The Charlson Comorbidity Index: predicting readmission and severity in emergency departments

Introduction. The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) is a comorbidity scale used widely throughout the world. Despite its widespread use, its relationship with patient readmission to the Emergency departments (ED) has not been evaluated previously. Aim. To show whether there is a correlation between the CCI score and the number of repeated admissions to ED and that the CCI score can be used as a predicted factor for the serious patients. Material and methods. This was a prospective observational cross-sectional study. Age, gender, vital signs of the patients who agreed to participate in the study was recorded. Numbers of ED readmissions of patients within six months after discharge and CCI scores have been recorded. Results. The study was completed with 1420 patients. The admission rates of patients in the ED in the six months were significantly higher in the CCI 5+ group than in other groups (p<0.05) There was a positive correlation between the number of visits and CCI scores (p<0.01; C>0). Conclusion. We believe that the CCI scoring system can be used by ED clinicians to predict the risk of readmission of patients after discharge from ED.