Infections and unexplained fever are the most common causes of readmission in people undergoing umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT), according to a retrospective review involving nearly 250 individuals.

Participants underwent UCBT between 2004 and 2013. Investigators looked at post-discharge readmission rates at 30 days and day +100.

~One-third of patients were readmitted within 30 days of discharge; 46% were readmitted by day +100. Readmissions were due to infection (38%), unexplained fever (15%), and GVHD (9%).

Additionally, univariate and multivariate analyses showed that patients with an infection during initial admission were nearly 12 times more likely to be readmitted at 30 days, and ~5 times more likely do so by day +100.

Multivariate analysis showed that:

• Patients who had prior radiation therapy were ~20 times more likely to be readmitted at 30 days, and 5 times more likely to do so by day +100.
• Blacks who lived in a zip code with a median income of <$60K were 30 times more likely to be readmitted by day +100.