Evaluation of the Yale New Haven Readmission Risk Score for Pneumonia in a General Hospital Population.

BACKGROUND: The Yale New Haven Readmission Risk Score (YNHRRS) for pneumonia is a clinical prediction tool developed to assess risk for 30-day readmission. This tool was validated in a cohort of Medicare patients; generalizability to a broader patient population has not been evaluated. In addition, it lacks indicators of functional status or social support, which have been shown in other studies to be predictors of readmission. The objective of this study was to evaluate the generalizability of the YNHRRS for pneumonia in a general population of hospitalized patients, and assess the impact of incorporating measures of functional status and social support on its predictive value. METHODS: This retrospective chart review comprised all patients admitted to a 563-bed academic medical center with a primary diagnosis of pneumonia between March 2014 and March 2015. Abstraction of clinical variables allowed calculation of the YNHRRS and additional indicators of functional status and social support. The primary outcome was 30-day readmission rate. We created a logistic regression model to predict readmission using the YNHRRS, functional status, and social support as covariates. RESULTS: Among 270 discharges with pneumonia, the observed readmission rate was 23%. The YNHRRS was a significant predictor of readmission in our multivariate model, with an odds ratio of 2.20 (95% confidence interval, 1.29-3.73) for each 10% increase in calculated risk. Indicators of functional status and social support were not significant predictors of readmission. CONCLUSIONS: The YNHRRS can be applied to an unselected population as a tool to predict patients with pneumonia at risk for readmission.