Rehospitalization in the first two weeks after discharge from the neonatalintensive care unit

Background. High-risk newborns are known to have higher than average utiliz ation of services after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NI CU). Most studies on this subject report aggregate data over periods rangin g from 1 to 3 years postdischarge. Little is known about events that are te mporally close to NICU discharge. Objectives. To characterize rehospitalizations within the first 2 weeks aft er discharge from six community NICUs. Methods. We scanned electronic databases and reviewed the charts of rehospi talized infants from six NICUs in the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Progra m. We subdivided infants into five groups based on gestational age (GA) and birth hospitalization length of stay (LOS): 1) greater than or equal to 37 weeks' GA with < 4 days LOS (n = 2593); 2) greater than or equal to 37 wee ks' GA with greater than or equal to 4 days' LOS (n = 1133); 3) from 33 to 36 weeks' GA with <4 days' LOS (n = 545); 4) from 33 to 36 weeks' GA with g reater than or equal to 4 days' LOS (n = 1196); and 5) <33 weeks' GA (n = 5 87). We performed bivariate and multivariate analyses to identify predictor s that might be useful for practitioners. Results. There were 6054 newborns discharged alive from the six study NICUs between August 1, 1992 and December 31, 1995, and 99.5% of these infants r emained in the health plan during the 2 weeks after NICU discharge. The ove rall rehospitalization rate was 2.72%, which is 20% higher than the rate am ong healthy term newborns in the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program (2. 26%). The two most common reasons for rehospitalization were jaundice (62/1 65, 37.6%) and feeding difficulties (25/165, 15.2%). Infants with 33 to 36 weeks' GA and <4 days' LOS were rehospitalized at a significantly higher ra te than were all other infants (5.69%); 71% of infants in this group were r ehospitalized for jaundice. The following variables predicted rehospitaliza tion in multivariate models: <33 weeks' GA (adjusted OR [AOR]: 1.88; 95% CI : 1.10-3.21), from 33 to 36 weeks' GA with <96 hours' LOS (AOR: 2.94; 95%: CI: 1.87-4.62), and birth at facility B, which had the highest rehospitaliz ation rate of the six facilities (AOR: 1.92; 95% Cf: 1.39-2.65). Conclusions. The rate of rehospitalization among NICU graduates is higher t han among healthy term infants. Most of the rehospitalizations among infant s with from 33 to 36 weeks' GA. and <4 days' LOS are for illnesses that are not life-threatening. Collaborative studies and new process and outcomes m easures are needed to assess the effectiveness of follow-up strategies in h igh-risk newborns.