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Observational Study
. 2025 Jan 8;184(1):122.
doi: 10.1007/s00431-024-05960-2.

Hospital to home transition of children with medical complexities in the Netherlands: current practice

H N Haspels  1   2   3   4 , H Knoester  1   4 , N J G Jansen  4   5 , I M L Ahout  4   6 , C D van Karnebeek  4   7 , M de Hoog  3   4 , J B M vanWoensel  1   4 , K F M Joosten  8   9
Affiliations
Observational Study

Hospital to home transition of children with medical complexities in the Netherlands: current practice

H N Haspels et al. Eur J Pediatr. .

Abstract

Children with Medical Complexity (CMC) often require 24/7 expert care, which may impede discharge from hospital to home (H2H) resulting in prolonged admission. Limited research exists on pediatric patients with delayed discharges and the underlying reasons for such extended admissions. Therefore, our objectives were to (1) describe the demographics, clinical characteristics, and course of CMC who are in their H2H transition and (2) identify the reasons for postponement of H2H discharge. Prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study performed from February 2022 until November 2022 for 6 months in four Dutch University Medical Center children's hospitals. Clinically admitted patients (age 0-18 years) were eligible for inclusion if they were medically stable, yet required specialized nursing and/or paramedical care and were in the H2H transition process. In total, 44 participants were included, of whom 32 (72.7%) were younger than 1 year. Median stay in the hospital was 7.3 weeks (range 0.7-28.7). Upon entering the H2H phase, postponement of discharge was for 65.1% of the patients primarily due to a combination of medical reasons and organizational/family factors. For the remaining 34.9% of the patients, discharge was delayed solely due to organizational and/or family factors. CONCLUSION : Our study highlights several reasons contributing to the postponement of discharge for pediatric patients with medical complexity, including their medical fragility, the time-consuming process of parent training, and the challenges in organizing home care. Future steps should explore various transitional care programs aimed at improving the H2H transition. What is Known: • Hospital to home transition for Children with Medical Complexity is a multi-faceted process with many challenges and obstacles • Insight into the current practice of transitioning home in University Medical Centers remains unknown and is needed to develop a tailored yet standardized approach What is New: • Our findings reveal reasons for postponement of discharge home and show that patients are medically stable for more than half of their hospital stays. This indicates potential opportunities to reorganize care for better outcomes for the child, the family, and healthcare consumption.

Keywords: Care pathway; Children with Medical Complexity; Hospital to home transition; Transitional Care Unit.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of the Amsterdam University Medical Center (reference number W21_581 # 22.025). Consent to participate: Written informed consent was obtained from patients’ parents or legal guardians. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

References

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