Hospital Readmission Among Late Preterm Infants: New Insights and Remaining Questions

Abstract

Late preterm infants (LPIs), those born at 34 to 36 6/7 weeks’ gestation, account for the majority of preterm births (73%).1 Given their physiologic immaturity, LPIs are at increased risk of respiratory distress, hyperbilirubinemia, hypoglycemia, and other complications in the neonatal period, and are at increased risk of hospital readmission in the first month of life.2 As Amsalu and colleagues describe in this month’s issue of Hospital Pediatrics,3 identification of a predictive model to differentiate LPI at higher risk of complications would help inform tailored discharge plans and prevent readmissions.