Using logistic regression, the likelihood of being in the delayed discharge category was assessed for patient related factors such as age, sex, clinical parameters at the time of admission including systolic blood pressure, pulse rate, albumin level, urea level, creatinine level, C-reactive protein (CRP) level and their effort tolerance.
Table 2 illustrates bivariate comparisons between discharge categories.
There were some associations for risk factors specific for mental or musculoskeletal discharge categories (Table 7).
However, the basis for the discharge categories 'cured' and 'improved' does not become entirely clear from the records.
There were three discharge categories: A) temporary medical discharge from military service; B) permanent medical discharge from service in peacetime; and C) applying for non-military service (Table 2).
Although the difference in average CPAx score between groups did not reach statistical significance for all discharge categories, these data show clear associations between CPAx score at ICU discharge and final hospital-discharge locations.
To test whether this score corresponds to the approximate condition of discharged patients, we calculated the average score among patients for each of six discharge categories, namely: home, home with healthcare, rehab centre, skilled nursing facility, hospice and death.
Notably, the investigators also showed a wide range of FSS-ICU scores for the five discharge categories that they used: home; inpatient-rehabilitation facility; skilled-nursing facility; hospice/long-term care; and transfer to short-stay hospital [ 15].
By summing risk functions, a first-approximation patient risk score is created, which correctly ranks 6 discharge categories by average mortality with p<0.001 for differences in category means, and Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference Test confirmed that the means were all different at the 95% confidence level.
As shown in table 3, the average risk scores among patients within each of the six discharge categories correspond exactly with the progression that would be expected for an increasing risk of death: home, home with healthcare, rehab centre, skilled nursing facility, hospice and death.
Data on the effect of interventions from the comprehensive discharge planning category on social status in first 3 months after discharge were found in one review [ 105].
