Readmission and Death After Initial Hospital Discharge Among Patients With COVID-19 in a Large Multihospital System

Abstract

This study describes reasons for readmission, use of ICU interventions during readmission, and proportions of death after initial hospital discharge of COVID-19 patients from US Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals in March-June 2020.

Figure.. Kaplan-Meier Curves and Hazard Ratios for 60-Day Readmission or Death Among Patients With COVID-19 and Matched Patients to Comparison Hospitalizations

In weighted analyses, patients who survived their hospitalizations were balanced on age, sex, week of discharge, intensive care unit admission, and length of hospitalization using coarsened exact matching. Hazard ratios for readmission or death were estimated using piecewise Cox proportional hazards regression. A, Included 1366 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 1799 with pneumonia. The hazard ratios for 0 to 10 days were 1.43 (95% CI, 1.09-1.87); for 11 to 20 days, 0.51 (95% CI, 0.36-0.74); for 21 to 40 days, 0.63 (95% CI, 0.45-0.88); and for 41 to 60 days, 0.57 (95% CI, 0.38-0.85). B, Included 1430 patients with COVID-19 and 3505 with heart failure. The hazard ratios for 0 to 10 days were 1.62 (95% CI, 1.31-2.01); for 11 to 20 days, 0.55 (95% CI, 0.41-0.74); for 21 to 40 days, 0.43 (95% CI, 0.33-0.56); and for 41 to 60 days, 0.39 (95% CI, 0.28-0.55).