Clinical Instability at Discharge and Post-Discharge Outcomes in Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia: An Observational Study

Background/Objectives: Clinical stability within 24 h prior to discharge is a key metric for safe care transitions in hospitalised patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, its association with post-discharge outcomes, particularly readmissions, remains underexplored. This study assessed whether clinical instability before discharge is associated with 30-day mortality, readmissions, or a composite of both in hospitalised CAP patients. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included adults (≥18 years) admitted with CAP to two tertiary Australian hospitals between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2023. Clinical instability was defined as abnormal vital signs (temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, or oxygen saturation) within 24 h before discharge. Pneumonia severity was assessed using the CURB-65 score and frailty using the Hospital Frailty Risk Score. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations with outcomes, adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, frailty, disease severity, microbiological aetiology, antibiotics prescribed during admission, and prior healthcare use. Competing risk regression accounted for death when analysing readmissions. Results: Of 3984 patients, 20.4% had clinical instability within 24 h before discharge. The composite outcome occurred in 21.9% patients, with 15.8% readmitted and 6.1% dying within 30 days. Clinical instability was significantly associated with the composite outcome (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.73, 95% CI 1.42–2.09, p < 0.001), primarily driven by increased mortality risk (aOR 3.70, 95% CI 2.73–5.00, p < 0.001). However, no significant association was found between clinical instability and readmissions (aOR 1.16, 95% CI 0.93–1.44, p > 0.05). Conclusions: Clinical instability within 24 h before discharge predicts worse outcomes in CAP patients, driven by increased mortality risk rather than readmissions.