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A recent analysis using administrative software showed that ventricular shunt placement is the most common cause of preventable hospital readmissions at a rate of 86% and a cost of >$25,000 per readmission. To validate that finding, a team of physicians and surgeons from a single pediatric tertiary health system performed clinical chart reviews for 147 readmissions of children and neonates within 30 days after discharge following ventricular shunt placements. Results were as follows:
The median time to readmission was 11 days.
Assuming that all shunt malfunctions were preventable, 62 of 147 (42%) of readmissions were considered preventable, of which 51 required shunt revisions.
Assuming that shunt placement in the ventricle was in good or exce…