Childhood pneumonia and factors associated with the causes of hospital readmission

Objective: To identify factors associated with the causes of previous hospitalization of children with pneumonia. Methods: Cross-sectional, quantitative, analytical study, realized in a pediatric hospital in Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil. Children between zero and 12 years old, hospitalized for pneumonia in the months of May to September 2015 were investigated about previous hospitalizations. Results: 221 children were hospitalized for pneumonia, 46.6% were in the age group of children under 1 year old, 52.5% were male, 70.6% had never been hospitalized previously and 29.4% had already been hospitalized at least once in their lives, of these, 72.3% previous hospitalizations were for respiratory causes and 27.7% for other causes. Among the factors associated with rehospitalization for respiratory causes, the low weight at birth, attending school or daycare and age group over 1 year, obtained statistical significance (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: In this study, the children with pneumonia that previously hospitalized for respiratory causes, hadss low birth weight, attend school and are over 1 year old, had more chances of hospitalization for respiratory causes when compared to other hospitalization causes, therefore, it is important to accompany children on an outpatient basis after hospital discharge to prevent new hospitalizations.