Work

Pediatric weekend admission and increased unplanned readmission rates

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Outcomes for patients hospitalized on weekends are often worse for adults-the so-called "weekend effect." Less is known about the weekend effect for children. We examined 55,383 hospitalizations at a tertiary care children's hospital. We used logistic regression to examine the associations of weekend admission and weekend discharge with unplanned 30-day readmission. We adjusted analyses for patient and hospitalization characteristics including number of complex chronic conditions, technology dependency, and length of stay. The 30-day unplanned readmission rate was 10.3%. Children admitted on the weekend had significantly higher odds of unplanned readmission compared to children admitted on weekdays (adjusted odds ratio = 1.09 [95% confidence interval: 1.004-1.18]). In contrast, being discharged on the weekend was not associated with readmission. In conclusion, children admitted on the weekend have higher rates of 30-day unplanned readmission than children admitted during the week, suggesting care differences on the weekend related to initial clinical management rather than discharge planning.

Source: Journal of Hospital Medicine

DOI: 10.1002/jhm.2426

Authors: Katherine A. Auger, Matthew M. Davis

Institutions: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Michigan

Language: English

Topic: Hospital Admissions and Outcomes

Subfield: Emergency Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2128465537