Does obesity cost the Patient and the Hospital? Increased Thirty-Day Readmission and Resource Utilization Among Obese Patients with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Propensity Score Match Analysis

Method A retrospective study was conducted using the AHRQ-HCUP Nationwide Readmission Database for the year 2014. Adults (≥18 years) with a primary diagnosis of AE-COPD, along with a secondary diagnosis of obesity were identified using ICD-9 codes as described in the literature [1, 2]. The primary outcome was the rate of all-cause readmission within 30 days of discharge. Secondary outcomes were reasons for readmission, readmission mortality rate, morbidity, and resource use (length of stay and total hospitalization costs and charges). Propensity score (PS) using the 1:1 nearest neighbor matching without replacement was utilized to adjust for confounders [3]. Independent risk factors for readmission were identified using a Cox proportional hazards model [4].