Newborn discharge timing and readmissions: California, 1992-1995

Context. Hospital stays for newborns and their mothers after uncomplicated vaginal delivery have decreased from an average of 4 days in 1970 to 1.1 da ys in 1995. Despite the lack of population-based research on the quality-of -care implications of this trend, federal legislation passed in 1996 mandat ed coverage for 48-hour hospital stays after uncomplicated vaginal delivery . Objective. To assess the impact of very early discharge (defined as dischar ge on the day of birth) on the risk of infant readmission during the neonat al period in a California healthy newborn population. Design. Retrospective cohort study, based on a linked dataset consisting of the birth certificate, newborn, and maternal hospitalization record, and l inked infant readmission records for all healthy, vaginally delivered, and routinely discharged California newborns from 1992 to 1995. Outcome Measures. Very early discharge and infant readmission during the fi rst 28 days of life. Results. The percentage of infants discharged very early or early (after a 1-night stay) increased from 71% in 1992 to 85% in 1995. The percentage of infants discharged very early increased from 5.0% in 1992 to 5.7% in 1993 a nd 7.0% in 1994, then decreased to 6.7% in 1995. Characteristics that have been previously associated with suboptimal pregnancy outcomes were found to decrease the likelihood of very early discharge, eg, maternal complication s, primiparity, and Hispanic, African American, South East Asian, or other Asian race/ethnicity. The rate of readmission in the neonatal period initially decreased from 27. 6 infants per 1000 in 1992 to 25.67 infants per 1000 in 1994, then increase d to 30.2 infants per 1000 in 1995. For infants discharged early, no statis tically significant increase in the risk of readmission was observed, compa red with infants discharged after a 2+-night stay. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for readmission was statistically significantly higher for infants who were discharged very early, compared with infants discharged early (OR: 1. 27), first order births (OR: 1.21), infants born to mothers who experienced complications (OR: 1.11), infants with Medicaid insurance (OR: 1.23), and infants born to mothers who received adequate plus prenatal care (OR: 1.15) . The risk was statistically significantly lower for female infants (OR: 0. 75). The proportion of infants rehospitalized for dehydration and low-risk infec tions over the 4 study years combined was statistically significantly highe r in infants discharged very early (4.37 parts per thousand and 10.30 parts per thousand, respectively), compared with infants discharged early (3.59 parts per thousand and 8.16 parts per thousand, respectively) or after a 2-night stay (2.91 parts per thousand and 7.95 parts per thousand, respectiv ely). The proportion of infants rehospitalized for dehydration increased st atistically significantly from 2.89 parts per thousand in 1992 to 4.52 part s per thousand in 1995. Conclusions. One-night stays with adequate antenatal and postnatal care out side the hospital do not increase the risk of readmission for healthy, vagi nally delivered infants born in California. However, the decision to discha rge infants on the day of birth should be applied conservatively because of the increased risk of infant readmission associated with very early discha rge.