• Eleftheria Atalla, Markos Kalligeros, Giorgina Giampaolo, Evangelia K Mylona, Fadi Shehadeh, and Eleftherios Mylonakis.
• Infectious Diseases Division, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
• Int. J. Clin. Pract. 2021 Mar 1; 75 (3): e13700.

BackgroundHospital readmissions are associated with poor patient outcomes and increased health resource utilisation. The need to study readmission patterns is even bigger during a pandemic because the burden is further stretching the healthcare system.MethodsWe reviewed the initial hospitalisation and subsequent readmission for 19 patients with confirmed COVID-19 in the largest statewide hospital network in Rhode Island, US, from March 1st through April 19th, 2020. We also compared the characteristics and clinical outcomes between readmitted and non-readmitted patients.ResultsOf the 339 hospitalised patients with COVID-19, 279 discharged alive. Among them, 19/279 were readmitted (6.8%) after a median of 5 days. There was a significantly higher rate of hypertension, diabetes, chronic pulmonary disease, liver disease, cancer and substance abuse among the readmitted compared with non-readmitted patients. The most common reasons of readmissions happening within 12 days from discharge included respiratory distress and thrombotic episodes, while those happening at a later time included psychiatric illness exacerbations and falls. The length of stay during readmission was longer than during index admission and more demanding on healthcare resources.ConclusionAmong hospitalised patients with COVID-19, those readmitted had a higher burden of comorbidities than the non-readmitted. Within the first 12 days from discharge, readmission reasons were more likely to be associated with COVID-19, while those happening later were related to other reasons. Readmissions characterisation may help in defining optimal timing for patient discharge and ensuring safe care transition.© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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