Journal article
Early Discharge from a Newborn Nursery in the United States during the COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID, Vol.2(3), pp.379-388
03/15/2022
DOI: 10.3390/covid2030026
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic changed birth hospitalization, with many hospitals implementing restrictions. Little is known about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rates of early newborn discharge and length of stay (LOS). The primary objective was to compare rates of early discharge before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondary objectives included 28-day readmissions and LOS. A single-center retrospective cohort study was undertaken of all live newborns discharged from a well newborn nursery in the United States between 1 July 2015 and 18 June 2021. The pre-COVID-19 era was defined as 1 July 2015 to 29 February 2020, and the COVID-19 era as 1 March 2020 to 18 June 2021, based on the first case reported in our state. Early discharge was defined as less than or equal to 24 h. A total of 10,589 newborns were included: 8094 before and 2495 after the COVID-19 pandemic started. Overall, 43 newborns (0.41%) were discharged early. In the COVID-19 era, early discharges significantly increased from 0.23% (n = 19) to 0.96% (n = 24) (p < 0.001). Median LOS declined from 52.0 (IQR, 43.0–64.0) to 45.0 (IQR, 37.0–56.0) hours (p < 0.001). The 28-day readmission rate decreased from 2.3% (n = 182) to 1.3% (n = 33) (p < 0.01). Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of early discharges has significantly increased at our institution without an increase in readmissions. Additionally, overall decrease in length of stay for the birth hospitalization was observed. Potential reasons include changes in hospital unit policies including visitor limitations to reduce COVID-19 infection risk to patients and staff and/or parental concern for iatrogenic acquisition of the virus.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Early Discharge from a Newborn Nursery in the United States during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Creators
- Kelly E. Wood - Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of MedicineAnna Schmitz - Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of MedicineGuru Bhoojhawon - Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- COVID, Vol.2(3), pp.379-388
- DOI
- 10.3390/covid2030026
- ISSN
- 2673-8112
- eISSN
- 2673-8112
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 03/15/2022
- Academic Unit
- Stead Family Department of Pediatrics; Hospital Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984354381902771
Metrics
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