Register      Login
Australian Health Review Australian Health Review Society
Journal of the Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Predicting unplanned readmission after myocardial infarction from routinely collected administrative hospital data

Santu Rana A , Truyen Tran A , Wei Luo A , Dinh Phung A , Richard L. Kennedy B and Svetha Venkatesh A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Centre for Pattern Recognition and Data Analytics, Deakin University, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, Vic. 3220, Australia. Email: santu.rana@deakin.edu.au; Truyen.tran@deakin.edu.au; wei.luo@deakin.edu.au; dinh.phung@deakin.edu.au

B School of Medicine, Deakin University, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, Vic. 3220, Australia. Email: lee.kennedy@deakin.edu.au

C Corresponding author. Email: Svetha.venkatesh@deakin.edu.au

Australian Health Review 38(4) 377-382 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH14059
Submitted: 16 December 2013  Accepted: 18 April 2014   Published: 8 July 2014

Journal Compilation © AHHA 2014

Abstract

Objective Readmission rates are high following acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but risk stratification has proved difficult because known risk factors are only weakly predictive. In the present study, we applied hospital data to identify the risk of unplanned admission following AMI hospitalisations.

Methods The study included 1660 consecutive AMI admissions. Predictive models were derived from 1107 randomly selected records and tested on the remaining 553 records. The electronic medical record (EMR) model was compared with a seven-factor predictive score known as the HOSPITAL score and a model derived from Elixhauser comorbidities. All models were evaluated for the ability to identify patients at high risk of 30-day ischaemic heart disease readmission and those at risk of all-cause readmission within 12 months following the initial AMI hospitalisation.

Results The EMR model has higher discrimination than other models in predicting ischaemic heart disease readmissions (area under the curve (AUC) 0.78; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.71–0.85 for 30-day readmission). The positive predictive value was significantly higher with the EMR model, which identifies cohorts that were up to threefold more likely to be readmitted. Factors associated with readmission included emergency department attendances, cardiac diagnoses and procedures, renal impairment and electrolyte disturbances. The EMR model also performed better than other models (AUC 0.72; 95% CI 0.66–0.78), and with greater positive predictive value, in identifying 12-month risk of all-cause readmission.

Conclusions Routine hospital data can help identify patients at high risk of readmission following AMI. This could lead to decreased readmission rates by identifying patients suitable for targeted clinical interventions.

What is known about the topic? Many clinical and demographic risk factors are known for hospital readmissions following acute myocardial infarction, including multivessel disease, high baseline heart rate, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and psychiatric morbidity. However, combining these risk factors into indices for predicting readmission had limited success. A recent study reported a C-statistic of 0.73 for predicting 30-day readmissions. In a recent American study, a simple seven-factor score was shown to predict hospital readmissions among medical patients.

What does this paper add? This paper presents a way to predict readmissions following myocardial infarction using routinely collected administrative data. The model performed better than the recently described HOSPITAL score and a model derived from Elixhauser comorbidities. Moreover, the model uses only data generally available in most hospitals.

What are the implications for practitioners? Routine hospital data available at discharges can be used to tailor preventative care for AMI patients, to improve institutional performance and to decrease the cost burden associated with AMI.


References

[1]  Dunlay SM, Weston SA, Killian JM, Bell MR, Jaffe AS, Roger VL. Thirty-day rehospitalizations after acute myocardial infarction: a cohort study. Ann Intern Med 2012; 157 11–18.
Thirty-day rehospitalizations after acute myocardial infarction: a cohort study.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 22751756PubMed |

[2]  Dharmarajan K, Hsieh AF, Lin Z, Bueno H, Ross JS, Horwitz LI, Barreto-Filho JA, Kim N, Bernheim SM, Suter LG, Drye EE, Krumholz HM. Diagnoses and timing of 30-day readmissions after hospitalization for heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, or pneumonia. JAMA 2013; 309 355–63.
Diagnoses and timing of 30-day readmissions after hospitalization for heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, or pneumonia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC3sXhsFWrsrc%3D&md5=89b7f093e004ff2ba8f5d70f497273ceCAS | 23340637PubMed |

[3]  Krumholz HM, Lin Z, Keenan PS, Chen J, Ross JS, Drye EE, Bernheim SM, Wang Y, Bradley EH, Han LF, Normand S-LT. Relationship between hospital readmission and mortality rates for patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, or pneumonia. JAMA 2013; 309 587–93.
Relationship between hospital readmission and mortality rates for patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, or pneumonia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC3sXivVSmsLY%3D&md5=fd691415cdc378cf93a61a47df01685cCAS | 23403683PubMed |

[4]  Desai MM, Stauffer BD, Feringa HH, Schreiner GC. Statistical models and patient predictors of readmission for acute myocardial infarction: a systematic review. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2009; 2 500–7.
Statistical models and patient predictors of readmission for acute myocardial infarction: a systematic review.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 20031883PubMed |

[5]  Kociol RD, Lopes RD, Clare R, Thomas L, Mehta RH, Kaul P, Pieper KS, Hochman JS, Weaver WD, Armstrong PW, Granger CB, Patel MR. International variation in and factors associated with hospital readmission after myocardial infarction. JAMA 2012; 307 66–74.
International variation in and factors associated with hospital readmission after myocardial infarction.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC38XpsVSmtA%3D%3D&md5=53160bd2f212863754a236558155b52dCAS | 22215167PubMed |

[6]  Bucholz EM, Rathore SS, Gosch K, Schoenfeld A, Jones PG, Buchanan DM, Spertus JA, Krumholz HM. Effect of living alone on patient outcomes after hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction. Am J Cardiol 2011; 108 943–8.
Effect of living alone on patient outcomes after hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 21798499PubMed |

[7]  Joynt KE, Orav EJ, Jha AK. Thirty-day readmission rates for Medicare beneficiaries by race and site of care. JAMA 2011; 305 675–81.
Thirty-day readmission rates for Medicare beneficiaries by race and site of care.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC3MXit1amt7c%3D&md5=61d20c9b4d86a8ac01881bda4194f515CAS | 21325183PubMed |

[8]  Andrés E, García-Campayo J, Magán P, Barredo E, Cordero A, León M, Botaya RM, García-Ortiz L, Gómez M, Alegría E, Casasnovas JA. Psychiatric morbidity as a risk factor for hospital readmission for acute myocardial infarction: an 8-year follow-up study in Spain. Int J Psychiatry Med 2012; 44 63–75.
Psychiatric morbidity as a risk factor for hospital readmission for acute myocardial infarction: an 8-year follow-up study in Spain.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 23356094PubMed |

[9]  Reese RL, Freedland KE, Steinmeyer BC, Rich MW, Rackley JW, Carney RM. Depression and rehospitalization following acute myocardial infarction. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2011; 4 626–33.
Depression and rehospitalization following acute myocardial infarction.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 22010201PubMed |

[10]  Lindenauer PK, Lagu T, Rothberg MB, Avrunin J, Pekow PS, Wang Y, Krumholz HM. Income inequality and 30 day outcomes after acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia: retrospective cohort study. BMJ 2013; 346 f521
Income inequality and 30 day outcomes after acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia: retrospective cohort study.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 23412830PubMed |

[11]  Murff HJ, FitzHenry F, Matheny ME, Gentry N, Kotter KL, Crimin K, Dittus RS, Rosen AK, Elkin PL, Brown SH, Speroff T. Automated identification of postoperative complications within an electronic medical record using natural language processing. JAMA 2011; 306 848–55.
Automated identification of postoperative complications within an electronic medical record using natural language processing.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC3MXhtFSnu73M&md5=0f8e0cce67ef6669b917a20fcb043a08CAS | 21862746PubMed |

[12]  Appari A, Eric Johnson M, Anthony DL. Meaningful use of electronic health record systems and process quality of care: evidence from a panel data analysis of U.S. acute-care hospitals. Health Serv Res 2013; 48 354–75.
Meaningful use of electronic health record systems and process quality of care: evidence from a panel data analysis of U.S. acute-care hospitals.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 22816527PubMed |

[13]  FitzHenry F, Murff HJ, Matheny ME, Gentry N, Fielstein EM, Brown SH, Reeves RM, Aronsky D, Elkin PL, Messina VP, Speroff T. Exploring the frontier of electronic health record surveillance: the case of postoperative complications. Med Care 2013; 51 509–16.
Exploring the frontier of electronic health record surveillance: the case of postoperative complications.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 23673394PubMed |

[14]  Donze J, Aujesky D, Williams D, Schnipper JL. Potentially avoidable 30-day hospital readmissions in medical patients: derivation and validation of a prediction model. JAMA Intern Med 2013; 173 632–8.
| 23529115PubMed |

[15]  World Health Organization. International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems 10th revision (ICD-10). 2010. Available at http://apps.who.int/classifications/icd10/browse/2010/en [verified 19 May 2014].

[16]  National Casemix and Classification Centre (NCCC). AR-DRG definitions manual V7.0. Wollongong: NCCC; 2013.

[17]  Herrett E, Shah AD, Boggon R, Denaxas S, Smeeth L, van Staa T, Timmis A, Hemingway H. Completeness and diagnostic validity of recording acute myocardial infarction events in primary care, hospital care, disease registry, and national mortality records: cohort study. BMJ 2013; 346 f2350
Completeness and diagnostic validity of recording acute myocardial infarction events in primary care, hospital care, disease registry, and national mortality records: cohort study.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 23692896PubMed |

[18]  Thygesen K, Alpert JS, Jaffe AS, Simoons ML, Chaitman BR, White HD, the Writing Group on behalf of the Joint ESC/ACCF/AHA/WHF Task Force for the Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction Third universal definition of myocardial infarction. Circulation 2012; 126 2020–35.
Third universal definition of myocardial infarction.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 22923432PubMed |

[19]  National Casemix and Classification Centre (NCCC). ACS 0940 ischaemic heart disease. In: Australian coding standards, 8th edn. Wollongong: NCCC; 2013. pp. 122–6.

[20]  Elixhauser A, Steiner C, Harris DR, Coffey RM. Comorbidity measures for use with administrative data. Med Care 1998; 36 8–27.
Comorbidity measures for use with administrative data.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:STN:280:DyaK1c%2FptlemtA%3D%3D&md5=86e99662caf3d2ee84f6b1ca2dfc4538CAS | 9431328PubMed |

[21]  Quan H, Sundararajan V, Halfon P, Fong A, Burnand B, Luthi JC, Saunders LD, Beck CA, Feasby TE, Ghali WA. Coding algorithms for defining comorbidities in ICD-9-CM and ICD-10 administrative data. Med Care 2005; 43 1130–9.
Coding algorithms for defining comorbidities in ICD-9-CM and ICD-10 administrative data.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 16224307PubMed |

[22]  Tibshirani R. Regression shrinkage and selection via the Lasso. J R Stat Soc B Met 1996; 58 267–88.

[23]  Meinshausen N, Buhlmann P. Stability selection. J R Stat Soc B 2010; 72 417–73.
Stability selection.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

[24]  Hartford M, Wiklund O, Mattsson Hultén L, Persson A, Karlsson T, Herlitz J, Caidahl K. C-Reactive protein, interleukin-6, secretory phospholipase A2 group IIA and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in the prediction of late outcome events after acute coronary syndromes. J Intern Med 2007; 262 526–36.
C-Reactive protein, interleukin-6, secretory phospholipase A2 group IIA and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in the prediction of late outcome events after acute coronary syndromes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD2sXhtlOhtLrJ&md5=bd030dbc4f16c84bf102c76422f9bfb2CAS | 17908161PubMed |

[25]  Gao Y, Tong GX, Zhang XW, Leng JH, Jin JF, Wang NF, Yang JM. Interleukin-18 levels on admission are associated with mid-term adverse clinical events in patients with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. Int Heart J 2010; 51 75–81.
Interleukin-18 levels on admission are associated with mid-term adverse clinical events in patients with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC3cXls1SktLo%3D&md5=f36089da447ac88181cb39e41dded368CAS | 20379038PubMed |

[26]  Xin H, Chen ZY, Lv XB, Liu S, Lian ZX, Cai SL. Serum secretory phospholipase A2-IIa (sPLA2-IIA) levels in patients surviving acute myocardial infarction. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2013; 17 999–1004.
| 1:STN:280:DC%2BC3snisFOltA%3D%3D&md5=0e19ba6df82f2b98eeaf21eec1e65252CAS | 23661511PubMed |

[27]  Ephrem G. Red blood cell distribution width is a predictor of readmission in cardiac patients. Clin Cardiol 2013; 36 293–9.
Red blood cell distribution width is a predictor of readmission in cardiac patients.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 23553899PubMed |

[28]  Matsudaira K, Maeda K, Okumura N, Yoshikawa D, Morita Y, Mitsuhashi H, Ishii H, Kondo T, Murohara T, Nagoya Acute Myocardial Infarction Study (NAMIS) Group Impact of low levels of vascular endothelial growth factor after myocardial infarction on 6-month clinical outcome. Results from the Nagoya Acute Myocardial Infarction Study. Circ J 2012; 76 1509–16.
Impact of low levels of vascular endothelial growth factor after myocardial infarction on 6-month clinical outcome. Results from the Nagoya Acute Myocardial Infarction Study.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC38Xpsl2ku7c%3D&md5=0a59a9c8aeb1470a40a9d292bcd70561CAS | 22452999PubMed |

[29]  Rodriguez F, Joynt KE, Lopez L, Saldana F, Jha AK. Readmission rates for Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure and acute myocardial infarction. Am Heart J 2011; 162 254–261.e253.
Readmission rates for Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure and acute myocardial infarction.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 21835285PubMed |

[30]  Condon JR, You J, McDonnell J. Performance of comorbidity indices in measuring outcomes after acute myocardial infarction in Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients. Intern Med J 2012; 42 e165–73.
Performance of comorbidity indices in measuring outcomes after acute myocardial infarction in Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:STN:280:DC%2BC38zktlyrsw%3D%3D&md5=5eeaadaa047f519ea0e27b0ec785a79bCAS | 21627745PubMed |

[31]  Gandjour A, Ku-Goto MH, Ho V. Comparing the validity of different measures of illness severity: a hospital-level analysis for acute myocardial infarction. Health Serv Manag Res 2012; 25 138–43.
Comparing the validity of different measures of illness severity: a hospital-level analysis for acute myocardial infarction.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

[32]  Kaboli PJ, Go JT, Hockenberry J, Glasgow JM, Johnson SR, Rosenthal GE, Jones MP, Vaughan-Sarrazin M. Associations between reduced hospital length of stay and 30-day readmission rate and mortality: 14-year experience in 129 Veterans Affairs hospitals. Ann Intern Med 2012; 157 837–45.
Associations between reduced hospital length of stay and 30-day readmission rate and mortality: 14-year experience in 129 Veterans Affairs hospitals.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 23247937PubMed |

[33]  Kazley AS, Ozcan YA. Do hospitals with electronic medical records (EMRs) provide higher quality care? An examination of three clinical conditions. Med Care Res Rev 2008; 65 496–513.
Do hospitals with electronic medical records (EMRs) provide higher quality care? An examination of three clinical conditions.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 18276963PubMed |

[34]  Jones SS, Adams JL, Schneider EC, Ringel JS, McGlynn EA. Electronic health record adoption and quality improvement in US hospitals. Am J Manag Care 2010; 16 SP64–71.
| 21314225PubMed |

[35]  Austin PC, Tu JV. Bootstrap methods for developing predictive models. Am Stat 2004; 58 131–7.
Bootstrap methods for developing predictive models.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

[36]  He D, Mathews SC, Kalloo AN, Hutfless S. Mining high-dimensional administrative claims data to predict early hospital readmissions. JAMIA 2013; 21 272–9.
| 24076748PubMed |

[37]  Krumholz HM, Lin Z, Drye EE, Desai MM, Han LF, Rapp MT, Mattera JA, Normand SL. An administrative claims measure suitable for profiling hospital performance based on 30-day all-cause readmission rates among patients with acute myocardial infarction. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2011; 4 243–52.
An administrative claims measure suitable for profiling hospital performance based on 30-day all-cause readmission rates among patients with acute myocardial infarction.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 21406673PubMed |

[38]  Kottke TE, Baechler CJ. An algorithm that identifies coronary and heart failure events in the electronic health record. Prev Chronic Dis 2013; 10 120 097
An algorithm that identifies coronary and heart failure events in the electronic health record.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

[39]  Coloma PM, Avillach P, Salvo F, Schuemie MJ, Ferrajolo C, Pariente A, Fourrier-Réglat A, Molokhia M, Patadia V, van der Lei J, Sturkenboom M, Trifirò G. A reference standard for evaluation of methods for drug safety signal detection using electronic healthcare record databases. Drug Saf 2013; 36 13–23.
A reference standard for evaluation of methods for drug safety signal detection using electronic healthcare record databases.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC3sXhsl2ns7bI&md5=1ed01f0b8f19e148ab31571901437ef8CAS | 23315292PubMed |

[40]  Wallmann R, Llorca J, Gomez-Acebo I, Ortega AC, Roldan FR, Dierssen-Sotos T. Prediction of 30-day cardiac-related-emergency-readmissions using simple administrative hospital data. Int J Cardiol 2013; 164 193–200.
Prediction of 30-day cardiac-related-emergency-readmissions using simple administrative hospital data.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 21775001PubMed |

[41]  Brown JR, Conley SM, Niles NW. Predicting readmission or death after acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Clin Cardiol 2013; 36 570–5.
| 23754777PubMed |