Objective: Define characteristics of emergency department encounters and hospital admissions of people with Huntington’s disease and identify opportunities for intervention to reduce hospitalizations.

Background: Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive motor, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms. Hospitalizations of people with HD become increasingly common with disease progression and given the lack of disease modifying treatments for HD, it is paramount we identify opportunities for intervention prior to hospitalization.

Method: Patients with a diagnosis of HD, who had been seen as an outpatient in the University of Colorado System and who presented to the emergency department (ED) or were admitted within the University of Colorado Health system between 2014 and 2023.  Information regarding patients’ demographics, medical history, Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) scores, outpatient encounters, emergency department encounters, and hospital admissions were collected via chart review.

Results: 132 patients meeting study criteria were identified with an average age of 57 years (SD=15.68).  CAG repeat lengths were reported for 80 patients with an average pathogenic repeat length of 44.65 (SD=5.91). Information from 484 ED encounters and 61 hospital admissions were reviewed and included in the analyses. Common etiologies associated with emergency department encounters were falls or other motor complications of HD (19.46%), infections (17.60%), and psychiatric or behavioral complications of HD (5.38%). Common etiologies associated with hospital admissions were psychiatric or behavioral complications of HD (21.31%), infections (18.03%), falls or other motor complications of HD (11.48%), and aspiration (4.92%). Mean UHDRS scores prior to emergency department encounters included a total motor score of 41.45 (SD=24.59), total functional capacity score of 7.25 (SD=3.73) and independence scale of 71.36 (SD=18.05). Mean UHDRS scores prior to hospital admissions included a total motor score of 44.30 (SD=27.96), total functional capacity score of 7.36 (SD=3.75) and independence scale of 73.18 (SD=18.48).

Conclusion: Our results suggest that a substantial proportion of ED encounters and hospital admissions in people with HD are attributable to aspects of HD for which symptomatic treatments or other interventions may provide benefit.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/analysis-of-emergency-department-encounters-and-hospital-admissions-of-people-with-huntingtons-disease/