Risk Factors Associated With Hospital Readmission in Pediatric Asthma

• Multiple hospital admissions are common in pediatric asthma patients with major family concern and economic burden.
• Risk factors associated with hospital readmission in pediatric asthma have not been fully elucidated.
• Various risk factors are reviewed in the categories of demographic, environmental, psychosocial and clinical aspects.
• African American, public or no insurers, previous admission and complex chronic comorbidity are identified as risk factors

Asthma is a leading cause of hospitalization among children, and about 15–50% of pediatric patients are readmitted after an index admission. The purpose of this integrative review is to explore contemporary scientific findings on the association between pediatric asthma readmission and various demographic, environmental, psychosocial and clinical risk factors. An electronic database search resulted in a sample of 29 studies. African American, public or no insurers, previous admission and complex chronic comorbidity were identified as risk factors associated with pediatric asthma readmission. However, more interdisciplinary and well-designed investigations are warranted to further explicate the spectrum of environmental and psychosocial correlates.