Readmissions After Sepsis Outnumber Those for Other Tracked Diagnoses

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have used 30-day readmission rates for specific diagnoses as a metric for quality of care. Currently, the conditions for which this is measured are acute myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure, and pneumonia. Although new CMS metrics for the early identification and treatment of sepsis exist, readmission after sepsis is not a current quality measure.

Using data from the large 2013 Nationwide Readmissions Database, investigators identified more than 1 million readmissions within 30 days of discharge; 12.2% of these patients had index admissions with sepsis diagnoses, compared with 1.3% with acute myocardial infarction, 6.7% with heart failure, 4.6…