Expedited versus standard postpartum discharge in patients with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and its effect on the postpartum course

Abstract

Background: Hospital stay after an uncomplicated delivery is typically 2 days for vaginal birth and 3 days for cesarean birth. Health maintenance organizations and third-party payers have encouraged shorter maternity stays. The safety of earlier discharge is unclear particularly when it comes to patients diagnosed with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP).

Objective: To examine whether expedited discharge amongst patients with HDP will have a negative effect on postpartum readmission rate and blood pressure related complications.

Study design: This was a single academic center retrospective cohort study of patients with HDP (gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, or chronic hypertension) for 2 epochs: 2015-2018, prior to implementation of an expedited discharge policy, and 2019-2020 after hospital wide implementation of expedited postpartum discharge. The expedited discharge policy entailed patients being discharged home as soon as day 1 after a vaginal delivery and day 2 after a cesarean delivery. The primary outcome was unplanned health care utilization postpartum, defined as emergency department (ED) visits, unscheduled clinic visits, and hospital readmission. Secondary outcomes were planned postpartum visits attendance, antihypertensive medication initiation after discharge, and blood pressure control throughout the first year. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were run to evaluate the association between expedited discharge and primary and secondary outcomes.

Results: A total of 1,441 patients were included in the analysis. There were no statistically significant differences in the rate of unplanned health care utilization (11.3% in the standard postpartum discharge group vs. 13.8% in the expedited discharge group, P=.17). Systolic and diastolic blood pressures did not differ between the groups at 1-2 weeks, six weeks, and one year postpartum. Patients in the expedited discharge group were more likely to attend the 1-2-week postpartum blood pressure check (58.7% vs. 51.7%, P=.02, adjusted OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.08-1.77). Other secondary outcomes did not differ between the two cohort groups.

Conclusion: In this single academic center study, expedited discharge after delivery in patients with HDP was not associated with a higher rate of unplanned healthcare utilization postpartum.

Keywords: hypertension; hypertensive disorders of pregnancy; labor and delivery postpartum; readmission; unplanned healthcare utilization.