More than 70,000 Medicare beneficiaries receive care in long-term acute care hospitals for prolonged medical illnesses such as dependence on the ventilator after pneumonia. Very little has been known about their long-term functional and cognitive outcomes after hospitalization.
Using data from the nationally representative health and retirement study, Snigdha Jain, MD, MHS, et al. found that four of five older adults (aged 50 years or older) admitted to long-term acute care hospitals either die or survive with severe functional or cognitive impairments within two and a half years after hospitalization. Their findings have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open.
This study reveals the negative health outcomes of patients in these facilities, which are relevant to a large pool of older adults who may be faced with the prospect of transferring to long-term hospitals for prolonged medical care after a critical illness. Additionally, this study highlights the need to discuss goals of care for those at risk for adverse outcomes.
To learn more, read the article, “Survival, Function, and Cognition After Hospitalization in Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals.”
Jain S, Gan S, Nguyen OK, Sudore RL, Steinman MA, Covinsky K, Makam AN. Survival, Function, and Cognition After Hospitalization in Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 May 1;7(5):e2413309. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.13309. PMID: 38805226; PMCID: PMC11134219.