News & Events

Published On: 5/25/2021

Target RWE COVID-19 Data: Real-World Evidence Analysis Shows 3.6% of COVID-19 Hospitalized Patients Discharged Alive Required Readmission

DURHAM, N.C., May 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Real-world evidence leader Target RWE announced today COVID-19 data that has been recently published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases (https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciab464). The study, Factors Associated with Readmission in the US Following Hospitalization with COVID-19, found that of 29,659 hospitalized patients discharged alive, 1,070 (3.6%) were readmitted.

The aim of the study was to estimate the rate of readmission among hospitalized COVID-19 patients and to identify risk factors for readmission that can be targeted for intervention. Mortality among readmitted patients was also assessed.

Key findings include:

• 69.7% of readmitted patients were older than age 60 compared to 53.7% of non-readmitted patients.
  Readmitted patients were more likely to have chronic conditions including diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, and chronic kidney disease, than those not readmitted.
• Readmitted patients were also more likely to present on first admission with acute kidney injury (AKI) (15.6% vs. 9.2%), congestive heart failure (6.4% vs. 2.4%), and cardiomyopathy (2.1% vs. 0.8%).
• 12.3% of readmitted patients died. Sepsis was associated with 3-fold higher odds of dying, and mechanical ventilation during second hospitalization was also associated with mortality.

"COVID-19 has affected thousands of patients in the U.S. Providers are making agonizing real-time decisions that can have life-or-death implications. Building a profile of patients who are at higher risk for readmission and death due to complications from COVID-19 can help providers adjust treatment strategies with the goal of mitigating those risks," said Elizabeth Verna, MD, MS, Director of Clinical Research, Columbia University Transplant Clinical Research Center, and Director of Hepatology Research, Columbia University Division of Digestive and Liver Disease.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the immediate need for real-world evidence that can help inform treatment. Reducing hospital readmissions can save valuable resources and most importantly, directly improve COVID-19 care for the patient," said Julie Mallory Crawford, MD, Senior Director of Scientific and Medical Affairs, Target RWE.

Target RWE has a growing database of more than 2.5 million deidentified patients from over 370 healthcare institutions and hospitals across the U.S. In this study, deidentified chargemaster data were obtained from 297 hospitals in 40 states of adult patients in the U.S. hospitalized with COVID-19, who were admitted, discharged alive, and followed for readmission between February 15 and June 15, 2020.

Target RWE published COVID-19 research data with Clinical Infectious Diseases as well in August 2020 titled Patient Characteristics and Outcomes of 11,721 Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Hospitalized Across the United States (https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa1268).