One in 10 patients hospitalised with peripheral artery disease are readmitted within a month, often for conditions that are potentially preventable, Australian researchers say.

Their study of more than 100,000 cases related to peripheral artery disease (PAD) found that one-third of unplanned readmissions occurred within just one week of discharge. 

The study — the first to evaluate readmissions after PAD treatment in Australian and New Zealand hospitals — revealed many readmissions could be avoided with improved care during procedures, better infection control and attention to cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors, the researchers said.

“For a large proportion of readmissions, the major diagnoses were heart failure, acute MI, angina or stroke, reflecting the risk of cardiovascular events associated with PAD,” they wrote.