New Medicare and Medicaid Study Findings Have Been Reported by Researchers at Brown University (Evaluation of one-year mortality after geriatric…

New Medicare and Medicaid Study Findings Have Been Reported by Researchers at Brown University (Evaluation of one-year mortality after geriatric ankle fractures in patients admitted to nursing homes)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Current study results on Medicare and Medicaid have been published. According to news originating from Providence, Rhode Island, by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "The incidence of geriatric ankle fractures will undoubtedly increase as the population continues to grow. Many geriatric patients struggle to function independently after such injury and often require placement into nursing homes."

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Brown University, "The morbidity and mortality associated with nursing homes is well documented within the field of orthopaedic surgery. However, there is currently no study examining the mortality associated with nursing home placement following hospitalization for an ankle fracture. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if geriatric patients admitted to nursing homes following an ankle fracture experience elevated mortality rates. Patients were identified using diagnosis codes for ankle fractures from all 2008 part A Medicare claims, and those admitted to nursing homes were identified using a Minimum Data Set (MDS). The Medicare database was also analyzed for specific variables including over-all one year mortality, length of stay, age distribution, certain demographical characteristics, incidence of medical and surgical complications within 90 days, and the presence of comorbidities. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine if patients admitted to nursing homes had elevated mortality rates. 19,648 patients with ankle fractures were identified, and 11,625 (59.0%) of these patients went to a nursing home after hospitalization. Patients who went to a nursing home had higher Elixhauser and Deyo-Charlson comorbidity scores (p < 0.0001). Nursing home patients also had significantly increased rates of postoperative medical and surgical complications. One year mortality was 6.9% for patients who did not go to a nursing home and 15.4% for patients who were admitted to a nursing home (p < 0.0001). However, multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated no significant difference in one year mortality between patients admitted to nursing homes and those who were not (OR = 1.1; 95% CI 0.99-1.24, p> 0.05). Although admission to nursing home was significantly associated with increased mortality in a bivariate statistical model, this significance was lost during multivariate analysis."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "This suggests that other patient characteristics may play a more prominent role in determining one year mortality following geriatric ankle fractures."

For more information on this research see: Evaluation of one-year mortality after geriatric ankle fractures in patients admitted to nursing homes. Injury-International Journal of the Care of the Injured, 2015;46(10):2010-2015. Injury-International Journal of the Care of the Injured can be contacted at: Elsevier Sci Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, Oxon, England.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from R.J. Kadakia, Brown University, Sch Public Hlth, Center Gerontol & Hlth Care Res, Providence, RI 02912, United States. Additional authors for this research include R.Y. Hsu, R. Hayda, Y. Lee and J.T. Bariteau.

Keywords for this news article include: Providence, Rhode Island, United States, Health Policy, Medicare and Medicaid, North and Central America,

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