Readmissions in the Homeless Population

RESEARCH UPDATE

Published in Neurology, a retrospective cross-sectional study looked at the most common neurological diagnoses leading to hospitalization for the homeless, and whether the characteristic of being homeless is an independent risk factor for 30-day readmission based on a patient’s diagnosis.

The study encompassed almost 2 million individuals with a primary neurologic diagnosis. Of the group, the homelessness rate was 0.37%. Seizures and traumatic brain injury were the most common diagnosis in the homeless.

After controlling for multiple variables, homelessness was associated with increased 30-day readmission rates.

No surprises here in this study...but, we are getting closer to identifying interventions that can help the homeless population with neurologic disease.

Reference

1. Rosendale N, Guterman EL, Betjemann JP, et al. Hospital admission and readmission among homeless patients with neurologic disease.Neurology. 2019;92:e2822-e2831.