Regional supply of outreach service and length of stay in psychiatric hospital among patients with schizophrenia: National case mix data analysis in Japan.

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Niimura, Junko; Nakanishi, Miharu; Yamasaki, Syudo; Nishida, Atsushi

2017-12-01

Several clinical trials have demonstrated that linkage to an outreach service can prevent prolonged length of stay of patients at psychiatric hospitals. However, there has been no investigation of the association between length of stay in psychiatric hospital and regional supply of outreach services using national case mix data. The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between length of stay in psychiatric hospital and regional supply of outreach services. We used data from the National Patient Survey in Japan, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of inpatient care conducted every three years from 1996 to 2014. Data from 42,268 patients with schizophrenia who had been admitted to psychiatric hospitals were analyzed. After controlling for patient and regional characteristics, patients in regions with fewer number of visits for psychiatric nursing care at home had significantly longer length of stay in psychiatric hospitals. This finding implies that enhancement of the regional supply of outreach services would prevent prolonged length of stay in psychiatric hospitals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Short Hospital Stay after Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery without Fast Track

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Stefan K. Burgdorf

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Short hospital stay and equal or reduced complication rates have been demonstrated after fast track open colonic surgery. However, fast track principles of perioperative care can be difficult to implement and often require increased nursing staff because of more concentrated nursing tasks during the shorter hospital stay. Specific data on nursing requirements after laparoscopic surgery are lacking. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of operative technique (open versus laparoscopic operation, but without changing nurse staffing or principles for peri- or postoperative care, that is, without implementing fast track principles, on length of stay after colorectal resection for cancer. Methods. Records of all patients operated for colorectal cancer from November 2004 to December 2008 in our department were reviewed. No specific patients were selected for laparoscopic repair, which was solely dependent on the presence of two specific surgeons at the same time. Thus, the patients were not selected for laparoscopic repair based on patient-related factors, but only on the simultaneous presence of two specific surgeons on the day of the operation. Results. Of a total of 540 included patients, 213 (39% were operated by a laparoscopic approach. The median hospital stay for patients with a primary anastomosis was significantly shorter after laparoscopic than after conventional open surgery (5 versus 8 days, while there was no difference in patients receiving a stoma (10 versus 10 days, ns, with no changes in the perioperative care regimens. Furthermore there were significant lower blood loss (50 versus 200 mL, and lower complication rate (21% versus 32%, in the laparoscopic group. Conclusion. Implementing laparoscopic colorectal surgery in our department resulted in shorter hospital stay without using fast track principles for peri- and postoperative care in patients not receiving a stoma during the operation. Consequently, we

Kinetic therapy reduces complications and shortens hospital stay in patients with cardiogenic shock - a retrospective analysis.

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Simonis, Gregor; Flemming, Kerstin; Ziegs, Enrico; Haacke, Katrin; Rauwolf, Thomas; Strasser, Ruth H

2007-03-01

Kinetic therapy (KT) has been shown to reduce complications and to shorten hospital stay in trauma patients. Data in non-surgical patients are inconclusive, and kinetic therapy has not been tested in patients with cardiogenic shock. The present analysis compares KT with standard care in patients with cardiogenic shock. A retrospective analysis of 133 patients with cardiogenic shock admitted to 1 academic heart center was performed. Patients with standard care (SC, turning every 2 h by the staff) were compared with kinetic therapy (KT, using oscillating air-flotation beds). 68 patients with KT were compared with 65 patients with SC. Length of ventilator therapy was 11 days in KT and 18 days in SC (p=0.048). The mortality was comparable in both groups. Pneumonia occurred in 14 patients in KT and 39 patients in SC (ppatients treated with kinetic therapy. The use of KT shortens hospital stay and reduces rates of pneumonia and pressure ulcers as compared to SC.

Effect of methylphenidate on ICU and hospital length of stay in patients with severe and moderate traumatic brain injury.

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Moein, Houshang; Khalili, Hossein A; Keramatian, Kamyar

2006-09-01

Traumatic brain injury is one of the major causes of death and disability among young people. Methylphenidate, a neural stimulant and protective drug, which has been mainly used for childhood attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, has shown some benefits in late psychosocial problems in patients with traumatic brain injury. Its effect on arousal and consciousness has been also revealed in the sub-acute phase of traumatic brain injury. We studied its effect on the acute phase of moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in relation to the length of ICU and hospital admission. Severely and moderately TBI patients (according to inclusion and exclusion criteria) were randomized to treatment and control groups. The treatment group received methylphenidate 0.3mg/kg per dose PO BID by the second day of admission until the time of discharge, and the control group received a placebo. Admission information and daily Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) were recorded. Medical, surgical, and discharge plans for patients were determined by the attending physician, blinded to the study. Forty patients with severe TBI (GCS = 5-8) and 40 moderately TBI patients (GCS = 9-12) were randomly divided into treatment and control groups on the day of admission. In the severely TBI patients, both hospital and ICU length of stay, on average, were shorter in the treatment group compared with the control group. In the moderately TBI patients while ICU stay was shorter in the treatment group, there was no significant reduction of the period of hospitalization. There were no significant differences between the treatment and control groups in terms of age, sex, post resuscitation GCS, or brain CT scan findings, in either severely or moderately TBI patients. Methylphenidate was associated with reductions in ICU and hospital length of stay by 23% in severely TBI patients (P = 0.06 for ICU and P = 0.029 for hospital stay time). However, in the moderately TBI patients who received methylphenidate

Does diabetes mellitus comorbidity affect in-hospital mortality and length of stay? Analysis of administrative data in an Italian Academic Hospital.

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Valent, Francesca; Tonutti, Laura; Grimaldi, Franco

2017-12-01

Hospitalized patients with comorbid diabetes mellitus may have worse outcomes than the others. We conducted a study to assess whether comorbid diabetes affects in-hospital mortality and length of stay. For this population-based study, we analyzed the administrative databases of the Regional Health Information System of the Region Friuli Venezia Giulia, where the Hospital of Udine is located. Hospital discharge data were linked at the individual patient level with the regional Diabetes Mellitus Registry to identify diabetic patients. For each 3-digit ICD-9-CM discharge diagnosis code, we assessed the difference in length of stay and in-hospital mortality between diabetic and non-diabetic patients. We conducted both univariate and multivariate analyses, adjusted for age, sex, Charlson's comorbidity score, and urgency of hospitalization, through linear and logistic regression models. After adjusting for potential confounders, diabetes significantly increased the risk of in-hospital death among patients hospitalized for bacterial pneumonia (OR = 1.94) and intestinal obstruction (OR = 4.23) and length of stay among those admitted for several diagnoses, including acute myocardial infarction and acute renal failure. Admission glucose blood level was associated with in-hospital death in patients with pneumonia and intestinal obstruction, and increased length of stay for several conditions. Patients with diabetes mellitus who are hospitalized for other health problems may have increased risk of in-hospital death and longer hospital stay. For this reason, diabetes should be promptly recognized upon admission and properly managed.

Factors affecting length of hospital stay for people with spinal cord injuries at Kanombe military hospital, Rwanda

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PB Bwanjugu

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In patients with spinal cord injuries increased length ofhospital stay is often as a result of secondary complications such as pressuresores, urinary tract infection and respiratory infection. An increased lengthof hospital stay was observed at Kanombe Military Hospital in Rwanda.The aim of this study was to determine specific factors affecting length ofhospital stay for individuals with spinal cord injuries at Kanombe MilitaryHospital in Rwanda. The records of 124 individuals with spinal cordinjuries who were discharged from the hospital between 1st January1996and 31st December 2007 were reviewed to collect data. Information collected and captured on a data gathering sheetincluded demographic data, information relating to the injury, occurrence of medical complications and length ofhospital stay. Linear regression analysis was computed in SPSS to determine factors affecting the length of stay.The necessary ethical considerations were adhered to during the implementation of the study. Current employmentstatus and the occurrence of pressure sores were significantly associated with the length of hospital stay (p=0.021 andp=0.000 respectively. A strong relationship was noted between pressure sores and length of stay (R= 0.703. There is aneed for all members of the rehabilitation team to devise and implement effective measures to prevent the developmentof pressure sores, in patients with spinal cord injuries in the study setting.

Pharmacotherapy for adverse events reduces the length of hospital stay in patients admitted to otolaryngology ward: a single arm intervention study.

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Akio Suzuki

Full Text Available To determine whether adverse events extend the duration of hospitalization, and to evaluate the effectiveness of medical intervention in ameliorating adverse events and reducing the prolonged hospital stay associated with adverse events.A single arm intervention study was conducted from October 2012 to March 2014 in the otolaryngology ward of a 614-bed, university-affiliated hospital. Adverse events were monitored daily by physicians, pharmacists and nurses, and recorded in the electronic medical chart for each patient. Appropriate drug management of adverse events was performed by physicians in liaison with pharmacists. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess the length of hospitalization of patients who underwent medical intervention for adverse events.Of 571 patients admitted to the otolaryngology ward in a year, 219 patients (38.4% experienced adverse events of grade ≥2. The duration of hospitalization was affected by the grade of adverse events, with a mean duration of hospital stay of 9.2, 17.2, 28.3 and 47.0 days for grades 0, 1, 2, and 3-4, respectively. Medical intervention lowered the incidence of grade ≥2 adverse events to 14.5%. The length of hospitalization was significantly shorter in patients who showed an improvement of adverse events after medical intervention than those who did not (26.4 days vs. 41.6 days, hazard ratio 1.687, 95% confidence interval: 1.260-2.259, P<0.001. A multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis indicated that insomnia, constipation, nausea/vomiting, infection, non-cancer pain, oral mucositis, odynophagia and neutropenia were significant risk factors for prolongation of hospital stay.Patients who experienced adverse events are at high risk of prolonged hospitalization. Medical intervention for adverse events was found to be effective in reducing the length of hospital stay associated with adverse events.

Determining the effects of patient casemix on length of hospital stay: a proportional hazards frailty model approach.

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Lee, A H; Yau, K K

2001-01-01

To identify factors associated with hospital length of stay (LOS) and to model variations in LOS within Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs). A proportional hazards frailty modelling approach is proposed that accounts for patient transfers and the inherent correlation of patients clustered within hospitals. The investigation is based on patient discharge data extracted for a group of obstetrical DRGs. Application of the frailty approach has highlighted several significant factors after adjustment for patient casemix and random hospital effects. In particular, patients admitted for childbirth with private medical insurance coverage have higher risk of prolonged hospitalization compared to public patients. The determination of pertinent factors provides important information to hospital management and clinicians in assessing the risk of prolonged hospitalization. The analysis also enables the comparison of inter-hospital variations across adjacent DRGs.

