Demographics
A total of 1,765,800 PD patients were identified at primary admission. The average age of PD patients included in this study was 76.3±10.4 years, 44.1% were female, and the average CCI was 5.9±2.3. Predicted average 10-year survival was found to be 19.6% in our PD cohort. The mean hospital length of stay (LOS) during primary admission was 6.3±9.1 days, and the average all-payer hospital cost associated with admission in PD patients was found to be $13,256.66±$17,282.44. With regards to insurance type, 1,531,990 (86.8%) patients had Medicare, 54,322 (3.1%) patients had Medicaid, 139,254 (7.9%) had private insurance, and 8,318 (0.5%) were self-payers. Patients were also stratified into quartiles based on median household income by ZIP code, with 462,416 (26.2%) patients in the first (highest) quartile, 450,083 (25.5%) patients in the second quartile, 427,258 (24.2%) patients in the third quartile, and 402,208 (22.8%) patients in the fourth (lowest) quartile. Most patients were admitted to metropolitan hospitals, with 906,308 (51.3%) patients being admitted to a metropolitan teaching hospital, 628,000 (35.6%) being admitted to a metropolitan non-teaching hospital, and 231,493 (13.1%) being admitted to a non-metropolitan hospital. Within all discharges, 577,040 (32.7%) were considered routine with the remaining 1,188,760 (67.3%) being non-routine discharges including transfers to short-term hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home healthcare facilities, discharges against medical advice, and patient death (Table 1).
Table 1
Demographics of patients with PD.
| Patients with Parkinson’s Disease (n=1,765,800) |
Age (years) | 76.3±10.4 |
Sex | |
Female, n (%) | 778,718 (44.1%) |
Male, n (%) | 987,082 (55.9%) |
CCI | 5.9±2.3 |
Insurance | |
Medicare, n (%) | 1,531,990 (86.8%) |
Medicaid, n (%) | 54,322 (3.1%) |
Private, n (%) | 139,254 (7.9%) |
Self-Pay, n (%) | 8,318 (0.5%) |
Median income by zip code | |
Quartile 1, n (%) | 462,416 (26.2%) |
Quartile 2, n (%) | 450,083 (25.5%) |
Quartile 3, n (%) | 427,258 (24.2%) |
Quartile 4, n (%) | 402,208 (22.8%) |
Hospital type | |
Metropolitan non-teaching, n (%) | 628,000 (35.6%) |
Metropolitan teaching, n (%) | 906,308 (51.3%) |
Non-metropolitan, n (%) | 231,493 (13.1%) |
Discharge location | |
Routine/Home, n (%) | 577,040 (32.7%) |
Non-Routine, n (%) | 1,188,760 (67.3%) |
Complications
Within 30, 90, 180, and 300 days of discharge, the readmission rate of PD patients was found to be 12.3%, 25.5%, 36.3%, and 45.8% respectively. The rate of percutaneous transfusion of nonautologous packed RBCs in readmitted patients at 30, 90, 180, and 300 days was found to be 8.7%, 8.6%, 8.3%, and 8.3% respectively (Table 2). At all timepoints, multivariate analysis controlling for age, sex, and comorbidities revealed that PD patients experiencing side effects from anti-parkinsonism medications had increased rates of GI hemorrhage (average OR: 1.02; 95%CI: 1.01-1.03, p<0.0001) and blood transfusion (average OR: 1.06; 95%CI: 1.05-1.08, p<0.0001) at readmission. PD patients who experienced GI hemorrhage of any etiology, including as a side effect of anti-parkinsonism medication, were found to have significantly higher rates of blood transfusion at all timepoints (average OR: 1.14; 95%CI: 1.13-1.16, p<0.0001)(Table 3). Furthermore, PD patients who received blood transfusion procedures during readmission were found to have significantly higher readmission rates at all timepoints compared to patients readmitted for any other indication (average p=0.0014).
Table 2
Complication rates for PD readmission cohorts.
| 30-Day Readmission (n=1,630,578) | 90-Day Readmission (n=1,367,850) | 180-Day Readmission (n=979,040) | 300-Day Readmission (n=371,804) |
Primary |
Constipation | 157,852 (9.7%) | 131,477 (9.6%) | 92,266 (9.4%) | 34,555 (9.3%) |
IBS | 16,655 (1.0%) | 13,973 (1.0%) | 9,736 (1.0%) | 3,741 (1.0%) |
Crohn's Disease | 4,860 (0.3%) | 4,153 (0.3%) | 2,934 (0.3%) | 1,141 (0.3%) |
Ulcerative Colitis | 5,121 (0.3%) | 4,262 (0.3%) | 2,995 (0.3%) | 1,179 (0.3%) |
Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage | 20,931 (1.3%) | 17,593 (1.3%) | 13,065 (1.3%) | 5,084 (1.4%) |
UTI | 335,252 (20.6%) | 280,983 (20.5%) | 201,352 (20.6%) | 78,874 (21.2%) |
Urinary Retention | 83,905 (5.1%) | 69,216 (5.1%) | 48,509 (5.0%) | 18,248 (5.0%) |
Anti-Parkinsonism Drug Effect | 20,534 (1.3%) | 17,800 (1.3%) | 12,945 (1.3%) | 5,194 (1.4%) |
Readmission |
Readmission Rate | 200,078 (12.3%) | 349,007 (25.5%) | 355,591 (36.3%) | 170,424 (45.8%) |
Blood Transfusion | 17,315 (8.7%) | 30,110 (8.6%) | 29,571 (8.3%) | 14,146 (8.3%) |
Table 3
Odds ratios for blood transfusion at readmission obtained from multivariate models.
