title: Newborn Readmissions to Slovenian Children's Hospitals in One Summer Month and One Autumn Month: A Retrospective Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  With the shortening length of stay of newborns in hospitals after birth, concerns have been raised about the possible rise in readmission rates. In Slovenia, where the normal length of stay is 3 days, no data on readmissions were available. We sought to determine the frequency and causes for readmissions.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective study on all newborns readmitted to Slovenian children's hospitals and wards in June 2012 and November 2012. We obtained basic demographic data for newborns and mothers, analyzed the frequency of diagnoses, and compared the duration of treatment between summer months and autumn months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proportion of readmissions in June 2012 and November 2012 was 6% and 5.9%, respectively. Around 10% more boys were readmitted in June 2012 and November 2012. In June 2012, the mean age was 12.2 days, and the mean birth weight was 3444 g. In November, the mean age was 10.5 days, and the mean birth weight was 3271 g. Around 50% of mothers were primiparous, and their mean age was around 31 years. Most received > 10 prenatal check-ups and participated in a prenatal class. The most common diagnosis in June 2012 and November 2012 was jaundice. The duration of treatment did not statistically significantly differ between summer months and autumn months, but it was associated with the admission diagnosis and infants' characteristics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study showed that the readmission rate in Slovenia was much higher than in some other developed countries. Prospective studies are needed to further confirm the findings and highlight the possible causes for this observation.
authors.affiliation: MRC Centre for Inflammation Research, The Queen's Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Community Health Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Perme
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital Kranj, Kranj, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Andrejka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Škafar Cerkvenik
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Therapy, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Medical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Electronic address: stefan.grosek@kclj.si.
authors.forename: Štefan
authors.initials: Š
authors.lastname: Grosek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D017524:Slovenia
keywords: discharge; hospital readmission; infant; jaundice; newborn