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Readmission rates of patients with COVID-19 after hospital discharge
Recep Alanli1, Murat Bulent Kucukay1, Kadir Serkan Yalcin1
1Lokman Hekim University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara Hospital, Department of Internal Diseases - Ankara, Turkey.
Insights
Many COVID-19 patients returned to the hospital within 30 days, but readmission and mortality rates were low. Prolonged symptoms likely caused the high return rate for coronavirus disease 2019 patients.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Pulmonology
- Critical Care Medicine
Background:
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel infectious disease with potential long-term effects.
- Understanding post-discharge outcomes is crucial for managing COVID-19 patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the reasons and rates of return and readmission for patients discharged after COVID-19 treatment.
- To identify factors associated with hospital returns post-discharge.
Main Methods:
- Observational, descriptive, retrospective study design.
- Inclusion of adult patients hospitalized with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) between April 2020 and June 2021.
- Exclusion of intensive care unit patients and those under 18.
Main Results:
- Out of 369 discharged patients, 23.5% returned within 30 days; 2.4% were readmitted, and 0.02% died.
- Most frequent return reasons were dyspnea and cough.
- Higher levels of certain biomarkers (AST, LDH, CRP, D-dimer) and pneumonia at initial admission were noted in returning patients.
Conclusions:
- The return rate after COVID-19 discharge is high, though readmission and mortality are low.
- Prolonged COVID-19 symptoms are suspected as the cause for increased returns.
- Long-term follow-up is essential due to the evolving understanding of COVID-19's long-term impact.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to inspect return and readmission reasons and rates of discharged patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Methods:
This is an observational descriptive retrospective study that was conducted with patients who had confirmed COVID-19 diagnosed with severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hospitalized between April 2020 and June 2021 in a tertiary care university hospital. Patients returning to the hospital after treatment for COVID-19, with symptoms related to COVID-19 within 30 days, were included. Patients under 18 years of age and who were hospitalized in the intensive care unit were excluded.
Results:
It was determined that of 369 discharged patients, 87 (23.5%) returned to the hospital, 9 (2.4%) were readmitted, and 1 (0.02%) was deceased within 30 days. The most frequent reasons for returning to the hospital were dyspnea and cough complaints. Existence of pneumonia at first admission, levels of aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein, D-dimer, neutrophil counts, lymphocyte counts, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte count ratios were found to be higher in patients who returned to hospital, compared with the patients who did not return.
Conclusions:
Return rate of patients to hospital after discharge with COVID-19 was comparatively high, but readmissions to hospital and mortality rate were low. Comparatively, the higher rate of return to hospital within 30 days of discharge was thought to be resulting from prolonged signs and symptoms related to COVID-19. Since COVID-19 is a new and enigmatic disease and its long-term effects still need to be elucidated, long-term follow-ups of discharged patients will be adequate.
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