ABSTRACT
This was a single-centre, observational cohort study of inpatients admitted to Austin Health from March to October 2020, investigating demographic, clinical,laboratory and treatment parameters associated with readmission to hospital within 6 months following initial inpatient management of COVID-19. Of 169 patients admitted with COVID-19 between March and October 2020 who survived to discharge, 24 (14.2%) were readmitted to hospital within 6 months(median, 36 days;interquartile range, 15-67 days). Ten(5.9%) patients re-presented with respiratory or COVID-19-specific symptoms,five (3.0%) patients represented with COVID-19 complications, and nine (5.3%) patients represented with unrelated problems.In whole cohort analysis, increased length of stay during index admission was significantly associated with readmission (5 days vs 7 days,P=0.04).Anon-significant increase in readmission was noted inpatients with pre-existing chronic respiratory disease,patients requiring supplemental oxygen, and patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).