| Odds Ratio | 95% Confidence Interval | p-value |
30 Day Readmission |
Constipation | 0.99 | 0.99-1.00 | 0.09 |
IBS | 0.99 | 0.98-1.01 | 0.55 |
Crohn's Disease | 1.03 | 0.99-1.06 | 0.10 |
Ulcerative Colitis | 1.02 | 0.99-1.05 | 0.21 |
Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage | 1.14 | 1.13-1.16 | <0.0001* |
UTI | 1.00 | 0.99-1.00 | 0.74 |
Urinary Retention | 1.00 | 1.00-1.01 | 0.25 |
Anti-Parkinsonism Drug Effect | 1.06 | 1.04-1.08 | <0.0001* |
90 Day Readmission |
Constipation | 0.99 | 0.989-0.999 | 0.0045* |
IBS | 0.99 | 0.97-1.00 | 0.07 |
Crohn's Disease | 1.04 | 1.01-1.06 | 0.008* |
Ulcerative Colitis | 1.02 | 1.01-1.05 | 0.046* |
Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage | 1.16 | 1.14-1.17 | <0.0001* |
UTI | 1.00 | 1.00-1.01 | 0.14 |
Urinary Retention | 1.00 | 0.99-1.00 | 0.57 |
Anti-Parkinsonism Drug Effect | 1.07 | 1.06-1.09 | <0.0001* |
180 Day Readmission |
Constipation | 1.00 | 0.99-1.00 | 0.08 |
IBS | 0.98 | 0.970-0.997 | 0.02* |
Crohn's Disease | 1.03 | 1.01-1.06 | 0.009* |
Ulcerative Colitis | 1.02 | 0.99-1.04 | 0.20 |
Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage | 1.14 | 1.13-1.16 | <0.0001* |
UTI | 1.00 | 1.00-1.01 | 0.12 |
Urinary Retention | 1.00 | 0.99-1.00 | 0.27 |
Anti-Parkinsonism Drug Effect | 1.05 | 1.04-1.07 | <0.0001* |
300 Day Readmission |
Constipation | 0.99 | 0.985-0.998 | 0.008* |
IBS | 0.99 | 0.97-1.01 | 0.18 |
Crohn's Disease | 1.04 | 1.01-1.08 | 0.04* |
Ulcerative Colitis | 1.02 | 0.99-1.06 | 0.21 |
Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage | 1.12 | 1.11-1.14 | <0.0001* |
UTI | 1.00 | 1.00-1.01 | 0.66 |
Urinary Retention | 1.00 | 0.99-1.01 | 0.54 |
Anti-Parkinsonism Drug Effect | 1.06 | 1.04-1.08 | <0.0001* |
Several individual GI disorders were found to be significantly related with blood transfusion rates at readmission, but none of them had consistent trends at all readmission time intervals. PD patients with ulcerative colitis were found to have a higher odds of blood transfusion at only 90-day readmission (OR: 1.02; 95%CI: 1.01-1.05, p=0.046) and those with Crohn’s disease were found to have a higher odds of blood transfusion at 90, 180, and 300 days (average OR: 1.04; 95%CI: 1.01-1.07, p=0.02). Conversely, PD patients with constipation were found to have a lower odds of blood transfusion at 90 days (OR: 0.993; 95%CI: 0.989-0.998, p=0.005) and 300 days (OR: 0.991; 95%CI: 0.985-0.998, p=0.008), and those with IBS were found to have a lower odds of blood transfusion at only 180 days (OR: 0.983; 95%CI: 0.970-0.997, p=0.02). Multivariate analysis revealed no significant relationship between genitourinary (GU) complications, including urinary retention and UTI, and blood transfusion at all timepoints (Table 3).
Predictive Models
Predictive regression models were developed for complications found to be significantly associated with higher rates of blood transfusion at all readmission timepoints on multivariate analysis. PD patients with ICD coding for anti-parkinsonism drug side effects on primary admission were found to have an attributable 7.7%, 8.9%, 7.0%, and 7.4% increase in blood transfusion rates at 30, 90, 180, and 300-day readmission respectively compared to patients without drug effects (p<0.0001 for all)(Figure 1). Furthermore, patients with GI hemorrhage on primary admission were found to have an attributable 14.2%, 15.1%, 14.1%, and 12.4% increase in blood transfusion rates at 30, 90, 180, and 300-day readmission respectively compared to patients without GI hemorrhage on primary admission (p<0.0001 for all)(Figure 1).
Survival Analysis
Kaplan-Meier curves were developed to visualize the trends in blood transfusion at readmission in patients with GI hemorrhage and anti-parkinsonism drug complications at primary admission. Risk tables are included for each respective condition to demonstrate the number of PD patients at risk. Overall, patients with both GI hemorrhage and anti-parkinsonism drug side effects at primary admission had significantly higher rates of blood transfusion within one calendar year compared to patients without each respective risk factor (p<0.0001 for both)(Figure 2).