Rehospitalization of preterm infants according to the discharge risk level

• Published in: Journal for specialists in pediatric nursing Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 11 pages - n/a
• Main Authors: Aykanat Girgin, Burcu, Cimete, Güler
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2017
• Subjects: Birth weight; Bronchitis; Chi-square test; Discharge; Discharge risk level; Female; Health education; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Male; Newborn babies; Nursing; Parents & parenting; Patient admissions; Patient Discharge - standards; Patient Discharge - statistics & numerical data; Patient Readmission - standards; Patient Readmission - statistics & numerical data; Pediatric Nursing - standards; Pneumonia; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Premature babies; Premature birth; preterm infant; Quantitative analysis; rehospitalization; Respiratory therapy; Risk Factors; Turkey; rehospitalization; preterm infant; Discharge risk level
• ISSN: 1539-0136; 1744-6155
• DOI: 10.1111/jspn.12165

Purpose The rehospitalization rate of preterm infants is between 22 and 52% within the first year after discharge. The purpose of this study was to investigate the rehospitalization of preterm infants within 2 months following discharge, considering the level of risks originating from the infant, parents, and the social factors. Design and Methods The sample was composed of 238 preterm infants and their parents. The data were collected with a Descriptive Information Form, the Post‐Discharge Infant Follow‐up Form, and the Neonatal Discharge Assessment Tool (N‐DAT). Before discharge, the preterm infants were evaluated in terms of risky discharge via N‐DAT consisting of the subscales Medical, Competencies, Risk factors, Resources, and Parenting. Discharge was determined as low, moderate, and high risk according to N‐DAT total score. Two months after the discharge, rehospitalization of the infants was assessed. The data were evaluated via chi‐square, Mann–Whitney U‐test, and Fisher's exact test. Results In the study, 39.9% of the preterm infants were rehospitalized within the 8 weeks following the discharge, with medical and/or surgical reasons. Medical problems such as pneumonia and acute bronchiolitis were ranked as the first cause for rehospitalization. As expected, according to the N‐DAT scores, the rates of rehospitalization of infants who had been discharged with intermediate and high risk levels were found to be higher (p < .001) than the rates of those with low risk levels. Also, N‐DAT Medical, Competencies, Risk factors, Resources, and Parenting subscale scores of the infants who were rehospitalized with medical problems were found to be higher at a statistically significant level than infants who were not rehospitalized (p < .001). Practice Implications Nurses can help to minimize rehospitalization of infants by parental education, telephonic counseling, frequent observation, and home care support.