Abstract
Rehospitalization following pediatric heart transplantation is common. However, existing data remain somewhat limited. Using a novel linkage between administrative and clinical databases, pediatric heart transplant (HT) recipients from 29 centers who survived to discharge were retrospectively reviewed to determine the frequency, timing of, and indication for all-cause rehospitalizations in the year following transplant discharge. Of 2870 pediatric HT recipients, 1835 (63.9%) were rehospitalized in the first year post-discharge (5429 total readmissions). Rehospitalization rates varied significantly across centers (46% to 100%) and were inversely correlated to center transplant volume (r2 0.25, p < 0.01). The median number of rehospitalizations per patient was 2 (IQR 1–4) and the median time to first rehospitalization was 29 days (IQR 9–99 days). Independent risk factors for rehospitalization included younger age at HT (HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.97–0.99), congenital heart disease (HR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1–1.4), listing status 1B at transplant (HR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1–1.5), and post-transplant complications including rejection prior to discharge (HR 1.5 95% CI 1.3–1.8) and chylothorax (HR 1.3, 95% CI 1.0–1.6). Cardiac diagnoses were the most common indication for rehospitalization (n = 1600, 29.5%), followed by infection (n = 1367, 25.2%). These findings may serve to guide the development of interventions aimed at reducing post-HT hospitalizations.
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This project was supported through internal funding from the Katherine Dodd Faculty Scholar Program at Vanderbilt University (JG). Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health T32HL105334 (NL). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
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The data reported here have been supplied by the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute as the contractor for the SRTR. The interpretation and reporting of these data are the responsibility of the author(s) and in no way should be seen as an official policy of or interpretation by the SRTR or the U.S. Government.
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Supplementary file3 (EPS 114 kb). Supplemental Fig. 1 Correlation between center rehospitalization rate and median length of stay for the transplant admission across 29 pediatric transplant centers
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Lambert, A.N., Weiner, J.G., Hall, M. et al. Rehospitalization Following Pediatric Heart Transplantation: Incidence, Indications, and Risk Factors. Pediatr Cardiol 41, 584–590 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-020-02326-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-020-02326-x