Readmission and Comprehension of Diabetes Education at Discharge (ReCoDED Study)

Diabetes (DM) is a major contributor to risk for hospital readmission. The Diabetes Early Readmission Risk Indicator (DERRI) is a predictor of 30-day readmission in patients with DM that may allow early identification and intervention for high-risk patients. A limitation to DERRI is the absence of DM-specific factors as contributors to this risk. To address this, we investigated HbA1c, glycemic measures and variability (GV), changes in DM therapy at discharge, and patient responses to a novel post-discharge questionnaire directed at Patient Comprehension (PC) of instructions provided for home DM management. Non-critically ill adult patients with DM were contacted by phone within 48 hours of hospital discharge to complete the PC Questionnaire. To date, 70 subjects (type 1 n=9, type 2 n=53, pancreatogenic DM n=8) (mean age 57.2 ± 12.8 years, BMI 31 ± 8.8 kg/m2, 56% men, 71% Caucasian, HbA1c 8.6 ± 2.0%, DM duration 19 ± 12 years, mean BG prior to discharge (210 ± 49 mg/dL), GV (66 ± 35 mg/dl) have been recruited. Of 41 subjects completing the PC questionnaire, those reporting that discharge instructions for home DM management were not provided had lower PC scores (70.6% vs. 81.5%, p=0.025) and more readmissions (OR 5.6, p=0.04) than those reporting that instructions were given. Among the 60 subjects with one-month post-discharge data, 22 patients (37%) reporting ≥1 readmission had higher DERRI scores than those without readmissions (26% vs. 20%, p=0.023). HbA1c, GV and changes in DM treatment regimens were not associated with readmission.

In summary, these results demonstrate that PC of discharge instructions may be a novel mediator of readmission risk and may add an additional measure of risk for hospital readmission.