Determinants of Home Discharge Among Survivors of Necrotizing Fasciitis: A Population-Level Analysis

BACKGROUND: The majority of patients with necrotizing fasciitis (NF) in the United Sates survive their illness, and there is increasing interest in addressing the ability of survivors to return to their community following hospitalization. However, there are no data on the factors affecting home discharge among survivors of NF. METHODS: We used the Texas Inpatient Public Use Data File to conduct a retrospective population-based examination of hospitalizations with NF aged 15 years or older between 2001 and 2010. Multivariate logistic regression modeling was used to explore predictors of home discharge among hospital survivors. RESULTS: There were 10,724 NF hospitalizations surviving to discharge during study period, of which 62.5% were discharged home. The following key predictors have adversely affected odds of home discharge (odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals): age ≥ 75 years (0.349 (0.292 - 0.417)), Medicare insurance (0.582 (0.510 - 0.663)), congestive heart failure (0.836 (0.719 - 0.972)), chronic liver disease (0.684 (0.522 - 0.895)), respiratory failure (0.464 (0.386 - 0.558)), neurological failure (0.573 (0.418 - 0.787)), and need for mechanical ventilation (0.339 (0.199 - 0.578)). Increased odds of home discharge were found among males (1.116 (1.058 - 1.285)), Hispanics (1.193 (1.056 - 1.349)), those lacking health insurance (2.161 (1.183 - 2.521)) or managed at a teaching hospital (1.264 (1.127 - 1.418)). CONCLUSIONS: In this first population-level examination of the determinants of home discharge among survivors of NF, older age, Medicare insurance, selected comorbidities, and development of organ failure decreased patients’ odds of home discharge. Unexpectedly, male gender, Hispanic ethnicity, lack of health insurance, and being managed at a teaching hospital were associated with favorable impact on patients’ discharge disposition. Further studies are warranted in other populations and healthcare environments to corroborate the present findings and to refine our understanding of the factors affecting short-term outcomes among NF survivors.