Identifying the Prevalence and Causes of 30-Day Hospital Readmission in Children: A Case Study from a Tertiary Pediatric Hospital

The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of unplanned readmissions in the pediatric population within 30 days of discharge, identify the possible reasons behind them, and develop a predictive model for unplanned admissions. A retrospective chart review study of 25,211 patients was conducted to identify the prevalence of readmissions occurring within 30 days of discharge from the King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital (KASCH) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between Jan 1, 2019, and Dec 31, 2021. The data were collected using the BestCare electronic health records system and analyzed using Jamovi statistical software version 1.6. Among the 25,211 patients admitted to the hospital during the study period, the prevalence of unplanned readmission within 30 days was 1291 (5.12%). Of the 1291 patients, 1.91% had subsequent unplanned readmissions. In 57.8% of the cases, the cause of the first unplanned readmission was related to the cause of the first admission, and in 90.64% of the cases, the cause of the subsequent unplanned readmission was related to the cause of the first unplanned readmission. The most common reason for the first unplanned readmission was postoperative complications (18.75%), whereas pneumonia (10.81%) was the most common reason for subsequent unplanned readmissions. Most patients with subsequent unplanned readmissions were also found to have either isolated central nervous system pathology or chronic complex medical conditions. Internationally, the rate of unplanned readmissions in pediatric patients has been estimated to be 6.5% within 30 days, which is comparable to the results of our study (5.12%). Most of the causes of first and subsequent unplanned readmission were found to be related to primary admission. The diagnosis/causes of readmission vary depending on the patient’s age. A predictive model for pediatric readmission should be established so that preventive measures can be implemented.