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Research Article: Hospital readmissions and mortality following discharge against medical advice: a five-year retrospective, population-based cohort study in Veneto region, Northeast Italy

Date Published: 2023-05-23

Abstract:
Objectives The aim of this study was to examine the odds of readmission and mortality after discharge against medical advice (DAMA) in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, drawing on data from the regional archives of emergency department records and hospital discharge records. Design A retrospective cohort study. Setting Hospital discharges, Veneto region, Italy. Participants All patients discharged after being admitted to a public or accredited private hospital between January 2016 and 31 January 2021 in the Veneto region were considered. A total of 3 574 124 index discharges were examined for inclusion in the analysis. Primary and secondary outcome measures Readmission and overall mortality at 30 days after the index discharge against admission. Results In our cohort, 7.6‰ of patients left hospital against their doctor’s advice (n=19 272). These DAMA patients were more likely to be younger (mean age: 45.5 vs 55.0), foreign (22.1% vs 9.1%). The adjusted odds of readmission after DAMA was 2.76 (CI 95% 2.62–2.90) at 30 days (9.5% DAMA vs 4.6% not-DAMA), and the highest readmission rate was recorded in the first 24 hours after the index discharge. Mortality was higher for DAMA patients after adjusting for patient-level and hospital-level characteristics (with adjusted ORs of 1.40 for in-hospital mortality and 1.48 for overall mortality). Conclusions The present study shows that DAMA patients are more likely to die and to need hospital readmission than patients discharged by their doctors. DAMA patients should be more committed to a proactive and diligent postdischarge care.

Introduction:
When patients decide to leave hospital before their treating physician advises them to do so, this is called a discharge against medical advice (DAMA). 1 2 The prevalence of DAMA in the USA is in the range of 1%–2% for inpatient hospitalisations and 1%–20% for admissions to emergency departments. 2–4 DAMA is a major concern for physicians and healthcare systems, as the disruption to patient care can lead to both disproportionate resource consumption and suboptimal patient health management. 5 6 DAMA patients face…

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