract: Compared with other populations, patients who undergo vascular surgery have higher 30-day hospital readmission rates of up to 25%. Postdischarge telephone call assessments have demonstrated utility in patients with significant medical comorbidities and traditionally high readmission rates. Therefore, we hypothesized that a 1-week postdischarge telephone call evaluation can identify risk factors for readmission among vascular surgery patients.
  
  
  
  Patients who underwent a vascular surgery procedure during a 1-year period by a single vascular surgeon at one hospital received a postdischarge telephone call questionnaire to review postoperative pain, surgical site, constitutional symptoms, and follow-up arrangement. The primary outcome measure was frequency of postoperative symptoms as collected on the telephone call questionnaire. The secondary outcome measure was 30-day hospital readmission rates.
  
  
  
  Among 167 patients, 131 (78%) received a telephone call after discharge. Calls identified pain relieved by prescription medication (odds ratio, 6.67; confidence interval, 0.82-53.81; P = .05) and continued dressing application (odds ratio, 9.55; confidence interval, 0.54-166.6; P = .04) as risk factors for 30-day readmission. The 30-day readmission was not statistically different in patients who were successfully and not successfully contacted with a postdischarge telephone call (8% and 17%, respectively; P = .37).
  
  
  
  Vascular surgery patients are at higher risk of 30-day readmission than are patients in other surgical subspecialties. For the majority of patients, implementing a 1-week postdischarge telephone call for short-term follow-up evaluation is feasible and can help identify potential risk factors for hospital readmission within 30 days.
authors: Section of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.
authors: John R
authors: JR
authors: Hornick
authors: Section of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.
authors: Joshua A
authors: JA
authors: Balderman
authors: Section of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.
authors: Ronnie
authors: R
authors: Eugea
authors: Section of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.
authors: Luis A
authors: LA
authors: Sanchez
authors: Section of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo. Electronic address: zayedm@wustl.edu.
authors: Mohamed A
authors: MA
authors: Zayed
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001458:Bandages; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008923:Missouri; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D010359:Patient Readmission; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013689:Telephone; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics