Risk factors for hospital readmission in older adults within 30 days of discharge – a comparative retrospective study

Table 4 Medications, medication review and transfer of medication information at discharge

Variable	Comparison group (n = 360)	Readmitted < 30 days (n = 360)	p-value
Number of medications in total, Mean (SD)	9.0 (4.9)	11 (5.3)	< 0.001^d
Number of daily medications, Mean (SD)	7.2 (3.8)	8.8 (4.1)	< 0.001^d
Number of medications as needed, Mean (SD)	1.8 (1.8)	2.4 (2.1)	< 0.001^d
Polypharmacy^a, %	74	86	< 0.001^e
Excessive polypharmacy^b, %	24	42	< 0.001^e
*Medications often connected to ADEs*
Diuretics, %	41	52	0.002^e
Antihypertensive medications (not diuretics), %	68	72	0.256^e
Anticoagulants (including LMWH), %	27	34	0.023^e
Anti-platelet drugs, %	39	32	0.052^e
Insulin, %	9.7	14	0.066^e
Digoxin, %	4.2	4.2	1.000^e
Opiates, %	31	37	0.098^e
*Potentially inappropriate medication regimens*^c
No of PIMs, Mean (SD)	0.17 (0.41)	0.16 (0.44)	0.662^d
No of FRIDs, Mean (SD)	3.24 (2.24)	3.64 (2.13)	0.014^d
Use of three or more psychoactive drugs, %	10.0	9.2	0.704^d
*Medication changes made during hospital stay*
Changes in medications made during stay, %	84	88	0.110^e
New medications started, %	79	75	0.249^e
Medications withdrawn, %	23	31	0.024^e
Dosages adjusted, %	24	34	0.003^e
Medication changes in discharge summary, %	58	51	0.061^{e, f}
Medication changes in medical case history, %	52	47	0.180^e
Medication report correct, %	56	50	0.124^e

Abbreviations: LMWH Low Molecular Weight Heparin, PIM Potentially Inappropriate Medication, FRID Fall Risk Increasing Drug, SD Standard Deviation
^aDefined as the daily use of five medications or more ^bDefined as the daily use of 10 medications or more ^cAccording to the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare ^dStudents t-test^eχ²-test ^fInternal missing 0.1%
Significant p-values are indicated in bold.

ISSN: 1471-2318