Purpose of Review
Many patients with decompensated cirrhosis will be re-admitted within 30 days after discharge. Why many of these readmissions reflect the severity of the patients underlying disease—and can be lifesaving—others may be preventable, revealing gaps in systems of care. This review summarizes reasons for and interventions designed to improve readmission rates and why they work (or do not).
Recent Findings
The principle reasons for readmission include hepatic encephalopathy, symptomatic ascites, complications of medical management, and substance abuse-related admissions. Strategies to reduce readmissions generally succeed in two ways: (1) developing and providing viable alternatives to hospitalization for early decompensations and (2) optimal utilization of proven therapeutic modalities for the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy. Interventions can be targeted (aiming to improve one component of care), structural (reorganizing care delivery to improve quality), and comprehensive (structural with multiple targeted approaches). Recent literature has shown how smartphone applications may be developed to help reduce readmissions.
Summary
Interventions that aim to reduce readmissions among patients with decompensated cirrhosis should be developed with reference to the lessons from prior published reports.