Hospitalized adults with epilepsy are vulnerable to specific safety-related adverse events, and these potential patient safety failures substantially impact outcomes and resource use, a recent study found. Researchers examined data from the National Inpatient Sample database to identify potential medical and postoperative patient adverse events (PAEs) among >72 million hospitalizations of US adults from 2000 to 2010. They found:

• Hospitalized persons with epilepsy (PWEs) were at increased risk for specific postoperative PAEs: fall with hip fracture, respiratory failure, sepsis, and preventable postoperative death.

• The odds of perioperative pulmonary embolism/deep vein thrombosis, skin pressure ulcer, and central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections were also greater among hospitalizations of PWEs.

• Experiencing a PAE was associated with a prolonged mean length of stay (15 days vs 5 days), a 416% increase in the odds of inpatient death, and a 282% increase in use of high-level post-acute care.