Early discharge from maternity: cause of newborn readmission

Abstract

Introduction: Early discharge of mother-neonate from maternity has become a common practice worldwide. The shorter hospital stay may be associated with increased number of rehospitalization and neonatal morbidity. Aim: The main goal of this study was to examine the reasons and risk factors of rehospitalizations. Methods: Prospective, descriptive and analytic study conducted in the maternity of Farhat Hached Hospital Sousse, from January to April 2014. Results: 286 mother-infant couples were included. Approximately 80% were early discharged within 48 hours. The average length of stay was 1.5 days. Most rehospitalizations were due to jaundice (23.5%), followed by bronchiolitis (20%) and postnatal infection (14.7%). In multivariate analysis, factors significantly associated with an increased risk of rehospitalization included prematurity and prolonged rupture of membranes. Conclusion: Early discharge is associated with a high risk of rehospitalization. Appropriate discharge means that each mother-infant should be evaluated individually, particularly for jaundice which is the first cause of rehospitalization.