MATERNAL age has been associated with higher post-partum readmission risk in females with pre-eclampsia or gestational hypertension, according to data presented at the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Annual Clinical & Scientific Meeting 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Researchers obtained data on background and pregnancy characteristics of 747 females who were diagnosed with pre-eclampsia or gestational hypertension with severe features, either antenatally or postnatally, between 2010–2019. Using two models, they determined whether several factors predicted hospital readmission odds, including individual, pregnancy, and neighbourhood factors. The first model included maternal age, foetal growth restriction, BMI, pre-term delivery, urine protein, and Caesarean section; while the second model included number of hypertensive medications at hospital discharge, neighbourhood factors, and length of hospital stay.
Results showed that 14.8% of patents were diagnosed with pre-eclampsia with severe features on post-natal hospital readmission. In model 1, older age of almost 32 years was linked to an increased hospital readmission risk (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03–1.11), while presence of proteinuria (aOR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.24–0.61) and pre-term delivery (aOR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.30–0.91) were linked to a decreased hospital readmission risk.
Model 2 showed that older age was significantly associated with an increased risk of hospital readmission. Furthermore, more hypertension medications received at hospital discharge (aOR: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.24–0.82), proteinuria presence (aOR: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.12–0.45), and longer initial hospital stay (aOR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.40–0.92) were associated with a lower risk of hospital readmission. The team noted that hardship index score did not predict readmission.
Nienow Birch, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA, concluded: “Future directions for research in this area include exploring how COVID restrictions may have impacted rates of readmission with post-partum pre-eclampsia, and exploring other ways these hardship index scores may be incorporated into future studies.”
