Reasons and Risk Factors for Readmission Following Hospitalization for Community-acquired Pneumonia in South Korea

BACKGROUND: Limited studies have been performed to assess readmission following hospitalization for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in an Asian population. We evaluated the rates, reasons, and risk factors for 30-day readmission following hospitalization for CAP in the general adult population of Korea. METHODS: We performed a retrospective observational study of 1,021 patients with CAP hospitalized at Yeungnam University from March 2012 to February 2014. The primary end point was all-cause hospital readmission within 30 days following discharge after the initial hospitalization. Hospital readmission was classified as pneumonia-related or pneumonia-unrelated readmission. RESULTS: During the study period, 862 patients who survived to hospital discharge were eligible for inclusion and among them 72 (8.4%) were rehospitalized within 30 days. In the multivariable analysis, pneumonia-related readmission was associated with para/hemiplegia, malignancy, pneumonia severity index class ≥4 and clinical instability ≥1 at hospital discharge. Comorbidities such as chronic lung disease and chronic kidney disease, treatment failure, and decompensation of comorbidities were associated with the pneumonia-unrelated 30-day readmission rate. CONCLUSION: Rehospitalizations within 30 days following discharge were frequent among patients with CAP. The risk factors for pneumonia-related and -unrelated readmission were different. Aspiration prevention, discharge at the optimal time, and close monitoring of comorbidities may reduce the frequency of readmission among patients with CAP.