Celiac disease and alcohol use disorders: increased length of hospital stay, overexpenditures and attributable mortality

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Miguel Gili

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Background and objectives: alcohol use disorders are associated with a greater incidence of certain comorbidities in patients with celiac disease. Currently there is no available information about the impact that these disorders may have on length of hospital stays, overexpenditures during hospital stays, and excess mortality in these patients. Methods: a case-control study was conducted with a selection of patients 18 years and older hospitalized during 2008-2010 in 87 hospitals in Spain. Estimations of excess length of stays, costs, and attributable mortality were calculated using a multivariate analysis of covariance, which included age, gender, hospital group, alcohol use disorders, tobacco related disease and 30 other comorbidities. Results: patients who had both celiac disease and alcohol use disorders had an increased length of hospital stay, an average of 3.1 days longer in women, and 1.7 days longer in men. Excess costs per stay ranged from 838.7 euros in female patients, to 389.1 euros in male patients. Excess attributable mortality was 15.1% in women, 12.2% in men. Conclusions: apart from a gluten-free diet and other medical measures, the prevention of alcohol abuse is indicated in these patients. Patients hospitalized who present these disorders should receive specialized attention after leaving the hospital. Early detection and treatment should be used to prevent the appearance of organic lesions and should not be solely focused on male patients.

Predictive factors of hospital stay, mortality and functional recovery after surgery for hip fracture in elderly patients.

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Pareja Sierra, T; Bartolomé Martín, I; Rodríguez Solís, J; Bárcena Goitiandia, L; Torralba González de Suso, M; Morales Sanz, M D; Hornillos Calvo, M

Due to its high prevalence and serious consequences it is very important to be well aware of factors that might be related to medical complications, mortality, hospital stay and functional recovery in elderly patients with hip fracture. A prospective study of a group of 130 patients aged over 75 years admitted for osteoporotic hip fracture. Their medical records, physical and cognitive status prior to the fall, fracture type and surgical treatment, medical complications and functional and social evolution after hospitalization were evaluated. Patients with greater physical disability, more severe cognitive impairment and those who lived in a nursing home before the fracture had worse functional recovery after surgery. Treatment with intravenous iron to reduce transfusions reduced hospital stay and improved walking ability. Infections and heart failure were the most frequent medical complications and were related to a longer hospital stay. The prescription of nutritional supplements for the patients with real indication improved their physical recovery after the hip fracture CONCLUSIONS: Evaluation of physical, cognitive and social status prior to hip fracture should be the basis of an individual treatment plan because of its great prognostic value. Multidisciplinary teams with continuous monitoring of medical problems should prevent and treat complications as soon as possible. Intravenous iron and specific nutritional supplements can improve functional recovery six months after hip fracture. Copyright © 2017 SECOT. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Care of "new" long-stay patients in a district general hospital psychiatric unit. The first two years of a hospital-hostel.

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Gibbons, J S

1986-05-01

The paper describes the need for long-term inpatient care in an English health district whose psychiatric services were based on a unit in a District General Hospital. Patients who became long-stay were placed in a new hospital-hostel in a city centre. Three quarters of those eligible could be managed in the hostel, with those rejected posing more control problems. Patients in the hostel became less withdrawn and increased their activity and use of community facilities.

Unexpectedly long hospital stays as an indicator of risk of unsafe care: an exploratory study

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Borghans, Ine; Hekkert, Karin D; den Ouden, Lya; Cihangir, Sezgin; Vesseur, Jan; Kool, Rudolf B; Westert, Gert P

2014-01-01

Objectives We developed an outcome indicator based on the finding that complications often prolong the patient's hospital stay. A higher percentage of patients with an unexpectedly long length of stay (UL-LOS) compared to the national average may indicate shortcomings in patient safety. We explored the utility of the UL-LOS indicator. Setting We used data of 61 Dutch hospitals. In total these hospitals had 1 400 000 clinical discharges in 2011. Participants The indicator is based on the percentage of patients with a prolonged length of stay of more than 50% of the expected length of stay and calculated among survivors. Interventions No interventions were made. Outcome measures The outcome measures were the variability of the indicator across hospitals, the stability over time, the correlation between the UL-LOS and standardised mortality and the influence on the indicator of hospitals that did have problems discharging their patients to other health services such as nursing homes. Results In order to compare hospitals properly the expected length of stay was computed based on comparison with benchmark populations. The standardisation was based on patients’ age, primary diagnosis and main procedure. The UL-LOS indicator showed considerable variability between the Dutch hospitals: from 8.6% to 20.1% in 2011. The outcomes had relatively small CIs since they were based on large numbers of patients. The stability of the indicator over time was quite high. The indicator had a significant positive correlation with the standardised mortality (r=0.44 (p0.05)). Conclusions The UL-LOS indicator is a useful addition to other patient safety indicators by revealing variation between hospitals and areas of possible patient safety improvement. PMID:24902727

Comparison of nutritional status assessment parameters in predicting length of hospital stay in cancer patients.

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Mendes, J; Alves, P; Amaral, T F

2014-06-01

Undernutrition has been associated with an increased length of hospital stay which may reflect the patient prognosis. The aim of this study was to quantify and compare the association between nutritional status and handgrip strength at hospital admission with time to discharge in cancer patients. An observational prospective study was conducted in an oncology center. Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment, Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 and handgrip strength were conducted in a probabilistic sample of 130 cancer patients. The association between baseline nutritional status, handgrip strength and time to discharge was evaluated using survival analysis with discharge alive as the outcome. Nutritional risk ranged from 42.3 to 53.1% depending on the tool used. According to Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment severe undernutrition was present in 22.3% of the sample. The association between baseline data and time to discharge was stronger in patients with low handgrip strength (adjusted hazard ratio, low handgrip strength: 0.33; 95% confidence interval: 0.19-0.55), compared to undernourished patients evaluated by the other tools; Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment: (adjusted hazard ratio, severe undernutrition: 0.45; 95% confidence interval: 0.27-0.75) and Nutritional Risk Screening 2002: (adjusted hazard ratio, with nutritional risk: 0.55; 95% confidence interval: 0.37-0.80). An approximate 3-fold decrease in probability of discharge alive was observed in patients with low handgrip strength. Decreasing handgrip strength tertiles allowed to discriminate between patients who will have longer hospital stay, as well as undernutrition and nutritional risk assessed by Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment and Nutritional Risk Screening 2002. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

Prolonged hospital stay in measles patients | Ashir | Sahel Medical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Measles is still a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in Nigeria despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines. The burden of measles using length of hospital stay as a result of complications in hospitalised children with measles is reported. Methods: We carried out a two year retrospective ...

[Length of stay in patients admitted for acute heart failure].

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Martín-Sánchez, Francisco Javier; Carbajosa, Virginia; Llorens, Pere; Herrero, Pablo; Jacob, Javier; Miró, Òscar; Fernández, Cristina; Bueno, Héctor; Calvo, Elpidio; Ribera Casado, José Manuel

2016-01-01

To identify the factors associated with prolonged length of hospital stay in patients admitted for acute heart failure. Multipurpose observational cohort study including patients from the EAHFE registry admitted for acute heart failure in 25 Spanish hospitals. Data were collected on demographic and clinical variables and on the day and place of admission. The primary outcome was length of hospital stay longer than the median. We included 2,400 patients with a mean age of 79.5 (9.9) years; of these, 1,334 (55.6%) were women. Five hundred and ninety (24.6%) were admitted to the short stay unit (SSU), 606 (25.2%) to cardiology, and 1,204 (50.2%) to internal medicine or gerontology. The mean length of hospital stay was 7.0 (RIC 4-11) days. Fifty-eight (2.4%) patients died and 562 (23.9%) were readmitted within 30 days after discharge. The factors associated with prolonged length of hospital stay were chronic pulmonary disease; being a device carrier; having an unknown or uncommon triggering factor; the presence of renal insufficiency, hyponatremia and anaemia in the emergency department; not being admitted to an SSU or the lack of this facility in the hospital; and being admitted on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. The factors associated with length of hospital stay≤7days were hypertension, having a hypertensive episode, or a lack of treatment adherence. The area under the curve of the mixed model adjusted to the center was 0.78 (95% CI: 0.76-0.80; p<0.001). A series of factors is associated with prolonged length of hospital stay and should be taken into account in the management of acute heart failure. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Flail Chest in Polytraumatized Patients: Surgical Fixation Using Stracos Reduces Ventilator Time and Hospital Stay

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Christophe P. M. Jayle

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives. Conservative management of patients with flail chest is the treatment of choice. Rib fracture repair is technically challenging; however, with the advent of specially designed molding titanium clips, surgical management has been simplified. Surgical stabilization has been used with good outcomes. We are reporting on our institutional matched-case-control study. Methods. Between April 2010 and April 2011, ten polytraumatized patients undergoing rib stabilization for flail chest were matched 1 : 1 to 10 control patients by age ±10 years, sex, neurological or vertebral trauma, abdominal injury, and arm and leg fractures. Surgery was realized in the first 48 hours. Results. There were no significant differences between groups for matched data and prognostic scores: injury severity score, revised trauma score, and trauma injury severity score. Ventilator time (142 ± 224 versus 74 ± 125 hours, P=0.026 and overall hospital stay (142 ± 224 versus 74 ± 125 hours, P=0.026 were significantly lower for the surgical group after adjustment on prognostic scores. There was a trend towards shorter ICU stay for operative patients (12.3 ± 8.5 versus 9.0 ± 4.3 days, P=0.076. Conclusions. Rib fixation with Stracos is feasible and decreases the length of ventilation and hospital stay. A multicenter randomized study is warranted so as to confirm these results and to evaluate impact on pulmonary function status, pain, and quality of life.

Hospital length of stay in patients initiated on direct oral anticoagulants versus warfarin for venous thromboembolism: a real-world single-center study.

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Badreldin, Hisham

2018-07-01

This study was conducted to describe the real-world hospital length of stay in patients treated with all of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) versus warfarin for new-onset venous thromboembolism (VTE) at a large, tertiary, academic medical center. A retrospective cohort analysis of all adult patients diagnosed with acute onset VTE was conducted. Of the 441 patients included, 261 (57%) patients received DOACs versus 180 (41%) patients received warfarin. In the DOAC group, a total of 92 (35%) patients received rivaroxaban, followed by 83 (32%) patients received apixaban, 50 (19%) patients received dabigatran, and 36 (14%) patients received edoxaban. Patients initiated on DOACs had a statistically significant shorter hospital length of stay compared to patients initiated on warfarin (median 3 days, [IQR 0-5] vs. 8 days [IQR 5-11], P < 0.05). Despite the shorter hospital length of stay in patients receiving DOACs, the overall reported differences between the DOACs group and the warfarin group in terms of recurrent VTE, major bleeding, intracranial bleeding, and gastrointestinal bleeding at 3 and 6 months were deemed to be statistically insignificant.

Length of stay and hospital costs among high-risk patients with hospital-origin Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea.

