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Stanford Health Care

Rate and causes of severe maternal morbidity at readmission: California births in 2008-2012. Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association Girsen, A. I., Sie, L., Carmichael, S. L., Lee, H. C., Foeller, M. E., Druzin, M. L., Gibbs, R. S. 2019

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the rate, maternal characteristics, timing, and indicators of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) that occurs at postpartum readmission.STUDY DESIGN: Women with a birth in California during 2008-2012 were included in the analysis. Readmissions up to 42 days after delivery were investigated. SMM was defined as presence of any of the 21 indicators defined by ICD-9 codes.RESULTS: Among 2,413,943 women with a birth, SMM at readmission occurred in 4229 women. Of all SMM, 12.1% occurred at readmission. Over half (53.5%) of the readmissions with SMM occurred within the first week after delivery hospitalization. The most common indicators of SMM were blood transfusion, sepsis, and pulmonary edema/acute heart failure.CONCLUSION: Twelve percent of SMM was identified at readmission with the majority occurring within 1 week after discharge from delivery hospitalization. Because early readmission may reflect lack of discharge readiness, there may be opportunities to improve care.

View details for DOI 10.1038/s41372-019-0481-z

View details for PubMedID 31462721