Vital signs are still vital: instability on discharge and the risk of post-discharge adverse outcomes. | AHRQ Patient Safety Network

Vital signs are still vital: instability on discharge and the risk of post-discharge adverse outcomes. | AHRQ Patient Safety Network



In observational study, patients with abnormal vital signs at hospital discharge had higher 30-day readmission and death rates.
J Gen Intern Med. 2016 Aug 8; [Epub ahead of print].

• Study
 
• Published August 2016

Vital signs are still vital: instability on discharge and the risk of post-discharge adverse outcomes.

Nguyen OK, Makam AN, Clark C, et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2016 Aug 8; [Epub ahead of print].

Identifying patients at high risk of readmission following hospital discharge is a patient safety priority. This observational cohort study found that patients with abnormal vital signs—temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation—upon hospital discharge were more likely to be readmitted to the hospital or die within 30 days compared to patients without vital sign abnormalities. The authors suggest vital signs should be used to assess safety for hospital discharge.

PubMed citationAvailable at

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