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Campbell, Rebecca; Dean, Bonnie; Nathanson, Brian; Haidar, Tracy; Strauss, Marcie; Thomas, Sheila

2013-01-01

Hospital-onset Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (HO-CDAD) has been associated with longer length of stay (LOS) and higher hospital costs among patients in general. The burden of HO-CDAD is unknown among patients who may be at particular risk of poor outcomes: older patients, those with complex or chronic conditions (renal disease, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]), and those with concomitant antibiotic (CAbx) use during treatment for CDAD. A retrospective analysis (2005-2011) of the Health Facts® database (Cerner Corp., Kansas City, MO) containing comprehensive clinical records from 186 US hospitals identified hospitalized adult patients with HO-CDAD based on a positive C. difficile toxin collected >48 h after admission. Control patients were required to have total hospital LOS ≥2 days. Separate logistic regression models to estimate propensities were developed for each study group, with HO-CDAD vs controls as the outcome. Differences in LOS and costs were calculated between cases and controls for each group. A total of 4521 patients with HO-CDAD were identified. Mean age was 70 years, 54% were female, and 13% died. After matching, LOS was significantly greater among HO-CDAD patients (vs controls) in each group except IBD. The significant difference in LOS ranged from 3.0 (95% CI = 1.4-4.6) additional days in older patients to 7.8 (95% CI = 5.7-9.9) days in patients with CAbx exposure. HO-CDAD was associated with significantly higher costs among older patients (p cost data and potential misclassification of colonized patients as infected. Renal impairment, advanced age, cancer, and CAbx use are associated with significantly longer LOS among HO-CDAD patients, with CAbx users being the most resource intensive. Early identification and aggressive treatment of HO-CDAD in these groups may be warranted.

Readmission rates after a planned hospital stay of 2 versus 3 days in fast-track colonic surgery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jens; Hjort-Jakobsen, Dorthe; Christiansen, P. S.

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND: Initial programmes of fast-track open colonic surgery with a planned 2-day postoperative hospital stay have had a high readmission rate (about 20 per cent). The aim of this large, consecutive series was to compare readmission rates after a fast-track open colonic surgery programme...... from August 2004. All patients were examined 8 and 30 days after surgery. RESULTS: Readmission rates fell from 20.1 per cent in 408 patients with a planned 2-day hospital stay (period 1) to 11.3 per cent in 133 patients with a planned 3-day hospital stay (period 2) (P ... hospital stay was 2 and 3 days, median stay after readmission was 5 and 5.5 days, and median (mean) total stay was 3 (5.6) and 3 (5.7) days in periods 1 and 2 respectively. The readmission rate in period 2 was lower because there were fewer readmissions for short-term observation or social reasons...

Promoting mobility and reducing length of stay in hospitalized general medicine patients: A quality-improvement project.

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Hoyer, Erik H; Friedman, Michael; Lavezza, Annette; Wagner-Kosmakos, Kathleen; Lewis-Cherry, Robin; Skolnik, Judy L; Byers, Sherrie P; Atanelov, Levan; Colantuoni, Elizabeth; Brotman, Daniel J; Needham, Dale M

2016-05-01

To determine whether a multidisciplinary mobility promotion quality-improvement (QI) project would increase patient mobility and reduce hospital length of stay (LOS). Implemented using a structured QI model, the project took place between March 1, 2013 and March 1, 2014 on 2 general medicine units in a large academic medical center. There were 3352 patients admitted during the QI project period. The Johns Hopkins Highest Level of Mobility (JH-HLM) scale, an 8-point ordinal scale ranging from bed rest (score = 1) to ambulating ≥250 feet (score = 8), was used to quantify mobility. Changes in JH-HLM scores were compared for the first 4 months of the project (ramp-up phase) versus 4 months after project completion (post-QI phase) using generalized estimating equations. We compared the relative change in median LOS for the project months versus 12 months prior among the QI units, using multivariable linear regression analysis adjusting for 7 demographic and clinically relevant variables. Comparing the ramp-up versus post-QI phases, patients reaching JH-HLM's ambulation status increased from 43% to 70% (P mobility scores between admission and discharge increased from 32% to 45% (P 7 days), were associated with a significantly greater adjusted median reduction in LOS of 1.11 (95% CI: -1.53 to -0.65, P mobility was not associated with an increase in injurious falls compared to 12 months prior on the QI units (P = 0.73). Active prevention of a decline in physical function that commonly occurs during hospitalization may be achieved with a structured QI approach. In an adult medicine population, our QI project was associated with improved mobility, and this may have contributed to a reduction in LOS, particularly for more complex patients with longer expected hospital stay. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Estimation of Extra Length of Stay Attributable to Hospital-Acquired Infections in Adult ICUs Using a Time-Dependent Multistate Model.

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Ohannessian, Robin; Gustin, Marie-Paule; Bénet, Thomas; Gerbier-Colomban, Solweig; Girard, Raphaele; Argaud, Laurent; Rimmelé, Thomas; Guerin, Claude; Bohé, Julien; Piriou, Vincent; Vanhems, Philippe

2018-04-10

The objective of the study was to estimate the length of stay of patients with hospital-acquired infections hospitalized in ICUs using a multistate model. Active prospective surveillance of hospital-acquired infection from January 1, 1995, to December 31, 2012. Twelve ICUs at the University of Lyon hospital (France). Adult patients age greater than or equal to 18 years old and hospitalized greater than or equal to 2 days were included in the surveillance. All hospital-acquired infections (pneumonia, bacteremia, and urinary tract infection) occurring during ICU stay were collected. None. The competitive risks of in-hospital death, transfer, or discharge were considered in estimating the change in length of stay due to infection(s), using a multistate model, time of infection onset. Thirty-three thousand four-hundred forty-nine patients were involved, with an overall hospital-acquired infection attack rate of 15.5% (n = 5,176). Mean length of stay was 27.4 (± 18.3) days in patients with hospital-acquired infection and 7.3 (± 7.6) days in patients without hospital-acquired infection. A multistate model-estimated mean found an increase in length of stay by 5.0 days (95% CI, 4.6-5.4 d). The extra length of stay increased with the number of infected site and was higher for patients discharged alive from ICU. No increased length of stay was found for patients presenting late-onset hospital-acquired infection, more than the 25th day after admission. An increase length of stay of 5 days attributable to hospital-acquired infection in the ICU was estimated using a multistate model in a prospective surveillance study in France. The dose-response relationship between the number of hospitalacquired infection and length of stay and the impact of early-stage hospital-acquired infection may strengthen attention for clinicians to focus interventions on early preventions of hospital-acquired infection in ICU.

Modelling length of hospital stay in motor victims

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Mercedes Ayuso-Gutiérrez

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Objective. To analyze which socio-demographic and other factors related to motor injuries affect the length of hospital recovery stay. Materials and methods. In the study a sample of 17 932 motor accidents was used. All the crashes occurred in Spain between 2000 and 2007. Different regression models were fitted to data to identify and measure the impact of a set of explanatory regressors. Results. Time of hospital stay for men is on average 41% larger than for women. When the victim has a fracture as a consequence of the accident, the mean time of hospital stay is multiplied by five. Injuries located in lower extremities, the head and abdomen are associated with greater hospitalization lengths. Conclusions. Gender, age and type of victim, as well as the location and nature of injuries, are found to be factors that have significant impact on the expected length of hospital stay.

Length and cost of hospital stay of radioiodine ablation in thyroid cancer patients: comparison between preparation with thyroid hormone withdrawal and thyrogen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borget, I.; Chevalier, J.; Remy, H.; Ricard, M.; Schlumberger, M.; Allyn, M.; Pouvourville, G. de

2008-01-01

Treatment of thyroid cancer consists of thyroidectomy and radioiodine ablation following thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) stimulation. Similar ablation rates were obtained with either thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW) or rhTSH. But with rhTSH, the elimination of radioiodine is more rapid, thus reducing its whole-body retention and potentially resulting in a shorter hospital stay. The aim of this study was to assess the financial impact of a reduced length of hospital stay with the use of rhTSH. This was a case-control study of thyroid cancer patients treated postoperatively with 3,700 MBq (100 mCi) radioiodine; 35 patients who received rhTSH were matched with 64 patients submitted to THW according to covariates influencing radioiodine retention. The length of hospitalization (LOH) was estimated for each method according to the threshold of radioiodine retention below which the patient can be discharged from the hospital. The economic analysis was conducted from a hospital perspective. Simulations were performed. For a threshold of 400 MBq, the LOH was 2.4 days and 3.5 days with rhTSH and THW, respectively, and the cost for an ablation stay was, respectively, 2,146 and 1,807 EUR. In the French context, 57% of the acquisition cost of rhTSH was compensated by the reduction of the length of hospitalization. By increasing the iodine excretion, rhTSH allows a shorter hospitalization length, which partially compensates its acquisition cost. (orig.)

Patient satisfaction with health-care professionals and structure is not affected by longer hospital stay and complications after lung resection: a case-matched analysis.

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Pompili, Cecilia; Tiberi, Michela; Salati, Michele; Refai, Majed; Xiumé, Francesco; Brunelli, Alessandro

2015-02-01

The objective of this investigation was to assess satisfaction with care of patients with long hospital stay (LHS) or complications after pulmonary resection in comparison with case-matched counterparts with a regular postoperative course. This is a prospective observational analysis on 171 consecutive patients submitted to pulmonary resections (78 wedges, 8 segmentectomies, 83 lobectomies, 3 pneumonectomies) for benign (35), primary (93) or secondary malignant (43) diseases. A hospital stay >7 days was defined as long (LHS). Major cardiopulmonary complications were defined according to the ESTS database. Patient satisfaction was assessed by the administration of the EORTC IN-PATSAT32 module at discharge. The questionnaire is a 32-item self-administered survey including different scales, reflecting the perceived level of satisfaction about the care provided by doctors, nurses and other personnel. To minimize selection bias, propensity score case-matching technique was applied to generate two sets of matched patients: patients with LHS with counterparts without it; patients with complications with counterparts without it. Median length of postoperative stay was 4 days (range 2-43). Forty-one patients (24%) had a hospital stay>7 days and 21 developed cardiopulmonary complications (12%). Propensity score yielded two well-matched groups of 41 patients with and without LHS. There were no significant differences in any patient satisfaction scale between the two groups. The comparison of the results of the patient satisfaction questionnaire between the two matched groups of 21 patients with and without complications did not show significant differences in any scale. Patients experiencing poor outcomes such as long hospital stay or complications have similar perception of quality of care compared with those with regular outcomes. Patient-reported outcome measures are becoming increasingly important in the evaluation of the quality of care and may complement more

Level of Digitization in Dutch Hospitals and the Lengths of Stay of Patients with Colorectal Cancer.

