Despite recent federal legislation, many mothers and physicians will continue to choose early discharge (≤48 hours) after uncomplicated deliveries. To determine what proportion of neonatal readmissions 1) had readmission diagnoses specifically related to newborn problems and 2) were potentially preventable, we retrospectively reviewed the records of all infants discharged from the UCSD normal nursery who were readmitted between 1/1/95 and 11/30/96 at ≤14 days of age.
Results: Fifty nine neonates, representing 1.8% of all deliveries during the ascertainment period were readmitted. The median age at discharge was 30hrs. Neonatal characteristics included: prenatal care (86%), vaginal delivery (80%), male (61%), Hispanic (61%), public funding (73%), medical problem identified prior to discharge (49%), and home health care follow-up visits (54%). The mean (± SD) birthweight and gestational age were 3326± 549 g and 38.8 ± 1.4 wks respectively. Primary readmission diagnoses were: jaundice (33), inadequate intake/feeding (7), infection (13), respiratory problem (4), congenital heart disease (1), and seizures (1). Seventy six percent (45/59) had diagnoses associated with adaptation to extrauterine life.
