Risk factors for readmission of children hospitalized with acute asthma attacks in South China

Abstract

Objective

Asthma seriously endangers the health of children. Re-hospitalization for childhood asthma consumes a large amount of medical and health resources. The present study aimed to assess the rates and risk factors for hospital readmission of children with acute asthma attacks in south China.

Methods

We retrospectively enrolled 1702 acute asthma patients aged < 18 years from 1/1/2007 to 12/31/2015. Patients who were readmitted within one year after index hospital discharge were divided into a readmission group. Index hospitalization data were acquired from clinical records. Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the risk factors.

Results

There were 90 (5.29%) readmitted patients from 1702 acute asthma patients. Considering the large sample differences between readmitted and single-admitted patients, 123 single-admitted patients (1.5-fold as many as the readmitted group) were randomly selected. Further univariate Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that the predictors of readmission included eczema history (odds ratio (OR) 3.122, p = 0.003) and mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) antibody immunoglobulin M(IgM) (OR 2.386, p = 0.037).

Conclusions

Among the children admitted to a hospital in south China with acute asthma attacks, 5.29% were readmitted within the following year. Patients with history of eczema and positive MP antibody IgM had significantly increased the chances of one-year readmission, underlining the importance of targeted long-term postdischarge follow-up of these children.

Keywords:

• Childhood asthma
• re-hospitalization
• predictors
• eczema
• Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.cn) for the English language editing.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Zhejiang Province Medical Science and Technology Project (no. 2014RCA020) and the Zhejiang Provincial Program for the Cultivation of High-level Innovative Health Talents.