Readmissions are being increasingly used as an indicator of quality of care. We sought to identify risk factors for 30-day readmission in hospitalized patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease hospitalized between 2004 and 2013 at the University of Maryland were identified. Demographic and clinical information were extracted from the medical record for each admission. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine the association between these variables and readmission. One thousand two hundred thirteen admissions were identified in 498 patients; 232 (19.1%) index admissions were followed by a 30-day readmission. Mean age was 39.4 ± 14.5 years. Approximately 70% of the population was white, 60% were women, and 67.5% had Crohn's disease. Concurrent congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, history of steroid use, diverting ileostomy, subtotal colectomy, or a thromboembolic event during index admission, and IV antibiotics or restricted diet at discharge were associated with readmission. After adjustment, patients with congestive heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were more likely to be readmitted (aOR 4.06 and 2.86, respectively). Underweight or obese patients were nearly twice as likely to be readmitted (aOR 1.81 and 1.72, respectively). Those with past steroid use, new ileostomy, or those who were discharged on hyperalimentation were twice as likely to be readmitted (aOR 1.90, 2.04, and aOR 1.97, respectively). Nineteen percentage of patients with inflammatory bowel disease treated at a referral center are readmitted within 30 days. Our results suggest that patients with comorbid medical conditions, malnutrition or obesity, a new ileostomy, past steroid use, or those discharged on hyperalimentation are at increased risk for readmission. Research is needed to determine if targeted interventions for high-risk patients decreases readmissions.
BACKGROUND Restroom cleanliness is an important factor in hospital quality. Due to its dynamic process, it can be difficult to detect the presence of dirty restrooms that need to be cleaned. Using an Internet of Things (IoT) button can permit users to designate restrooms that need cleaning and in turn, allow prompt response from housekeeping to maintain real-time restroom cleanliness. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to describe the deployment of an IoT button–based notification system to measure hospital restroom cleanliness reporting system usage and qualitative feedback from housekeeping staff on IoT button use. METHODS We deployed IoT buttons in 16 hospital restrooms. Over an 8-month period, housekeeping staff received real-time notifications and responded to button presses for restroom cleaning. All button presses were recorded. We reported average button usage by hospital area, time of day, and day of week. We also conducted interviews with housekeeping supervisors and staff to understand their acceptance of and experience with the system. RESULTS Over 8 months, 1920 requests to clean restrooms in the main hospital lobby and satellite buildings were received. The hospital lobby IoT buttons received over half (N=1055, 55%) of requests for cleaning. Most requests occurred in afternoon hours from 3 PM to midnight. Requests for cleaning remained stable throughout the work week with fewer requests occurring over weekends. IoT button use was sustained throughout the study period. Interviews with housekeeping supervisors and staff demonstrated acceptance of the IoT buttons; actual use was centered around asynchronous communication between supervisors and staff in response to requests to clean restrooms. CONCLUSIONS An IoT button system is a feasible method to generate on-demand request for restroom cleaning that is easy to deploy and that users will consistently engage with. Data from this system have the potential to enable responsive scheduling for restroom service and anticipate periods of high restroom utilization in a hospital.
Depression is common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and contributes to poor quality of life (QoL). The use of information technology for the remote management of patients with IBD is growing, but little is known about its impact on depressive symptoms (DS) and QoL. We aimed to evaluate the impact of telemedicine on DS and generic QoL in IBD patients.We analyzed data from the Telemedicine for Patients with IBD (TELE-IBD) study. During this 12-month clinical trial, patients were randomized to receive text message-based telemedicine weekly (TELE-IBD W), every other week (TELE-IBD EOW), or to standard care. Depressive symptoms and QoL were assessed over time with the Mental Health Inventory 5 (MHI-5) and the Short Form 12 (SF-12), respectively. We compared the change in MHI-5 and SF-12 (with separate physical (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores) between the study arms.A total of 217 participants were included in this analysis. After 1 year, there was no significant difference in the change in MHI-5 (TELE-IBD W +3.0 vs TELE-IBD EOW +0.7 vs standard care +3.4; P = 0.70), MCS (TELE-IBD W +1.4 vs TELE-IBD EOW +1.0 vs standard care +2.5; P = 0.89), and PCS scores (TELE-IBD W +0.4 vs TELE-IBD EOW +0.6 vs standard care +3.7; P = 0.06) between the groups.Text message-based telemedicine does not improve DS or QoL when compared with standard care in IBD patients treated at tertiary referral centers. Further studies are needed to determine whether telemedicine improves DS or QoL in settings with few resources.
Depression is common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and is known to be associated with poor adherence in the usual care setting. In the last decade, there has been an increase in the use of information technology (IT) for the delivery of IBD care, but the association between depressive symptoms (DS) and adherence to self-testing in this context is not known. We aimed to investigate this association among IBD patients managed via a text messaging–based telemedicine system. This was a prospective study of participants in the 2 intervention arms of the Telemedicine for Patients with IBD (TELE-IBD) trial. Depressive symptoms were measured at baseline, and then participants received periodic text messages to initiate IBD-specific self-testing. Treatment plans were similarly conveyed, and adherence to self-testing was evaluated at the end of 1 year. Regression analyses were performed, and age-stratified models were constructed to evaluate for effect modification. Of the 193 study participants, 48% had DS at baseline. Overall, there was no significant association between DS and adherence to self-testing. However, upon stratification by age, adherence increased with depressive symptoms in those that were 40 years and younger (P = 0.02), but there was no association between depressive symptoms and adherence in the older group (P = 0.53). Younger IBD patients with DS have high adherence when managed in a text messaging–based telemedicine program. Telemedicine interventions have the potential to improve health outcomes in this demographic—a group that is often thought to be difficult to manage due to nonadherence.
IBD affects 1.6 million people in the US and is associated with increased healthcare utilization. Telemedicine is an alternative healthcare delivery system which could improve outcomes and decrease costs. The objective of this study was to compare healthcare utilization 1 year before and after randomization among participants receiving TELE-IBD and standard care. The TELE-IBD study was a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial conducted over 1 year. Controls received standard care whereas TELE-IBD participants completed testing with TELE-IBD weekly (W) or every other week (EOW). Testing consisted of an assessment of symptoms, side effects, and weight, alerts to providers, action plans to participants, and educational messages. Healthcare utilization was assessed by review of the electronic medical record and categorized as office and emergency department visits, diagnostic tests, infusions, procedures and hospitalizations. Total encounters increased in all groups after enrollment; increased utilization was due to significant increases in office visits, infusions, and telephone encounters (Table 1). There was no difference in total encounters between groups. Telephone calls increased significantly from baseline in TELE-IBD EOW and W; however, the difference was not significant between groups. IBD-related hospitalizations increased in controls (22 to 26) but decreased from 27 to 16 in TELE-IBD EOW and 27 to 11 in TELE-IBD W respectively (TELE-IBD W vs. controls, p <.05). Healthcare utilization increased in all groups and was not decreased with use of TELE-IBD. However, use of TELE-IBD W was associated with a significant decrease in IBD-related hospitalizations. Despite more frequent interactions with the care team in TELE-IBD groups, telephone and electronic communications were not increased compared to standard care. Further research is needed to determine if telemedicine can be used to decrease healthcare utilization.
