Risk Factors of Readmission Due to Exacerbation in Chemical Injured Patients with Chronic Pulmonary Diseases

Background. Readmission of injured veterans imposes heavy financial burdens on the health system in different countries thus, determining its controllable risk factors can result in lowering such costs. This study was designed to evaluate the risk factors associated with readmission due to exacerbation in chemical injured patients who suffer from chronic pulmonary diseases. Material and Methods. In this prospective study that was carried out in 2006, 96 chemical injured veterans from Sardasht were chosen in a simple randomized fashion. They were followed up for readmission (2 times or more within 6 months) due to exacerbation in signs and symptoms. Demographic data (age, sex, marital status, monthly income and level of education), spirometric findings (Predicted VC, Predicted FVC, and Predicted FEV1), somatic comorbidities (Ifudu), scale of anxiety and depression (HADS) and Body Mass Index (BMI) were recorded for each participant. Risk factors of readmission due to exacerbation of pulmonary signs and symptoms were analyzed using the multivariate regression test. Finding. Of all 96 individuals, 23 (24%) were readmitted due to aggravation of signs and symptoms within 6 months which showed a significant relationship with age (P=0.016), sex (P=0.05), comorbidity score (P=0.008), level of anxiety (P=0.05) and depression (P=0.05) while reevaluation with Predicted VC (P=0.717), Predicted FVC (P=0.664) and Predicted FEV1 (0.353) was not statistically significant. Predicting factors of readmission in patients suffering from chronic pulmonary diseases were comorbidity scale (P=0.007) and anxiety (P=0.040) which predicted readmission as follows: Logit (readmission) = 0.19 8* comorbidity (unit) * anxiety (unit)-3.93 Discussion. According to this study, comorbid somatic conditions and level of anxiety are risk factors of readmission due to aggravation of signs and symptoms in chemical injured patients who suffer from chronic pulmonary diseases. Considering such variables would assist decision makers in lowering heavy costs of readmissions in such patients.