4.1 Article

Factors Related to Complications Among Adult Patients With Intellectual Disabilities Hospitalized at an Academic Medical Center

Journal

INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
Volume 53, Issue 2, Pages 114-119

Publisher

AMER ASSOC INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
DOI: 10.1352/1934-9556-53.2.114

Keywords

intellectual disabilities; hospitalization; complications

Funding

  1. Gamma Phi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau
  2. Center for Clinical Research and Scholarship at Rush University Medical Center

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People with intellectual disabilities (ID) represent a small but important group of hospitalized patients who have higher rates of complications than do patients without ID hospitalized for the same reasons. Complications are potentially avoidable conditions, such as healthcare-acquired infections, healthcare-acquired skin breakdown, falls, and medication errors and reactions. Addressing factors related to complications can focus efforts to improve hospital care. The purpose of this exploratory study was to analyze data from reviews of academic medical center charts (N = 70) about complications and to examine patient and hospitalization characteristics in relation to complications among adult patients (age >= 18 years) with ID hospitalized for nonpsychiatric reasons. Adults with ID tended to be twice as likely to have complications (chi(2) = 2.893, df = 1, p = .09) if they had a surgical procedure and were nearly four times as likely to have complications (chi(2) = 6.836, df = 1, p = .009) if they had multiple chronic health conditions (three of the following: history of cerebral palsy, autism spectrum symptoms, aggressive behavior, respiratory disorder, and admission through the emergency department). Findings suggest preliminary criteria for assessing risk for complications among hospitalized people with ID and the need for attention to their specific needs when hospitalized.

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