Factors associated with early 14-day unplanned hospital readmission: a matched case–control study

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Early unplanned hospital readmissions are burdensome health care events and indicate low care quality. Identifying at-risk patients enables timely intervention. This study identified predictors for 14-day unplanned readmission. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, matched, case–control study between September 1, 2018, and August 31, 2019, in an 1193-bed university hospital. Adult patients aged ≥ 20 years and readmitted for the same or related diagnosis within 14 days of discharge after initial admission (index admission) were included as cases. Cases were 1:1 matched for the disease-related group at index admission, age, and discharge date to controls. Variables were extracted from the hospital’s electronic health records. RESULTS: In total, 300 cases and 300 controls were analyzed. Six factors were independently associated with unplanned readmission within 14 days: previous admissions within 6 months (OR = 3.09; 95 % CI = 1.79–5.34, p < 0.001), number of diagnoses in the past year (OR = 1.07; 95 % CI = 1.01–1.13, p = 0.019), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool score (OR = 1.46; 95 % CI = 1.04–2.05, p = 0.03), systolic blood pressure (OR = 0.98; 95 % CI = 0.97–0.99, p = 0.01) and ear temperature within 24 h before discharge (OR = 2.49; 95 % CI = 1.34–4.64, p = 0.004), and discharge with a nasogastric tube (OR = 0.13; 95 % CI = 0.03–0.60, p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Factors presented at admission (frequent prior hospitalizations, multimorbidity, and malnutrition) along with factors presented at discharge (clinical instability and the absence of a nasogastric tube) were associated with increased risk of early 14-day unplanned readmission.