PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Eric Mortensen AU - Mary Jo Pugh AU - Marcos Restrepo AU - Antonio Anzueto TI - Predictors of rehospitalization after admission for community-acquired pneumonia DP - 2012 Sep 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - P1744 VI - 40 IP - Suppl 56 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P1744.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P1744.full SO - Eur Respir J2012 Sep 01; 40 AB - The aim of our study was to examine variations in rates of rehospitalization, and predictors of rehospitalization, for patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system.We conducted a retrospective national cohort study over 5 years including patients >65 years of age hospitalized with CAP. Our primary outcome was all-cause rehospitalization within 90-days. Our primary analysis was a multilevel regression model, adjusting for admitting hospital, and included 38 variables encompassing demographics, pneumonia severity, antibiotics received, prior outpatient medications, pre-existing comorbid conditions, and prior outpatient utilization (e.g., emergency department, primary care) the year prior to the pneumonia admission.We identified 50,119 patients with CAP of which 21.8% required rehospitalization within 90-days. Hospital rates ranged from 14.3% to 32.3%. In the regression model, factors significantly associated with increased rehospitalization included alcohol abuse (odds ratio 3.07, 95% confidence interval 1.23-7.61), number of prior outpatient pulmonary medications (1.10, 1.01-1.19), and number of prior emergency department visits (1.1, 1.04-1.14).A large number of patients required rehospitalization after admission for CAP, and rates varied widely. Only a few factors were significantly associated with rehospitalization and these factors were not related to the pneumonia hospitalization. Additional research is needed to determine which rehospitalizations after pneumonia are preventable and ways to prospectively identify hospitalized CAP patients at risk for rehospitalization.