Readmission Risk Factors for Pediatric Patient Hospitalized for Pneumonia

Patient selection: pediatric patient discharged from hospital following admission for pneumonia

Outcome: hospital readmission within 30 days (about a quarter were for pneumonia and the rest for other causes)

Frequency of readmission: 8%

Risk factors for readmission:

(1) age <= 365 days on index admission

(2) chronic comorbid condition(s)

(3) history of a hospitalization in the previous year

Additional factors to consider:

(1) hospital length of stay of index admission > 7 days (adjusted OR 1.4)

(2) complicated pneumonia (adjusted OR 1.3)

(3) hospital with fewer admissions for pneumonia

A child with asthma was less likely to be readmitted (OR 0.6).