TABLE 1.
Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of General Pediatric Readmissions Within 15 Days of Discharge.
| Readmission characteristics | Total readmissions, | Readmissions without MOIDs, | Readmissions with MOIDs, | p-value * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N = 348 | N=326 | N=22 | ||
| Age, n (%) | 0.013 | |||
| <1 years | 167 (48.0) | 163 (50.0) | 4 (18) | |
| 2–5 years | 89 (25.6) | 81 (24.8) | 8 (36) | |
| >5 years | 92 (26.4) | 82 (25.2) | 10 (46) | |
| Sex, n (%) | 0.87 | |||
| Female | 164 (47.1) | 154 (47.2) | 10 (46) | |
| Male | 184 (52.9) | 172 (52.8) | 12 (55) | |
| Race, n (%) | 0.31 | |||
| Asian | 15 (4.3) | 13 (4.0) | 2 (9) | |
| Black | 133 (38.2) | 128 (39.3) | 5 (23) | |
| Multiracial or Other† | 54 (15.5) | 49 (15.0) | 5 (23) | |
| White | 146 (42.0) | 136 (41.7) | 10 (46) | |
| Ethnicity, n (%) | 0.97 | |||
| Hispanic or Latino | 46 (13.2) | 43 (13.2) | 3 (14) | |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 301 (86.5) | 282 (86.5) | 19 (86) | |
| Refused | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Preferred Language, n (%) | 0.084 | |||
| English | 319 (91.7) | 301 (92.3) | 18 (82) | |
| Non-English | 29 (8.3) | 25 (7.7) | 4 (18) | |
| Insurance, n (%) | 0.29 | |||
| Commercial/Other | 137 (39.4) | 126 (38.7) | 11 (50) | |
| Public | 211 (60.6) | 200 (61.3) | 11 (50) | |
| Complex chronic condition‡, n (%) | 101 (29.0) | 94 (28.8) | 7 (32) | 0.46 |
| Social Vulnerability Index (SVI)§, n (%) | 0.17 | |||
| Highest | 119 (34.2) | 109 (33.4) | 10 (46) | |
| Lowest | 75 (21.6) | 72 (22.1) | 3 (14) | |
| Medium high | 63 (18.1) | 62 (19.0) | 1 (5) | |
| Medium low | 88 (25.3) | 80 (24.5) | 8 (36) | |
| Missing | 3 (0.9) | 3 (0.9) | 0 (0) | |
| Index admission length of stay in days, median (IQR) | 2.1 (1.4–4.0) | 2.1 (1.4–4.2) | 1.6 (1.2–3.0) | 0.069 |
| Readmission length of stay in days, median (IQR) | 2.4 (1.5–5.1) | 2.3 (1.5–4.8) | 4.3 (2.0–11.9) | 0.023 |
| Time between admissions, n (%) | 0.13 | |||
| 0 to 7 days | 233 (67.0) | 215 (66.0) | 18 (82) | |
| 8 to 15 days | 115 (33.0) | 111 (34.0) | 4 (18) | |
| Admission source, n (%) | 0.039 | |||
| Direct admission¶ | 23 (6.6) | 23 (7.1) | 0 (0) | |
| Emergency department | 290 (83.3) | 271 (83.1) | 19 (86) | |
| Transfer from another hospital or facility | 14 (4.0) | 11 (3.4) | 3 (14) | |
| Missing | 21 (6.0) | 21 (6.4) | 0 (0) | |
| ICU stay during index admission, n (%) | 65 (19.3) | 63 (20.0) | 2 (9) | 0.27 |
| ICU stay during readmission, n (%) | 59 (18.0) | 55 (18.0) | 4 (18) | 1.00 |
| COVID-19 pandemic, n (%)** | 0.18 | |||
| Index admission date prior to 3/1/2020 | 235 (67.5) | 223 (68.4) | 12 (54.5) | |
| Index admission date on or after 3/1/2020 | 113 (32.5) | 103 (31.6) | 10 (45.5) |
MOID, missed opportunity for improving diagnosis; SVI, Social Vulnerability Index; IQR, interquartile range; ICU, intensive care unit.
This is an analysis of 348 readmissions by 321 patients.
Differences were evaluated using Pearson’s chi-squared test.
“Other” includes patients who did not disclose or who reported American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Indian, Multi-racial, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander or Other.
Based on Feudtner et al. 2014.26
Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) is a composite index created by the CDC based on the patient’s primary home address to quantify “social vulnerability” which is defined by the CDC as “potential negative effects on communities caused by external stresses on human health.”23
inbound transport type (that is not interfacility)
Readmissions where index admission occurred on or after March 1, 2020 were classified as “during the pandemic”