News: Juvenile ARDS patients have a nearly 28% readmission rates, report says

A new study released in JAMA Open Network found that children diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have a readmission rate of 27.8%.

The study sought to investigate what factors are associated with readmission in pediatric ARDS patients. To this end, it examined 14,890 cases of pediatric ARDS from 2013 to 2018.

The authors of the study found that half of ARDS readmissions occurred within 61 days of discharge. Additionally, it found that the inpatient mortality rate of these patients was 9.3%, or 1,385 children.

According to JustCoding, the study searched for cases with compounding factors bearing the following ICD-10 diagnostic codes:

• ARDS (J80, J81.-)
• Asthma (J45.-)
• Bronchiolitis (J20-J22, J40)
• Dependence on respirator (ventilator) status (Z99.11)
• Other respiratory failure (J96.-, R06.03)
• Pneumonia (J09-J18)
• Pneumonitis (J68-J69)
• Sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock (A41.-, R57.-, R65.2)

The authors concluded that the factors increasing the likelihood of admission were evidence of one or more complex chronic conditions upon discharge, evidence of new tracheostomy, and a length of stay of 14 days or longer.

Accordingly, the study recommended that future research be oriented towards “post discharge interventions” to minimize the risk of pediatric ARDS readmission.

Editor’s note: To read the JustCoding article, click here. To read the JAMA Open Network article, click here