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van Poelgeest, Rube; van Groningen, Julia T; Daniels, John H; Roes, Kit C; Wiggers, Theo; Wouters, Michel W; Schrijvers, Guus

2017-05-01

A substantial amount of research has been published on the association between the use of electronic medical records (EMRs) and quality outcomes in U.S. hospitals, while limited research has focused on the Western European experience. The purpose of this study is to explore the association between the use of EMR technologies in Dutch hospitals and length of stay after colorectal cancer surgery. Two data sets were leveraged for this study; the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM SM ) and the Dutch surgical colorectal audit (DSCA). The HIMSS Analytics EMRAM score was used to define a Dutch hospital's electronic medical records (EMR) capabilities while the DSCA was used to profile colorectal surgery quality outcomes (specifically total length of stay (LOS) in the hospital and the LOS in ICU). A total of 73 hospitals with a valid EMRAM score and associated DSCA patients (n = 30.358) during the study period (2012-2014) were included in the comparative set. A multivariate regression method was used to test differences adjusted for case mix, year of surgery, surgical technique and for complications, as well as stratifying for academic affiliated hospitals and general hospitals. A significant negative association was observed to exist between the total LOS (relative median LOS 0,974, CI 95% 0.959-0,989) of patients treated in advanced EMR hospitals (high EMRAM score cohort) versus patients treated at less advanced EMR care settings, once the data was adjusted for the case mix, year of surgery and type of surgery (laparoscopy or laparotomy). Adjusting for complications in a subgroup of general hospitals (n = 39) yielded essentially the same results (relative median LOS 0,934, CI 95% 0,915-0,954). No consistent significant associations were found with respect to LOS on the ICU. The findings of this study suggest advanced EMR capabilities support a healthcare provider's efforts to achieve desired quality outcomes and efficiency in Western

Early Exercise in the Burn Intensive Care Unit Decreases Hospital Stay, Improves Mental Health, and Physical Performance

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2016-10-01

of Hospitalization, Mental Health, and Physical Performance in Burned Patients DOCUMENTS: Protocol , Version Date: June 30, 2016 The UTMB...throughout hospital stay across the US and (Aim 2) outcomes in burn in- patients . Over 4 years, we will enroll 96 patients (24 per site; MP10 n=64 and...to be safe) and during the entire BICU, on ventilator and in- hospital stay in burn individuals. UTMB, UC-Davis and UTSW are enrolling patients . The

Total direct cost, length of hospital stay, institutional discharges and their determinants from rehabilitation settings in stroke patients.

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Saxena, S K; Ng, T P; Yong, D; Fong, N P; Gerald, K

2006-11-01

Length of hospital stay (LOHS) is the largest determinant of direct cost for stroke care. Institutional discharges (acute care and nursing homes) from rehabilitation settings add to the direct cost. It is important to identify potentially preventable medical and non-medical reasons determining LOHS and institutional discharges to reduce the direct cost of stroke care. The aim of the study was to ascertain the total direct cost, LOHS, frequency of institutional discharges and their determinants from rehabilitation settings. Observational study was conducted on 200 stroke patients in two rehabilitation settings. The patients were examined for various socio-demographic, neurological and clinical variables upon admission to the rehabilitation hospitals. Information on total direct cost and medical complications during hospitalization were also recorded. The outcome variables measured were total direct cost, LOHS and discharges to institutions (acute care and nursing home facility) and their determinants. The mean and median LOHS in our study were 34 days (SD = 18) and 32 days respectively. LOHS and the cost of hospital stay were significantly correlated. The significant variables associated with LOHS on multiple linear regression analysis were: (i) severe functional impairment/functional dependence Barthel Index institutional discharges (22 to acute care and 17 to nursing homes). On multivariate analysis the significant predictors of discharges to institutions from rehabilitation hospitals were medical complications (OR = 4.37; 95% CI 1.01-12.53) and severe functional impairment/functional dependence. (OR = 5.90, 95% CI 2.32-14.98). Length of hospital stay and discharges to institutions from rehabilitation settings are significantly determined by medical complications. Importance of adhering to clinical pathway/protocol for stroke care is further discussed.

Healthcare associated infections in Paediatric Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary care hospital in India: Hospital stay & extra costs.

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Sodhi, Jitender; Satpathy, Sidhartha; Sharma, D K; Lodha, Rakesh; Kapil, Arti; Wadhwa, Nitya; Gupta, Shakti Kumar

2016-04-01

Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) increase the length of stay in the hospital and consequently costs as reported from studies done in developed countries. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of HAIs on length of stay and costs of health care in children admitted to Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of a tertiary care hospital in north India. This prospective study was done in the seven bedded PICU of a large multi-specialty tertiary care hospital in New Delhi, India. A total of 20 children with HAI (cases) and 35 children without HAI (controls), admitted to the PICU during the study period (January 2012 to June 2012), were matched for gender, age, and average severity of illness score. Each patient's length of stay was obtained prospectively. Costs of healthcare were estimated according to traditional and time driven activity based costing methods approach. The median extra length of PICU stay for children with HAI (cases), compared with children with no HAI (controls), was seven days (IQR 3-16). The mean total costs of patients with and without HAI were ' 2,04,787 (US$ 3,413) and ' 56,587 (US$ 943), respectively and the mean difference in the total cost between cases and controls was ' 1,48,200 (95% CI 55,716 to 2,40,685, pcosts for PICU patients, especially costs due to prolongation of hospital stay, and suggests the need to develop effective strategies for prevention of HAI to reduce costs of health care.

Influence of neutrophile granulocyte/lymphocyte ratio (NLR on poor prognosis of elderly AECOPD patients during hospital stay

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Jian-Rong Cui

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To discuss the influence of neutrophile granulocyte/lymphocyte ratio(NLR to the poor prognosis of elderly AECOPD patients during the stay in hospital. Method: A total of 133 cases elderly patients with AECOPD admitted in our hospital from March 2013 to September 2014 were selected, and divided them into death group (31 cases and survival group (102 cases according to in-hospital death occurrence; To compare the on admission general clinical data, therapy method, lung function, blood routine examination [white blood cell count (WBC, neutrophile granulocyte/lymphocyte ratio(NLR], C-reactive protein (CRP, blood gas analysis and blood biochemical indexes in both groups, and drew ROC curve for a analysis of the clinical value of NLR in the prediction of death. Results: Among 133 cases of elderly AECOPD patients: the proportion of combined pulmonary heart disease and mechanical ventilation in death group was higher than that in survival group, PaCO2, WBC count, neutrophil count, NLR, CRP level in death group was higher, but lymphocyte count, serum albumin(ALB in death group was lower; multiple logistic regression analysis showed that NLR presented independent positive correlation with the in-hospital death in elderly AECOPD patients; ROC curve analysis showed that the ROCAUC of NLR to the inhospital death in elderly AECOPD patients was 0.787, the best diagnostic node value was 7.3, sensitivity and specificity were 77.4% and 74.5% respectively; bounded by NLR(7.3, divided patients into NLR≥7.3 group and NLR<7.3 group, hospital stays, CRP level and mortality in NLR≥7.3 group were higher than that in NLR<7.3 group. Conclusion: NLR was the high risk factor of the in-hospital death in elderly AECOPD patients, early detection of NLR level had a certain difference to the evaluation for short-term prognosis of elderly AECOPD patients and guide treatment.

Duration of hospital stay following orthognathic surgery at the jordan university hospital.

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Jarab, Fadi; Omar, Esam; Bhayat, Ahmed; Mansuri, Samir; Ahmed, Sami

2012-09-01

Major oral and maxillofacial surgery procedures have been routinely performed on an inpatient basis in order to manage both, the recovery from anesthesia and any unpredictable morbidity that may be associated with the surgery. The use of inpatient beds is extremely expensive and if the surgical procedures could be done on an outpatient setting, it would reduce the costs and the need for inpatient care. The aim was to determine the length of hospital stay (LHS) and the factors which influence the LHS following orthognathic surgery at the Jordan University Hospital over 5 years (2005-2009). This was a retrospective record review of patients who underwent orthognathic surgery at Jordan University Hospital between 2005 and 2009. The variables were recorded on a data capture form which was adapted and developed from previous studies. Descriptive and analytical statistical methods were used to correlate these variables to the LHS. Ninety two patients were included in the study and 74% of them were females. The mean age was 23.7 years and the mean LHS was 4 days. The complexity of the procedure, length of operation time, intensive care unit (ICU) stay and year of operation were significantly correlated with a positive LHS (P LHS over the progressing years and this could be due to an increase in experience and knowledge of the operators and an improvement in the hospital facilities.

How can the impact of PACS on inpatient length of hospital stay be established?

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Bryan, Stirling; Muris, Nicole; Keen, Justin; Weatherburn, Gwyneth C.; Buxton, Martin J.

1994-05-01

Many have argued that the introduction of a large-scale PACS system into a hospital will bring about reductions in the length of inpatient hospital stays. There is currently no convicting empirical evidence to support such claims. As part of the independent evaluation exercise being undertaken alongside the Hammersmith Hospital PACS implementation, an assessment is being made of the impact of PACS on length of stay for selected patient groups. This paper reports the general research methods being employed to undertake this assessment and provides some baseline results from the analysis of total hip replacement patients and total knee replacement patients treated prior to the introduction of PACS.

Audit of new long-stay patients in Permai Mental Hospital, Johor.

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Cheah, Y C; Nur Aiza, Z; Paramasivam, S; Kadir, A B; Jeyarajah, S

1997-06-01

We report a cross-sectional descriptive study of 90 new long-stay patients (NLS) (i.e. those who had been resident for six months to three years in Permai Mental Hospital, Johor) and studied from April to June, 1995. The age of this sample ranged from 18 to 85 years. Two subgroups were observed (i.e. younger NLS patients aged 18 to 34 years and older NLS patients aged 35 to 85 years). Among the younger NLS patients, the commonest diagnosis was schizophrenia (51.2%), followed by mental retardation with related problems (24.4%). Sixty-one percent of these younger patients had a history of serious violence or dangerous behaviour. Older NLS patients were likely to have a diagnosis of schizophrenia (79.6%), followed by mood disorder (6.1%) and dementia (4.1%). Forty seven percent of these older group had history of danger to others and 57.1% were at moderate or severe risk of non-deliberate self-harm. Focusing on the schizophrenic patients, all of them had some form of psychopathology, either positive, negative or general symptoms and about one-fourth were assessed to pose a risk for aggression.

Assessment of malnutrition in hip fracture patients: effects on surgical delay, hospital stay and mortality.

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Symeonidis, Panagiotis D; Clark, David

2006-08-01

The importance of malnutrition in elderly hip fracture patients has long been recognised. All patients operated upon for a hip fracture over a five-year period were assessed according to two nutritional markers : a) serum albumin levels and b) peripheral blood total lymphocyte count. Patients were subdivided into groups according to the four possible combinations of these results. Outcomes according to four clinical outcome parameters were validated: a) waiting time to operation b) length of hospitalisation, c) in-hospital mortality, and d) one-year postoperative mortality. Significant differences were found between malnourished patients and those with normal laboratory values with regard to surgical delay and one year postoperative mortality. Malnourished patients were also more likely to be hospitalised longer than a month and to die during their hospital stay, but the difference was not significant. The combination of serum albumin level and total lymphocyte count can be used as an independent prognostic factor in hip fracture patients.

