William Weintraub, M.D., authors JAMA study

William Weintraub, M.D., the John H. Ammon Chair of Cardiology at Christiana Care, is an author of a study in the Oct. 5 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association finding that older, lower-risk patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) can be safely discharged from the hospital the same day as their procedure.

Among selected Medicare patients, same-day discharge is still uncommon, but investigators observed nearly equivalent rates of hospitalization and mortality at two and 30 days when compared with patients who stayed overnight.

“The outcomes data was nearly identical,” said Dr. Weintraub. “The study tells us there are a large number of patients who remain in the hospital overnight following PCI who could safely be sent home the same day they have the procedure.”

The study evaluated the prevalence and outcomes of same-day discharge among 107,018 patients 65 years or older undergoing elective PCI in the United States. Data were collected from the American College of Cardiology CathPCI Registry (November 2004 to December 2008), which includes Christiana Care’s Center for Heart & Vascular Health, and linked with Medicare Part A claims.

PCI is one of the most commonly performed cardiac procedures, with more than 1 million episodes of care annually among Medicare recipients. The procedure uses balloon angioplasty or stent placement to open narrowed arteries of the heart.