title: Pediatric post-discharge mortality in resource poor countries: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mortality following hospital discharge is an important and under-recognized contributor to overall child mortality in developing countries. The primary objective of this systematic review was to identify all studies reporting post-discharge mortality in children, estimate likelihood of death, and determine the most important risk factors for death.
  
  
  METHODS
  MEDLINE and EMBASE were systematically searched using MeSH terms and keywords from the inception date to October, 2012. Key word searches using Google Scholar™ and hand searching of references of retrieved articles was also performed. Studies from developing countries reporting mortality following hospital discharge among a pediatric population were considered for inclusion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirteen studies that reported mortality rates following discharge were identified. Studies varied significantly according to design, underlying characteristics of study population and duration of follow-up. Mortality rates following discharge varied significantly between studies (1%-18%). When reported, post-discharge mortality rates often exceeded in-hospital mortality rates. The most important baseline variables associated with post-discharge mortality were young age, malnutrition, multiple previous hospitalizations, HIV infection and pneumonia. Most post-discharge deaths occurred early during the post-discharge period. Follow-up care was examined in only one study examining malaria prophylaxis in children discharged following an admission secondary to malaria, which showed no significant benefit on post-discharge mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The months following hospital discharge carry significant risk for morbidity and mortality. While several characteristics are strongly associated with post-discharge mortality, no validated tools are available to aid health workers or policy makers in the systematic identification of children at high risk of post-discharge mortality. Future research must focus on both the creation of tools to aid in defining groups of children most likely to benefit from post-discharge interventions, and formal assessment of the effectiveness of such interventions in reducing morbidity and mortality in the first few months following hospital discharge.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda. mowiens@outlook.com
authors.forename: Matthew O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Wiens
authors.forename: Shane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pawluk
authors.forename: Niranjan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kissoon
authors.forename: Elias
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kumbakumba
authors.forename: J Mark
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ansermino
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ndamira
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Larson
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003906:Developing Countries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006295:Health Resources / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D006801:Humans; D009026:Mortality; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*