Multivariate Analysis of Factors Influencing Length of Hospital Stay after Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery in Tehran, Iran

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Amin Torabipour

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Length of hospital stay (LOS is a key indicator for hospital management. Reducing hospital stay is a priority for all health systems. We aimed to determine the length of hospital stay following Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (CABG based on its clinical and non-clinical factors. A cross-sectional study of 649 consecutive patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery was conducted in Imam Khomeini and Shariati university hospitals, Tehran, Iran. Data was analyzed by using non-parametric univariate tests and multiple linier regression models. Thirty seven independent variables including pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative variables were analyzed. Finally, an appropriate model was constructed based on the associated factors. The results showed that 70.3% of the patients were male, and the mean age of the patients was 59.3 ± 10.4 years. The Mean (±SD and median of the LOS were 11.7 ± 7.1 and 9 days, respectively. Of 37 investigated variables, 24 qualitative and quantitative variables were significantly associated with length of stay (p<0.05. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that independent variables including age, medical insurance type, body mass index, and prior myocardial infarction; admission day, admission season, Cross-clamp time, pump usage, admission type, the number of laboratory tests and the number of specialty consultation had more effect on the hospital stay. We concluded that some significant factors influencing hospital stay after CABG were predictable and modifiable by hospital managers and decision makers to manage hospital beds.

The impact of methicillin-resistant S. aureus on length of stay, readmissions and costs: a register based case-control study of patients hospitalized in Norway

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A. Elizabeth S. Andreassen

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Patients with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA are thought to incur additional costs for hospitals due to longer stay and contact isolation. The aim of this study was to assess the costs associated with MRSA in Norwegian hospitals. Methods Analyses were based on data fromSouth-Eastern Norway for the year 2012 as registered in the Norwegian Surveillance System for Communicable Diseases and the Norwegian Patient Registry. We used a matched case-control method to compare MRSA diagnosed inpatients with non-MRSA inpatients in terms of length of stay, readmissions within 30 days from discharge, as well as the Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG based costs. Results Norwegian patients with MRSA stayed on average 8 days longer in hospital than controls, corresponding to a ratio of mean duration of 2.08 (CI 95%, 1.75–2.47 times longer.A total of 14% of MRSA positive inpatients were readmitted compared to 10% among controls. However, the risk of readmission was not significantly higher for patients with MRSA. DRG based hospital costs were 0.37 (95% CI, 0.19–0.54 times higher among cases than controls, with a mean cost of EUR13,233(SD 26,899 and EUR7198(SD 18,159 respectively. Conclusion The results of this study indicate that Norwegian patients with MRSA have longer hospital stays, and higher costs than those without MRSA.

Association of hypercapnia on admission with increased length of hospital stay and severity in patients admitted with community-acquired pneumonia: a prospective observational study from Pakistan.

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Iqbal, Nousheen; Irfan, Muhammad; Zubairi, Ali Bin Sarwar; Awan, Safia; Khan, Javaid A

2017-06-15

To determine whether the presence of hypercapnia on admission in adult patients admitted to a university-based hospital in Karachi, Pakistan with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) correlates with an increased length of hospital stay and severity compared with no hypercapnia on admission. A prospective observational study. Tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. The severity of pneumonia was assessed by CURB-65 and PSI scores. An arterial blood gas analysis was obtained within 24 hours of admission. Based on arterial PaCO 2 levels, patients were divided into three groups: hypocapnic (PaCO 2 45 mm Hg) and normocapnic (PaCO 2 <35-45 mm Hg). The primary outcome was the association of hypercapnia on admission with mean length of hospital stay. Secondary outcomes were the need for mechanical ventilation, ICU admission and in-hospital mortality. A total of 295 patients of mean age 60.20±17.0 years (157 (53.22%) men) were enrolled over a 1-year period. Hypocapnia was found in 181 (61.35%) and hypercapnia in 57 (19.32%) patients. Hypercapnic patients had a longer hospital stay (mean 9.27±7.57 days), increased requirement for non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) on admission (n=45 (78.94%)) and longer mean time to clinical stability (4.39±2.0 days) compared with the other groups. Overall mortality was 41 (13.89%), but there was no statistically significant difference in mortality (p=0.35) and ICU admission (p=0.37) between the three groups. On multivariable analysis, increased length of hospital stay was associated with NIMV use, ICU admission, hypercapnia and normocapnia. Hypercapnia on admission is associated with severity of CAP, longer time to clinical stability, increased length of hospital stay and need for NIMV. It should be considered as an important criterion to label the severity of the illness and also a determinant of patients who will require a higher level of hospital

Medical costs, Cesarean delivery rates, and length of stay in specialty hospitals vs. non-specialty hospitals in South Korea.

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Seung Ju Kim

Full Text Available Since 2011, specialty hospitals in South Korea have been known for providing high- quality care in specific clinical areas. Much research related to specialty hospitals and their performance in many such areas has been performed, but investigations about their performance in obstetrics and gynecology are lacking. Thus, we aimed to compare specialty vs. non-specialty hospitals with respect to mode of obstetric delivery, especially the costs and length of stay related to Cesarean section (CS procedures, and to provide evidence to policy-makers for evaluating the success of hospitals that specialize in obstetric and gynecological (OBGYN care.We obtained National Health Insurance claim data from 2012 to 2014, which included information from 418,141 OBGYN cases at 214 hospitals. We used a generalized estimating equation model to identify a potential association between the likelihood of CS at specialty hospitals compared with other hospitals. We also evaluated medical costs and length of stay in specialty hospitals according to type of delivery.We found that 150,256 (35.9% total deliveries were performed by CS. The odds ratio of CS was significantly lower in specialty hospitals (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93-0.96compared to other hospitals Medical costs (0.74% and length of stay (1% in CS cases increased in specialty hospitals, although length of stay following vaginal delivery was lower (0.57% in specialty hospitals compared with other hospitals.We determined that specialty hospitals are significantly associated with a lower likelihood of CS delivery and shorter length of stay after vaginal delivery. Although they are also associated with higher costs for delivery, the increased cost could be due to the high level of intensive care provided, which leads to improve quality of care. Policy-makers should consider incentive programs to maintain performance of specialty hospitals and promote efficiency that could reduce medical costs accrued by patients.

Association of bystander interventions and hospital length of stay and admission to intensive care unit in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors.

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Riddersholm, Signe; Kragholm, Kristian; Mortensen, Rikke Nørmark; Pape, Marianne; Hansen, Carolina Malta; Lippert, Freddy K; Torp-Pedersen, Christian; Christiansen, Christian F; Rasmussen, Bodil Steen

2017-10-01

The impact of bystander interventions on post-arrest hospital course is sparsely studied. We examined the association between bystander interventions and length of hospital stay and admission to intensive care unit (ICU) in one-day survivors after OHCA. This cohort study linked data of 4641 one-day OHCA survivors from 2001 to 2014 to data on hospital length of stay and ICU admission. We examined associations between bystander efforts and outcomes using regression, adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, calendar year and witnessed status. We divided bystander efforts into three categories: 1. No bystander interventions; 2.Bystander CPR only; 3. Bystander defibrillation with or without bystander CPR. For patients surviving to hospital discharge, hospital length of stay was 20days for patients without bystander interventions, compared to 16 for bystander CPR, and 13 for bystander defibrillation. 82% of patients without bystander interventions were admitted to ICU compared to 77.2% for bystander CPR, and 61.2% for bystander defibrillation. In-hospital mortality was 60% in the first category compared to 40.5% and 21.7% in the two latter categories. In regression models, bystander CPR and bystander defibrillation were associated with a reduction of length of hospital stay of 21% (Estimate: 0.79 [95% CI: 0.72-0.86]) and 32% (Estimate: 0.68 [95% CI: 0.59-0.78]), respectively. Both bystander CPR (OR: 0.94 [95% CI: 0.91-0.97]) and bystander defibrillation (OR: 0.81 [0.76-0.85]), were associated with lower risk of ICU admission. Bystander interventions were associated with reduced hospital length of stay and ICU admission, suggesting that these efforts improve recovery in OHCA survivors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Winter excess in hospital admissions, in-patient mortality and length of acute hospital stay in stroke: a hospital database study over six seasonal years in Norfolk, UK.

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Myint, Phyo K; Vowler, Sarah L; Woodhouse, Peter R; Redmayne, Oliver; Fulcher, Robert A

2007-01-01

Several studies have examined the incidence and mortality of stroke in relation to season. However, the evidence is conflicting partly due to variation in the populations (community vs. hospital-based), and in climatic conditions between studies. Moreover, they may not have been able to take into account the age, sex and stroke type of the study population. We hypothesized that the age, sex and type of stroke are major determinants of the presence or absence of winter excess in morbidity and mortality associated with stroke. We analyzed a hospital-based stroke register from Norfolk, UK to examine our prior hypothesis. Using Curwen's method, we performed stratified sex-specific analyses by (1) seasonal year and (2) quartiles of patients' age and stroke subtype and calculated the winter excess for the number of admissions, in-patient deaths and length of acute hospital stay. There were 5,481 patients (men=45%). Their ages ranged from 17 to 105 years (median=78 years). There appeared to be winter excess in hospital admissions, deaths and length of acute hospital stay overall accounting for 3/100,000 extra admissions (winter excess index of 3.4% in men and 7.6% in women) and 1/100,000 deaths (winter excess index of 4.7 and 8.6% in women) due to stroke in winter compared to non-winter periods. Older patients with non-haemorrhagic stroke mainly contribute to this excess. If our findings are replicated throughout England and Wales, it is estimated that there are 1,700 excess admissions, 600 excess in-patient deaths and 24,500 extra acute hospital bed days each winter, related to stroke within the current population of approximately 60 million. Further research should be focused on the determinants of winter excess in morbidity and mortality associated with stroke. This may subsequently reduce the morbidity and mortality by providing effective preventive strategies in future. (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Communication difficulties experienced by deaf male patients during their in-hospital stay: findings from a qualitative descriptive study.

