Association of early follow-up visits with reduced hospital readmissions of newborns: a French population-based data-linkage study

Background: Newborn care guidelines recommend assessments within a week of discharge from maternity care. However, the optimal timing and effectiveness to prevent neonatal hospital readmission are debated. This study aimed to determine the association between early follow-up visits (EFVs) within three days of postpartum discharge and hospital readmission of newborns up to 15 days of life.

Methods: This population-based data-linkage study used data from the French National Health Care Database. "Healthy" singleton term infants with a gestational age (GA) of ≥ 36 weeks, born between January 1, 2017, and November 30, 2018, in Southern France, were included. A multivariate regression analysis was performed.

Results: Among the 67,359 included infants, 1519 (2.25%) were hospitalized. The principal causes of hospitalization were infectious diseases (42.4%) and jaundice or growth/nutrition disorders (36.1%). Hospitalized infants were more likely to be born to young and socioeconomically deprived mothers, to be male (54.4% vs. 50.6%, P < 0.001), or born early (GA < 38 weeks; 28.5% vs. 20.5%, P < 0.001). They received 6% less EFVs than non-hospitalized infants (63.7% vs. 67.8%, P < 0.001). The multivariable regression logistic analysis revealed that infants who received EFVs had 13% lower odds of being hospitalized than infants without EFVs, with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.87 (95% confidence interval = 0.78-0.96; P < 0.01).

Conclusion: EFVs within three days were associated with a 13% reduction in the rate of neonatal hospital readmission. Therefore, EFVs should be implemented to improve infant health and reduce healthcare costs.