Causes of re-hospitalization of patients with peripheral arteriosclerosis

ABSTRACT

To evaluate readmissions as regards cardiac, peripheral vascular, neurological and renal vascular disorders in patients initially hospitalized for atherosclerosis Retrospective cohort study of the readmission of patients admitted into the vascular surgery service. Hospital de Base in Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Brazil. Nine hundred and ninety-seven patients admitted to the vascular surgery service from 08/03/1999 to 10/09/ 2008. Evaluate the main specialty-wise cause of rehospitalization of each patient. Percentages of variables were analyzed using the Fisher exact test with significance defined as a p-value < 0.05. A total of 251 patients initially with arteriosclerosis were readmitted with 10.99%, 29.79%, 6.38% and 52.84% of the re-hospitalizations being associated with neurological, cardiac, renal and vascular diseases, respectively. The in hospital death rate was higher for cardiac disease than for vascular disease [Fischer exact test p-value < 0.001]. Mortality is higher in this cohort for admissions for heart disease than for peripheral vascular disease