Hospital readmissions at a tertiary care children’s hospital: Prevalence, associated characteristics, and preventability

INTRODUCTION: Hospital readmissions in pediatrics are a severe, potentially avoidable problem of health systems. In our setting, there is little information about this topic. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the rate of readmissions, the proportion of potentially preventable readmissions, and their associated characteristics. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study including hospital readmissions of patients aged 0-18 years, admitted to a tertiary care children's hospital between January 1st and December 31st, 2018. Readmissions were assessed as potentially preventable based on whether they were or not related to the previous admission. RESULTS: Out of 8228 hospital admissions recorded in the study period, the rate of readmissions for any cause was 10 % at 30 days and 7.1 % at 15 days. The proportion of readmissions classified as potentially preventable was 47.9 % at 30 days and 47.5 % at 15 days. No statistically significant differences were observed between readmissions at 30 and 15 days in terms of patient age, health insurance, presence of chronic disease or cause of readmission. CONCLUSION: The rate of hospital readmissions was 10 % at 30 days and 7.1 % at 15 days of discharge; almost half of them were considered potentially preventable.