Table 1.
Characteristics of PICU patients and their index admissions by readmission status
| Characteristic, % (95% CI) | Not readmitted n=93,867 (98.8%) |
Readmitted <48 hrs n=1,161 (1.2%) |
|---|---|---|
| Male sex | 55.8 (55.5–56.2) | 56 (53.1–58.8) |
| Age | ||
| 0–2 months† | 8.3 (8.1–8.5) | 10.2 (8.5–11.9) |
| 2–6 months* | 8.7 (8.5–8.8) | 14.7 (12.7–16.8) |
| 6–12 months | 7.6 (7.4–7.8) | 8.7 (7.1–10.4) |
| 1–18 years* | 71.1 (70.8–71.4) | 60.8 (58–63.6) |
| >18 years | 4.3 (4.2–4.5) | 5.5 (4.2–6.8) |
| Racea | ||
| Caucasian | 52.1 (51.8–52.5) | 53.7 (50.6–56.9) |
| African American | 18.3 (18–18.6) | 18.6 (16.1–21) |
| Hispanic | 18.1 (17.8–18.4) | 17.4 (15–19.7) |
| Asian/Indian/Pacific Islander | 2.6 (2.5–2.7) | 2.5 (1.5–3.4) |
| American Indian | 0.7 (0.7–0.8) | 0.8 (0.3–1.4) |
| Other/mixed/unspecified | 8.1 (7.8–8.3) | 7.1 (4.8–9.4) |
| Insuranceb | ||
| Medicaid/Medicare | 49.7 (49.2–50.2) | 53.5 (49.2–57.8) |
| Commercial | 23.1 (22.7–23.5) | 22.8 (19.1–26.4) |
| Managed Care | 17.6 (17.2–18) | 15.4 (12.2–18.5) |
| Government | 3.7 (3.6–3.9) | 2.9 (1.5–4.4) |
| Self-Pay/other | 5.8 (5.5–6.1) | 5.4 (2.6–8.2) |
| Complex chronic condition* | ||
| No CCC* | 58 (57.7–58.4) | 50 (47.1–52.8) |
| 1 CCC | 24.5 (24.2–24.7) | 25.5 (23–28) |
| ≥2 CCC* | 17.5 (17.3–17.7) | 24.5 (22–27) |
| Baseline POPC Scorec | ||
| No disability* | 48.6 (48–49.1) | 37.1 (32–42.2) |
| Mild disability | 24.5 (24–24.9) | 27 (22.3–31.7) |
| Moderate disability | 17.9 (17.5–18.4) | 23 (18.5–27.4) |
| Severe disability | 8.8 (8.5–9.1) | 12.6 (9.1–16.2) |
| Coma/vegetative state | 0.2 (0.1– 0.2) | 0.3 (0–0.9) |
| Baseline PCPC Scorec | ||
| No disability† | 73.1 (72.6–73.6) | 66.7 (61.9–71.6) |
| Mild disability | 11.5 (11.1–11.8) | 14.9 (11.2–18.7) |
| Moderate disability | 8.6 (8.2–8.9) | 8.6 (5.7–11.6) |
| Severe disability | 6.7 (6.4–6.9) | 9.5 (6.4–12.6) |
| Coma/vegetative state | 0.2 (0.1–0.2) | 0.3 (0–0.9) |
| Unplanned* | 72.1 (71.8–72.4) | 78 (75.6–80.3) |
| Pre-/post-operative | 33.5 (33.2–33.8) | 30.9 (28.3–33.6) |
| Origin | ||
| Emergency Department† | 48.7 (48.4–49) | 43.8 (40.9–46.6) |
| General ward* | 11.5 (11.3–11.7) | 19 (16.8–21.3) |
| Another ICU† | 3.3 (3.2–3.5) | 4.9 (3.7–6.2) |
| Intermediate unit | 1.4 (1.3–1.5) | 2 (1.2–2.8) |
| OR/PACU/Procedure suite† | 31.1 (30.8–31.4) | 27.3 (24.8–30) |
| Chronic/Rehabilitation facility | 0.2 (0.2–0.3) | 0.3 (0–0.6) |
| Outpatient/Home | 3.3 (3.2–3.4) | 2.3 (1.5–3.2) |
| Other | 0.5 (0.4–0.5) | 0.2 (0–0.6) |
| Trauma* | 8.1 (8–8.3) | 5.3 (4–6.6) |
| Duration of PPV, days, mean (SD)† | 1.5 (6.9) | 2 (5.4) |
| Disposition | ||
| General ward* | 64.9 (64.6–65.2) | 77.9 (75.4–80.3) |
| Another ICU† | 2.3 (2.3–2.4) | 1.5 (0.8–2.2) |
| Intermediate unit* | 11.1 (10.9–11.3) | 19.4 (17.1–21.7) |
| OR | 0.5 (0.4–0.5) | 0.5 (0.1–0.9) |
| Chronic/Rehabilitation facility | 0.9 (0.9–1) | 0.5 (0.1–0.9) |
| Home* | 19.4 (19.1–19.6) | 0.1 (0–0.3) |
| Other† | 1 (0.9–1) | 0.2 (0–0.4) |
| Discharge season | ||
| September – November | 30.7 (30.3–30.9) | 28.9 (26.3–31.6) |
| December – February | 26 (25.8–26.3) | 27.7 (25.2–30.3) |
| March – May† | 17.9 (17.6–18.1) | 20.2 (17.8–22.5) |
| June – August | 25.5 (25.2–25.8) | 23.2 (20.7–25.6) |
| Discharged between 5 PM & 8 AM† | 29.5 (29.2–29.8) | 33.6 (30.9–36.3) |
| Weekend discharge† | 24.7 (24.5–25) | 22.2 (19.8–24.5) |
| Admitted to PICU with | ||
| ICU beds | ||
| ≤17 | 47.9 (47.6–48.2) | 46.3 (43.4–49,2) |
| 18-24* | 18.3 (18.1–18.5) | 12.5 (10.6–14.4) |
| ≥25* | 33.8 (33.5–34.1) | 41.2 (38.3–44) |
| Separate intermediate care unit† | 40.1 (39.7–40.4) | 44.8 (41.9–47.7) |
| Affiliated fellowship program* | 58.6 (58.3–59) | 69.6 (66.9–72.2) |
| PIM2 risk of mortality, %, mean (SD)* | 1.8 (5.3) | 2.7 (6.8) |
| LOS, days, median (IQR)* | 1.6 (0.9–3.6) | 2 (1–5.1) |
CCC, complex chronic condition; CI, confidence interval; PACU, post-anesthesia care unit; ICU, intensive care unit; IQR, interquartile range; LOS, length of stay; OR, operating room; PIM, Paediatric Index of Mortality; PCPC, Pediatric Cerebral Performance Categories; PICU, pediatric intensive care unit; POPC, Pediatric Overall Performance Categories; PPV, positive pressure ventilation; SD, standard deviation
P < 0.05;
P < 0.001 by chi2 test, unpaired two-tailed t-test, or Kruskal-Wallis rank test
Based on 77,954 (80%) admissions from 68 sites that supplied race
Based on 42,825 (44%) admissions from 28 sites that supplied insurance
Based on 31,434 (33%) admissions from 27 sites that supplied Pediatric Overall and Cerebral Performance Categories