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Telephone follow-up to reduce unplanned hospital returns for older emergency department patients: A randomized trial
Merel van Loon-van Gaalen1, M Christien van der Linden1, Jacobijn Gussekloo2,3
1Emergency Department, Haaglanden Medical Center, The Hague, The Netherlands.
Background/Objectives:
Telephone follow-up calls could optimize the transition from the emergency department (ED) to home for older patients. However, the effects on hospital return rates are not clear. We investigated whether telephone follow-up reduces unplanned hospitalizations and/or unplanned ED return visits within 30 days of ED discharge.
Design:
Pragmatic randomized controlled trial with allocation by month; odd months intervention group, even months control group.
Setting:
Two ED locations of a non-academic teaching hospital in The Netherlands.
Participants:
Community-dwelling adults aged ≥70 years, discharged home from the ED were randomized to the intervention group (N = 4732) or control group (N = 5104).
Intervention:
Intervention group patients: semi-scripted telephone call from an ED nurse within 24 h after discharge to identify post-discharge problems and review discharge instructions. Control group patients: scripted satisfaction survey telephone call.
Measurements:
Primary outcome: total number of unplanned hospitalizations and/or ED return visits within 30 days of ED discharge.
Secondary Outcomes:
separate numbers of unplanned hospitalizations and ED return visits. Subgroup analysis by age, sex, living condition, and degree of crowding in the ED at discharge.
Results:
Overall, 42% were males, and median age was 78 years. In the intervention group, 1516 of 4732 patients (32%) consented, and in the control group 1659 of 5104 (33%) patients. Unplanned 30-day hospitalization and/or ED return visit was found in 16% of intervention group patients and 14% of control group patients (odds ratio 1.16; 95% confidence interval: 0.96-1.42). Also, no statistically significant differences were found in secondary outcome measures. Within the subgroups, the intervention did not have beneficial effects for the intervention group.
Conclusion:
Telephone follow-up after ED discharge in older patients did not result in reduction of unplanned hospital admissions and/or ED return visits within 30 days. These results raise the question of whether other outcomes could be improved by post-discharge ED telephone follow-up.
