Printer Friendly Page
VA RESEARCH: PNEUMONIA LEADING CAUSE OF
HOSPITALIZATION AFTER STROKE -- "We may have
a previously unrecognized window of opportunity
beginning when the patient is first
hospitalized for stroke
to decrease the likelihood for hospital
readmission."
Story here...
http://www.eurekalert.
org/pub_releases/2007-06
/iu-pll062507.php
Story below:
-------------------------
Pneumonia leads list of causes of hospital
re-admissions after stroke
INDIANAPOLIS -- Stroke is a leading cause of hospital admission among
older adults. Yet more hospital readmissions after stroke are for
pneumonia or for heart disease than for another stroke, according to a
study published in the June 2007 issue of the journal Stroke. This
finding may alter the standard medical management of post-stroke
patients.
"Few stroke patients survive five years without a readmission to the
hospital. Common wisdom has been that patients who have had a stroke are
likely to return to the hospital for treatment of another stroke. Our
study found that, surprisingly, the most common reasons for readmission
to the hospital were non-neurological, with pneumonia or other
respiratory problem leading the list of reasons," said the study's first
author, Dawn M. Bravata, M.D., Indiana University School of Medicine
associate professor of medicine.
The researchers followed 2,603 stroke patients discharged from the
hospital and found that more than half had died or been readmitted to a
hospital at least once during the first year after discharge. And by
five years out, almost 9 out of 10 stroke survivors had died or been
readmitted to a hospital. These readmissions were more than twice as
likely to be for pneumonia as for another stroke.
"Physicians treating stroke patients need to continue focusing on
preventing a recurrence of stroke. We now see that, in addition, we
should also be thinking about the other conditions that are causing
hospital readmission in this vulnerable group," she said.
Dr. Bravata, who is an investigator with the Center on Implementing
Evidence-based Practice at the Roudebush VA Medical Center in
Indianapolis, currently is working on a follow-up study to see whether
certain interventions, such as pneumonia and influenza vaccinations, can
lower hospital readmissions for stroke patients.
"These readmissions are an enormous burden on patients, families and the
health-care system. We may have a previously unrecognized window of
opportunity beginning when the patient is first hospitalized for stroke
to decrease the likelihood for hospital readmission," Dr. Bravata said.
###
In addition to Dr. Bravata, authors of the study were Shih-Yieh Ho,
Ph.D.; Thomas P. Meehan, M.D.; Lawrence M. Brass, M.D.; and John Concato,
M.D. At the time of the study, all authors were affiliated with Yale
University, Qualidigm, and/or the Veterans Administration Connecticut
Healthcare System.
-------------------------
Larry Scott --
