Short Attention Span Summary
Boomer Bouncebacks
In patients over 65 with a discharge SBP < 97, HR > 101, temperature > 99.2 F (37.3 C), or SpO2 < 92%, odds of readmission as an inpatient within 7 days was doubled. If more than one vital sign abnormality, odds were even higher. This was a large retrospective study of a Kaiser Permanente database from 2009-2010.
Spoon Feed
Pay attention to discharge vitals, especially in patients over age 65; they predict bouncebacks. emDOCs has an outstanding post on unexplained abnormal VS at discharge.
Citation
Emergency Department Vital Signs and Outcomes after Discharge.
Acad Emerg Med. 2017 Apr 4. doi: 10.1111/acem.13194. [Epub ahead of print]
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