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Sirch, Linda; Salvador, Linda; Palese, Alvisa

2017-06-01

Studies available have described several specific issues affecting healthcare accessibility by deaf people, but to date, no research has reported the experience of deaf patients with in-hospital communication. The aim of the study was to explore the communication experience of deaf patients with regard to their in-hospital stay. A purposeful sample of participants was selected. The data collection process was based on a focus group. The focus groups were conducted in Italian sign language and videorecorded; subsequently, the entire conversation was faithfully transcribed. A qualitative content analysis of the transcription was performed and the findings are reported using the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research approach. Four themes have emerged: (a) experiencing a common vulnerability: the need for reciprocal understanding and sensitivity, (b) being outside the comfort zone: feeling discriminated against once again, (c) perceiving a lack of consonance between care and needs and (d) developing a sense of progressively disempowerment. The experience of deaf individuals during their in-hospital stay may be critical: they are exposed to protracted communication and interaction with healthcare providers and an environment that is not prepared and designed for these vulnerable patients. Two levels of strategies should be identified, implemented and developed to increase the quality of communication with deaf people during hospitalisation, both at the hospital/health system level and at the healthcare professional/clinical level. © 2016 Nordic College of Caring Science.

The association of market competition with hospital charges, length of stay, and quality outcomes for patients with joint diseases: a longitudinal study in Korea.

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Kim, Sun Jung; Park, Eun-Cheol; Yoo, Ki-Bong; Kwon, Jeoung A; Kim, Tae Hyun

2015-03-01

This study investigated the association of market competition with hospital charges, length of stay, and quality outcomes. A total of 279,847 patients from 851 hospitals were analyzed. The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index was used as a measure of hospital market competition level. Our results suggest that hospitals in less competitive markets charged more on charge per admission, possibly by increasing the length of stays, however, hospitals in more competitive markets charged more for daily services by providing more intensive services while reducing the length of stays, thereby reducing the overall charge per admission. Quality outcomes measured by mortality within 30 days of admission and readmission within 30 days of discharge were better for surgical procedures within competitive areas. Continued government monitoring of hospital response to market competition level is recommended in order to determine whether changes in hospitals' strategies influence the long-term outcomes of services performance and health care spending. © 2014 APJPH.

New-Onset Depression Following Hip Fracture Is Associated With Increased Length of Stay in Hospital and Rehabilitation Centers

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Anna C. Phillips

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This article examines the coincident effects of new-onset depression post hip fracture on length of hospital stay, readmission rates, and incidence of infections in older adults. Participants were 101 hip fracture patients aged 60+ years; 38 developed depressive symptoms following their fracture. Infection rates, readmissions to hospital and rehabilitation units, and length of hospital stay were assessed over the 6 months post hip fracture from hospital and general practitioner notes. Patients who developed depression by Week 6 post fracture were likely to spend more time in hospital/rehabilitation wards (p = .02 and more likely to be discharged to a rehabilitation unit (p < .05. There were no group differences in readmissions or infection rates. New-onset depression coincident with hip fracture in older adults is associated with longer hospital ward stays and greater need for rehabilitation.

The Determinants of Hospital Length of Stay in Nigeria

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Conrad Y. Puozaa

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose- Hospital length of stay (LOS does not only signal the seriousness of illness, it can also lead to catastrophic cost for patients or households. This paper examines the factors that determine LOS in Nigeria; a country where more than 99% of the cost of health care is borne by patients. Design/methodology/approach- The dataset, consisting of 1,150 people who reported one or more overnight stays in a hospital, comes from the two waves of the Nigerian General Household Survey. Due to the overdispersion and the truncation of LOS at zero, a zero-truncated negative binomial regression model was adopted to establish the causal relationship between LOS and patients’ predisposing, enabling and needs-related characteristics. Findings- LOS tends to increase with the following factors: age, household size, availability of formal medical care facilities, and the severity of illness. However, there is an inverse relationship between LOS and the cost of care, being a female, resource endowment in the area, and utilization of preventive care. People in lower and higher socioeconomic brackets tend to have higher LOS than people in the middle socioeconomic bracket. Research limitations - Actual description of diseases respondents suffered from, which is important in determining the severity of illness, was not available. I relied on a proxy to measure the severity of illness. Implications- Policy makers in developing countries continue to explore strategies for reducing poverty and vulnerabilities among the populace. An understanding of the determinants of LOS can help inform policymakers, hospital administrators and patients regarding health care reforms, planning for patients LOS, and planning for the period of hospitalization, respectively. Originality/value- To the best of my knowledge, this is the first paper to empirically examine the determinants of LOS in Nigeria.

Association of Total Fluid Intake and Output with Duration of Hospital Stay in Patients with Acute Pancreatitis

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Andree H. Koop

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of fluid balance with outcomes in patients hospitalized with acute pancreatitis (AP. Methods. This was a retrospective study of patients hospitalized between May 2008 and June 2016 with AP and a clinical order for strict recording of intake and output. Data collected included various types of fluid intake and output at 24 and 48 hours after admission. The primary outcome was length of stay (LOS. Analysis was performed using single-variable and multivariable negative binomial regression models. Results. Of 1256 patients hospitalized for AP during the study period, only 71 patients (5.6% had a clinical order for strict recording of intake and output. Increased urine output was associated with a decreased LOS at 24 and 48 hours in univariable analysis. An increasingly positive fluid balance (total intake minus urine output at 24 hours was associated with a longer LOS in multivariable analysis. Conclusions. Few patients hospitalized for AP had a documented order for strict monitoring of fluid intake and output, despite the importance of monitoring fluid balance in these patients. Our study suggests an association between urine output and fluid balance with LOS in AP.

Patient-controlled hospital admission for patients with severe mental disorders

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Thomsen, Christoffer Torgaard; Benros, Michael Eriksen; Hastrup, Lene Halling

2016-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Patient-controlled hospital admission for individuals with severe mental disorders is a novel approach in mental healthcare. Patients can admit themselves to a hospital unit for a short stay without being assessed by a psychiatrist or contacting the emergency department. Previous...... studies assessing the outcomes of patient-controlled hospital admission found trends towards reduction in the use of coercive measures and length of hospital stay; however, these studies have methodological shortcomings and small sample sizes. Larger studies are needed to estimate the effect of patient-controlled...... hospital admission on the use of coercion and of healthcare services. DESIGN AND METHODS: We aim to recruit at least 315 patients who are offered a contract for patient-controlled hospital admissions in eight different hospitals in Denmark. Patients will be followed-up for at least 1 year to compare...

A qualitative examination of inappropriate hospital admissions and lengths of stay

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Hammond Christina L

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Research has shown that a number of patients, with a variety of diagnoses, are admitted to hospital when it is not essential and can remain in hospital unnecessarily. To date, research in this area has been primarily quantitative. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived causes of inappropriate or prolonged lengths of stay and focuses on a specific population (i.e., patients with long term neurological conditions. We also wanted to identify interventions which might avoid admission or expedite discharge as periods of hospitalisation pose particular risks for this group. Methods Two focus groups were conducted with a convenience sample of eight primary and secondary care clinicians working in the Derbyshire area. Data were analysed using a thematic content approach. Results The participants identified a number of key causes of inappropriate admissions and lengths of stay, including: the limited capacity of health and social care resources; poor communication between primary and secondary care clinicians and the cautiousness of clinicians who manage patients in community settings. The participants also suggested a number of strategies that may prevent inappropriate admissions or reduce length of stay (LoS, including: the introduction of new sub-acute care facilities; the introduction of auxiliary nurses to support specialist nursing staff and patient held summaries of specialist consultations. Conclusion Clinicians in both the secondary and primary care sectors acknowledged that some admissions were unnecessary and some patients remain in hospital for a prolonged period. These events were attributed to problems with the current capacity or structuring of services. It was noted, for example, that there is a shortage of appropriate therapeutic services and that the distribution of beds between community and sub-acute care should be reviewed.

Factors affecting length of stay in forensic hospital setting: need for therapeutic security and course of admission.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Davoren, Mary

2015-01-01

Patients admitted to a secure forensic hospital are at risk of a long hospital stay. Forensic hospital beds are a scarce and expensive resource and ability to identify the factors predicting length of stay at time of admission would be beneficial. The DUNDRUM-1 triage security scale and DUNDRUM-2 triage urgency scale are designed to assess need for therapeutic security and urgency of that need while the HCR-20 predicts risk of violence. We hypothesized that items on the DUNDRUM-1 and DUNDRUM-2 scales, rated at the time of pre-admission assessment, would predict length of stay in a medium secure forensic hospital setting.

Racial Differences in Length of Stay for Patients Who Leave Against Medical Advice from U.S. General Hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Tawk, Rima; Dutton, Matthew

2015-12-31

There is a paucity of published literature on the length of hospital stays (LOS) for patients who leave against medical advice (AMA) and on the factors that predict their LOS. The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between race and the LOS for AMA patients after adjusting for patient and hospital characteristics. National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) data were used to describe LOS for AMA patients aged 18 years or older. Patient characteristics included age, sex, race, marital status, insurance, and diagnosis (ICD-9-CM). Hospital characteristics consisted of ownership, region and bed size. LOS was the major outcome measure. Using data from all years 1988-2006, the expected time to AMA discharge was first examined as a function of race, then adjusting for year terms, patient and hospital characteristics, and major medical diagnoses and mental illness. The unadjusted effect of race on the expected time of leaving AMA was about twice the adjusted effect. After controlling for the other covariates, the expected time to AMA discharge is 20% shorter for Blacks than Whites. The most significant predictors included age, insurance coverage, mental illness, gender, and region. Factors identified in this study offer insights into directions for evidence based- health policy to reduce AMA discharges.

Association of Hospitalization for Neurosurgical Operations in Magnet Hospitals With Mortality and Length of Stay.

Science.gov (United States)

Missios, Symeon; Bekelis, Kimon

2018-03-01

The association of Magnet hospital status with improved surgical outcomes remains an issue of debate. To investigate whether hospitalization in a Magnet hospital is associated with improved outcomes for patients undergoing neurosurgical operations. A cohort study was executed using all patients undergoing neurosurgical operations in New York registered in the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System database from 2009 to 2013. We examined the association of Magnet status hospitalization after neurosurgical operations with inpatient case fatality and length of stay (LOS). We employed an instrumental variable analysis to simulate a randomized trial. Overall, 190 787 patients underwent neurosurgical operations. Of these, 68 046 (35.7%) were hospitalized in Magnet hospitals, and 122 741 (64.3%) in non-Magnet institutions. Instrumental variable analysis demonstrated that hospitalization in Magnet hospitals was associated with decreased case fatality (adjusted difference, -0.8%; -95% confidence interval, -0.7% to -0.6%), and LOS (adjusted difference, -1.9; 95% confidence interval, -2.2 to -1.5) in comparison to non-Magnet hospitals. These associations were also observed in propensity score adjusted mixed effects models. These associations persisted in prespecified subgroups of patients undergoing spine surgery, craniotomy for tumor resection, or neurovascular interventions. We identified an association of Magnet hospitals with lower case fatality, and shorter LOS in a comprehensive New York State patient cohort undergoing neurosurgical procedures. Copyright © 2017 by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons

Early Exercise in the Burn Intensive Care Unit Decreases Hospital Stay, Improves Mental Health, and Physical Performance

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-01

Decreases Hospital Stay, Improves Mental Health , and Physical Performance 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Oscar E. Suman, PhD...Multicenter Study of the Effect of In-Patient Exercise Training on Length of Hospitalization, Mental Health , and Physical Performance in Burned...Intensive Care Unit Decreases Hospital Stay, Improves Mental Health , and Physical Performance,” Proposal Log Number 13214039, Award Number W81XWH-14

Obesity Is Associated With More Complications and Longer Hospital Stays After Orthopaedic Trauma.

