The impact of comorbidities on wound healing in the community: The value of using linked hospital data
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Wound Practice and Research
Volume
32
Issue
3
First Page
136
Last Page
144
Publisher
Cambridge Publishing
School
School of Nursing and Midwifery
Abstract
Aim To explore the comorbidities of community wound patients, and their impacts on healing. Methods Records of patients treated for a wound in Western Australia by a community healthcare service during 2017/2018 were linked to hospital admissions data for the prior 12 months. The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (ECI) were calculated using ICD-coded diagnoses from the linked data. Cox proportional hazards regression examined associations between comorbidities and healing. Results Wound care was provided to 14,479 patients with 25,968 wounds. Most wounds healed (76.11%) and most patients were hospitalised (84.51%) at least once in the 12 months prior to their community wound admission. Two-thirds had one or more ECI comorbidity and over half had one or more CCI comorbidity. There was variation in comorbidity profiles across the wound categories. Patients with pressure injuries had the highest CCI scores (mean 3.26, SD 3.17) and ECI scores (mean 3.32, SD 2.36). For each wound category, the model that best explained the relationship between wound healing and comorbidities was based on the presence of different subsets of comorbidities. Conclusion Linkage of hospital data to community data improved understanding of the comorbidity burden and differences in wound healing outcomes for different wound categories.
DOI
10.33235/wpr.32.3.136-144
Access Rights
free_to_read
Comments
Smith, J., Carville, K., Smith, K., & Alan, J. (2024). The impact of comorbidities on wound healing in the community: The value of using linked hospital data. Wound Practice & Research: Journal of the Australian Wound Management Association, 32(3), 136-144. https://doi.org/10.33235/wpr.32.3.136-144