Risk factors for hospital readmission within 30 days: A new quality measure for children with sickle cell disease

Abstract

Background The National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) established hospital readmission within 30 days as a benchmark for quality care in children with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). Among children with SCD, limited data exists to identify risk factors for readmission and whether they are modifiable. Procedure We performed a retrospective cohort study to identify risk factors for readmission. All admissions for children with SCD in a 1‐year period were reviewed; cases were defined as children with SCD readmitted within 30 days after their first admission during the study period and controls, children with SCD who were not readmitted. Results We identified 30 cases and 70 controls. No difference in demographic data was found between groups. The most common admission and readmission diagnosis was pain, 78 and 70%, respectively. The greatest risk factor for readmission was no outpatient hematology follow‐up within 30 days of discharge (OR 7.7, 95% CI 2.4–24.4). A diagnosis of asthma was also a risk factor for readmission (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.2–7.3). Patients who required supplemental oxygen to maintain saturations in the normal range and were on room air for ≤24 hr at discharge were also more likely to be readmitted (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.1–9.7). Multivariate analysis identified lack of outpatient follow‐up and disease severity, defined as ≥3 admissions in the previous 12 months as predictors for readmission (R² = 0.41). Conclusions Potentially modifiable risk factors exist to decrease the rate of readmission of children with SCD admitted to the hospital for pain. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;52:481–485.