Science.gov (United States)

Childs, Benjamin R; Nahm, Nickolas J; Dolenc, Andrea J; Vallier, Heather A

2015-11-01

The objective of this study was to characterize relationships between obesity and initial hospital stay, including complications, in patients with multiple system trauma and surgically treated fractures. Prospective, observational. Level 1 trauma center. Three hundred seventy-six patients with an Injury Severity Score greater than 16 and mechanically unstable high-energy fractures of the femur, pelvic ring, acetabulum, or spine requiring stabilization. Data for obese (body mass index ≥ 30) versus nonobese patients included presence of pneumonia, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, infection, organ failure, and mortality. Days in ICU and hospital, days on ventilator, transfusions, and surgical details were documented. Complications occurred more often in obese patients (38.0% vs. 28.4%, P = 0.03), with more acute renal failure (5.70% vs. 1.38%, P = 0.02) and infection (11.4% vs. 5.50%, P = 0.04). Days in ICU and mechanical ventilation times were longer for obese patients (7.06 vs. 5.25 days, P = 0.05 and 4.92 vs. 2.90 days, P = 0.007, respectively). Mean total hospital stay was also longer for obese patients (12.3 vs. 9.79 days, P = 0.009). No significant differences in rates of mortality, multiple organ failure, or pulmonary complications were noted. Medically stable obese patients were almost twice as likely to experience delayed fracture fixation due to preference of the surgeon and were more likely to experience delay overall (26.0% vs. 16.1%; P = 0.02). Mean time from injury to fixation was 34.9 hours in obese patients versus 23.7 hours in nonobese patients (P = 0.03). Obesity was noted among 42% of our trauma patients. In obese patients, complications occurred more often and hospital and ICU stays were significantly longer. These increases are likely to be associated with greater hospital costs. Surgeon decision to delay procedures in medically stable obese patients may have contributed to these findings; definitive fixation was more likely to be

Effect of Job Specialization on the Hospital Stay and Job Satisfaction of ED Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Shamsi, Vahid; Mahmoudi, Hosein; Sirati Nir, Masoud; Babatabar Darzi, Hosein

2016-02-01

In recent decades, the increasing crowdedness of the emergency departments has posed various problems for patients and healthcare systems worldwide. These problems include prolonged hospital stay, patient dissatisfaction and nurse burnout or job dissatisfaction. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of emergency department (ED) nurses' job specialization on their job satisfaction and the length of patient stay in the ED. This before-after quasi-experimental study was conducted from April to May 2014 at the Baqiyatallah Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Initially, 35 patients were recruited as controls and the length of their stay in the ED was measured in minutes via a chronometer; Moreover, nurses' job satisfaction was evaluated using the Mohrman-Cooke-Mohrman job satisfaction scale. Then, a job specialization intervention was developed based on the stabilization model. After that, 35 new patients were recruited to the treatment group and received specialized care services. Accordingly, the length of their stay in the ED was measured. Moreover, the same nurses' job satisfaction was re-evaluated after the study. The study intervention lasted one month. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 20 and statistical tests such as the Kolmogrov-Smirnov, the paired and the independent t, and chi-square tests. There was a significant difference between the two groups of patients concerning the length of their stay in the ED (P nurses had greater job satisfaction after the study (P job specialization intervention can improve nurses' satisfaction and relieve the crowdedness of the EDs.

Readmission rates after a planned hospital stay of 2 versus 3 days in fast-track colonic surgery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jens; Hjort-Jakobsen, Dorthe; Christiansen, P. S.

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND: Initial programmes of fast-track open colonic surgery with a planned 2-day postoperative hospital stay have had a high readmission rate (about 20 per cent). The aim of this large, consecutive series was to compare readmission rates after a fast-track open colonic surgery programme....... There was no difference in type and incidence of morbidity between the two periods. CONCLUSION: Readmission after fast-track open colonic resection was reduced by planning discharge 3 instead of 2 days after surgery, with the same discharge criteria. Copyright (c) 2007 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published...... from August 2004. All patients were examined 8 and 30 days after surgery. RESULTS: Readmission rates fell from 20.1 per cent in 408 patients with a planned 2-day hospital stay (period 1) to 11.3 per cent in 133 patients with a planned 3-day hospital stay (period 2) (P

[Results of pulmonary embolism treatment in a tertiary hospital short stay unit. Is this the right place?].

Science.gov (United States)

Rosa Salazar, V; Bernal Martínez, L; García Pino, M J; Hernández Contreras, M E; García Méndez, M M; García Pérez, B; Marras Fernández-Cid, C

2016-01-01

To determine the mean stay (MS) of patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) in a thrombosis unit (TU) with a short stay unit (SSU) in a tertiary hospital. To compare the data collected with those of other hospitals in the same region, of other regions (Autonomous Communities [AACC]), and within the same hospital in the year before the SSU opened. A descriptive retrospective observational study that included patients with a diagnosis of PE in the University Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca (HCUVA) in 2012. These data were classified by hospital department, and used for calculating the mean stay. This was then compared with that of other hospitals in our region, with the rest of the regions, and with the data in 2007 (the last year without a TU). A total of 113patients with PE were included, 60 (53%) in the TU with an MS of 4.39, in Oncology, 7.45, and Internal Medicine (IM), 15.38days. There were no deaths in the TU and only 3 (5%) readmissions. Published data showed that the MS in all hospitals in our region was 8.25, 5.18 in our hospital, and higher in the rest of hospitals. The best AACC was the Basque Country with an MS of 6.85days. In 2007, there were 70patients with PE in the HCUVA, 34 (49%) in IM, with an MS of 8.50, Oncology 11 (31%) with an MS 9.64, and Chest Diseases 3 (4.3%) with an MS 19days, and with an overall mortality of 11% and a rate of readmissions in IM of 6%. The mean stay for a PE in the SSU of a TU was lower than in the rest of the hospital departments, lower than the rest hospitals of our region, lower than the rest of the regions, and lower than any department of our hospital before the SSU existed, without increasing the readmission or mortality rate. Copyright © 2015 SECA. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Reducing the length of hospital stay after total knee arthroplasty: influence of femoral and sciatic nerve block.

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho Júnior, Lúcio Honório de; Temponi, Eduardo Frois; Paganini, Vinícius Oliveira; Costa, Lincoln Paiva; Soares, Luiz Fernando Machado; Gonçalves, Matheus Braga Jacques

2015-01-01

the aim of this study is to evaluate the change in length of hospital stay postoperatively for Total Knee Arthroplasty after using femoral and sciatic nerve block. the medical records of 287 patients were evaluated, taking into account the number of hours of admission, the percentage and the reason for re-hospitalization within 30 days, as well as associated complications. All patients were divided into two groups according or not to whether they were admitted to ICU or not. During the years 2009 and 2010, isolated spinal anesthesia was the method used in the procedure. From 2011 on, femoral and sciatic nerve blocking was introduced. between the years 2009 and 2012, the average length of stay ranged from 74 hours in 2009 to 75.2 hours in 2010. The average length of stay in 2011 was 56.52 hours and 53.72 hours in 2012, all in the group of patients who did not remain in the ICU postoperatively. In the same period, among those in the group that needed ICU admission, the average length of stay was 138.7 hours in 2009, 90.25 hours in 2010, 79.8 hours in 2011, and 52.91 hours in 2012. During 2009 and 2010, the rate of re-hospitalization was 0%, while in 2011 and 2012, were 3.44% and 1%, respectively. according to this study, the use of femoral and sciatic nerve blocking after total knee arthroplasty allowed significant reduction in hospital stay.

Association of type 2 diabetes with prolonged hospital stay and increased rate of readmission in patients with lower limb cellulitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wijayaratna, S M; Cundy, T; Drury, P L; Sehgal, S; Wijayaratna, S A; Wu, F

2017-01-01

Lower limb (LL) cellulitis-related hospitalisations are prevalent in type 2 diabetes subjects. We assess its costs and factors associated with length of stay and readmissions. A retrospective case-control study at an urban hospital servicing a multi-ethnic population in New Zealand, where 7% of the adult population is estimated to have diabetes. Admissions with LL cellulitis in 2008-2013 were identified using coding records. Subsequent hospitalisations after 1 month with the same diagnosis were classified as readmissions. Glycaemic control was assessed by HbA1c measured within 6 months of the index admission. There were 4600 admissions with LL cellulitis in 3636 patients, including 719 patients (20%) with type 2 diabetes. Hospital stay was longer for type 2 diabetes patients (median 5.3 vs 3.0 days, P < 0.001), independent of age, ethnicity and HbA1c. Accompanying LL ulceration was more frequent in type 2 diabetes patients (50% vs 17%, P < 0.001); however, admissions remained longer for type 2 diabetes patients without ulceration (median 3.4 vs 2.8 days, P < 0.001). Readmission rates were also higher in type 2 diabetes patients compared to non-diabetes patients (HR 1.7, P < 0.001), even in the absence of ulceration (HR 2.2, P < 0.001). Age, HbA1c and ethnicity did not distinguish those prone to readmissions in the type 2 diabetes cohort. Type 2 diabetes patients accounted for a fifth of all admissions and one third of the estimated costs. A high proportion of patients with type 2 diabetes was admitted with LL cellulitis. They had significantly longer admissions and higher readmission rates. Age, HbA1c and ethnicity did not predict length of stay or recurrence. © 2016 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

Predictors of hospital stay and home care services use: a population-based, retrospective cohort study in stage IV gastric cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahar, Alyson L; Coburn, Natalie G; Viola, Raymond; Johnson, Ana P

2015-02-01

Home care services use has been proposed as a means of reducing costs in palliative care by decreasing hospital stay without impacting quality of clinical care; however, little is known about utilization of these services in the time following a terminal cancer diagnosis. To examine disease, patient and healthcare system predictors of hospital stay, and home care services use in metastatic gastric cancer patients. This is a population-based, retrospective cohort study. Chart review and administrative data were linked, using a 26-month time horizon to collect health services data. All patients diagnosed with metastatic gastric cancer in the province of Ontario between 2005 and 2008 were included in the study (n = 1433). Age, comorbidity, tumor location, and burden of metastatic disease were identified as predictors of hospital stay and receipt of home care services. Individuals who received home care services spent fewer days in hospital than individuals who did not (relative risk: 0.44; 95% confidence interval: 0.38-0.51). Patients who interacted with a high-volume oncology specialist had shorter cumulative hospital stay (relative risk: 0.62; 95% confidence interval: 0.54-0.71) and were less likely to receive home care services (relative risk: 0.80; 95% confidence interval: 0.72-0.88) than those who did not. Examining how differences in hospital stay and home care services use impact clinical outcomes and how policies may reduce costs to the healthcare system is necessary. © The Author(s) 2014.

