Readmissions are common after hospitalization for pneumonia, especially among young children and those with chronic medical conditions, according to study published in Pediatrics.
The retrospective cohort study included a total of 82,566 children hospitalized with pneumonia at the 43 hospitals between January 2008 and December 2011. The data was taken from the Pediatric Health Information System.
According to the study, the 30-day all-cause readmission rate was 7.7 percent and the 30-day pneumonia-specific readmission rate was 3.1 percent. Readmission rates were higher among children under one year of age, patients with previous hospitalizations and children with chronic medical conditions. The median cost of a readmission was $11,344.
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