Convalescence and hospital stay after colonic surgery with balanced analgesia, early oral feeding, and enforced mobilisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møiniche, S; Bülow, Steffen; Hesselfeldt, Peter

1995-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the combined effects of pain relief by continuous epidural analgesia, early oral feeding and enforced mobilisation on convalescence and hospital stay after colonic resection. DESIGN: Uncontrolled pilot investigation. SETTING: University hospital, Denmark. SUBJECTS: 17...... unselected patients (median age 69 years) undergoing colonic resection. INTERVENTIONS: Patients received combined epidural and general anaesthesia during operations and after operation were given continuous epidural bupivacaine 0.25%, 4 ml hour and morphine 0.2 mg hour, for 96 hours and oral paracetamol 4 g...... weight loss. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that a combined approach of optimal pain relief with balanced analgesia, enforced early mobilisation, and oral feeding, may reduce the length of convalescence and hospital stay after colonic operations....

Waiving the three-day rule: admissions and length-of-stay at hospitals and skilled nursing facilities did not increase.

Science.gov (United States)

Grebla, Regina C; Keohane, Laura; Lee, Yoojin; Lipsitz, Lewis A; Rahman, Momotazur; Trivedi, Amal N

2015-08-01

The traditional Medicare program requires an enrollee to have a hospital stay of at least three consecutive calendar days to qualify for coverage of subsequent postacute care in a skilled nursing facility. This long-standing policy, implemented to discourage premature discharges from hospitals, might now be inappropriately lengthening hospital stays for patients who could be transferred sooner. To assess the implications of eliminating the three-day qualifying stay requirement, we compared hospital and postacute skilled nursing facility utilization among Medicare Advantage enrollees in matched plans that did or did not eliminate that requirement in 2006-10. Among hospitalized enrollees with a skilled nursing facility admission, the mean hospital length-of-stay declined from 6.9 days to 6.7 days for those no longer subject to the qualifying stay but increased from 6.1 to 6.6 days among those still subject to it, for a net decline of 0.7 day when the three-day stay requirement was eliminated. The elimination was not associated with more hospital or skilled nursing facility admissions or with longer lengths-of-stay in a skilled nursing facility. These findings suggest that eliminating the three-day stay requirement conferred savings on Medicare Advantage plans and that study of the requirement in traditional Medicare plans is warranted. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

The impact of reducing intensive care unit length of stay on hospital costs: evidence from a tertiary care hospital in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Jessica; Kobewka, Daniel; Thavorn, Kednapa; D'Egidio, Gianni; Rosenberg, Erin; Kyeremanteng, Kwadwo

2018-02-23

To use theoretical modelling exercises to determine the effect of reduced intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS) on total hospital costs at a Canadian centre. We conducted a retrospective cost analysis from the perspective of one tertiary teaching hospital in Canada. Cost, demographic, clinical, and LOS data were retrieved through case-costing, patient registry, and hospital abstract systems of The Ottawa Hospital Data Warehouse for all new in-patient ward (30,483) and ICU (2,239) encounters between April 2012 and March 2013. Aggregate mean daily variable direct (VD) costs for ICU vs ward encounters were summarized by admission day number, LOS, and cost centre. The mean daily VD cost per ICU patient was $2,472 (CAD), accounting for 67.0% of total daily ICU costs per patient and $717 for patients admitted to the ward. Variable direct cost is greatest on the first day of ICU admission ($3,708), and then decreases by 39.8% to plateau by the fifth day of admission. Reducing LOS among patients with ICU stays ≥ four days could potentially result in an annual hospital cost saving of $852,146 which represents 0.3% of total in-patient hospital costs and 1.2% of ICU costs. Reducing ICU LOS has limited cost-saving potential given that ICU costs are greatest early in the course of admission, and this study does not support the notion of reducing ICU LOS as a sole cost-saving strategy.

Outcomes of interprofessional collaboration for hospitalized cancer patients.

Science.gov (United States)

San Martin-Rodriguez, Leticia; D'Amour, Danielle; Leduc, Nicole

2008-01-01

This study aims to evaluate the effect of the intensity of interprofessional collaboration on hospitalized cancer patients. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 312 patients to examine the effects of intensity of interprofessional collaboration (low vs high intensity collaboration) on patient satisfaction, uncertainty, pain management, and length of stay. Data on the intensity of interprofessional collaboration, patient satisfaction, and uncertainty were collected from professionals and patients using valid and reliable instruments. Administrative and clinical records were used to calculate the index of pain management and length of hospital stay. The analysis revealed the existence of significant differences between patients who are cared for by teams operating with a high intensity of collaboration and those who are cared for by teams operating with a low intensity of collaboration, as measured by the mean satisfaction (P management (P = .047). The analysis also found no significant difference (P = .217) in their length of hospital stay. The findings suggest that intensity of interprofessional collaboration has a positive effect on patient satisfaction, reduces uncertainty, and improves pain management, yet they also suggest that the degree of collaboration does not influence the length of hospital stay.

Radiology imaging delays as independent predictors of length of hospital stay for emergency medical admissions.

Science.gov (United States)

Cournane, S; Conway, R; Creagh, D; Byrne, D G; Sheehy, N; Silke, B

2016-09-01

To investigate the extent to which the time to completion for computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound could be shown to influence the length of stay and costs incurred while in hospital, while accounting for patient acuity. All emergency admissions, totalling 25,326 imaging investigations between 2010-2014 were evaluated. The 50(th), 75(th), and 90(th) centiles of completion times for each imaging type was entered into a multivariable truncated Poisson regression model predicting the length of hospital stay. Estimates of risk (odds or incidence rate ratios [IRRs]) of the regressors were adjusted for acute illness severity, Charlson comorbidity index, chronic disabling disease score, and sepsis status. Quantile regression analysis was used to examine the impact of imaging on total hospital costs. For all imaging examinations, longer hospital lengths of stay were shown to be related to delays in imaging time. Increased delays in CT and MRI were shown to be associated with increased hospital episode costs, while ultrasound did not independently predict increased hospital costs. The magnitude of the effect of imaging delays on episode costs were equivalent to some measures of illness severity. CT, MRI, and ultrasound are undertaken in patients with differing clinical complexity; however, even with adjustment for complexity, the time delay in a more expeditious radiological service could potentially shorten the hospital episode and reduce costs. Copyright © 2016 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of laparoscopic and open appendectomy in terms of operative time, hospital stay and frequency of surgical site infection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibrahim, T.; Saleem, M.R.; Aziz, O.B.; Arshad, A.

2014-01-01

To compare laparoscopic and conventional open appendectomy in terms of operative time, hospital stay and frequency of surgical site infection (SSI). Patient and Methods: A total of 417 patients underwent appendectomy during this period. 137 patients underwent laparoscopic appendectomy (group A) while 280 patient had open appendectomy (group B). The samples include all patients who were operated open between the time span of june 2010 to september 2011. A chi square-test was performed to compare the data for statistical significance. Result: Mean operative time for group A was 79.21+-23.42 minitues where as in group B, the mean operative time was 41.49+-20.86 minitues. Group A patients had a shorter hospital 1 stay (3.6+-1 day) but in group B it was (5.2+-3 days). Seven patients (5.1 %) developed surgical site infection (SSI) in group A and 34 patients (12.14 %)developed postoperative SSI in group B. Conclusion: Laparoscopic appendectomy is superior to open appendectomy because of shorter hospital stay and laser-operative SSI, but requires longer operative time. (author)

Reducing the length of hospital stay after total knee arthroplasty: influence of femoral and sciatic nerve block

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lúcio Honório de Carvalho Júnior

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: the aim of this study is to evaluate the change in length of hospital stay postoperatively for Total Knee Arthroplasty after using femoral and sciatic nerve block. Materials and methods: the medical records of 287 patients were evaluated, taking into account the number of hours of admission, the percentage and the reason for re-hospitalization within 30 days, as well as associated complications. All patients were divided into two groups according or not to whether they were admitted to ICU or not. During the years 2009 and 2010, isolated spinal anesthesia was the method used in the procedure. From 2011 on, femoral and sciatic nerve blocking was introduced. Results: between the years 2009 and 2012, the average length of stay ranged from 74 hours in 2009 to 75.2 hours in 2010. The average length of stay in 2011 was 56.52 hours and 53.72 hours in 2012, all in the group of patients who did not remain in the ICU postoperatively. In the same period, among those in the group that needed ICU admission, the average length of stay was 138.7 hours in 2009, 90.25 hours in 2010, 79.8 hours in 2011, and 52.91 hours in 2012. During 2009 and 2010, the rate of re-hospitalization was 0%, while in 2011 and 2012, were 3.44% and 1%, respectively. Conclusion: according to this study, the use of femoral and sciatic nerve blocking after total knee arthroplasty allowed significant reduction in hospital stay.

A comprehensive payment model for short- and long-stay psychiatric patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Fries, B E; Durance, P W; Nerenz, D R; Ashcraft, M L

1993-01-01

In this article, a payment model is developed for a hospital system with both acute- and chronic-stay psychiatric patients. "Transition pricing" provides a balance between the incentives of an episode-based system and the necessity of per diem long-term payments. Payment is dependent on two new psychiatric resident classification systems for short- and long-term stays. Data on per diem cost of inpatient care, by day of stay, was computed from a sample of 2,968 patients from 100 psychiatric units in 51 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers. Using a 9-month cohort of all VA psychiatric discharges nationwide (79,337 with non-chronic stays), profits and losses were simulated.

Understanding variation in length of hospital stay for COPD exacerbation: European COPD audit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mamta Ruparel

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD care across Europe has high heterogeneity with respect to cost and the services available. Variations in length of stay (LOS may be attributed to patient characteristics, resource and organisational characteristics, and/or the so-called hospital cluster effect. The European COPD Audit in 13 countries included data from 16 018 hospitalised patients. The recorded variables included information on patient and disease characteristics, and resources available. Variables associated with LOS were evaluated by a multivariate, multilevel analysis. Mean±sd LOS was 8.7±8.3 days (median 7 days, interquartile range 4–11 days. Crude variability between countries was reduced after accounting for clinical factors and the clustering effect. The main factors associated with LOS being longer than the median were related to disease or exacerbation severity, including GOLD class IV (OR 1.77 and use of mechanical ventilation (OR 2.15. Few individual resource variables were associated with LOS after accounting for the hospital cluster effect. This study emphasises the importance of the patients' clinical severity at presentation in predicting LOS. Identifying patients at risk of a long hospital stay at admission and providing targeted interventions offers the potential to reduce LOS for these individuals. The complex interactions between factors and systems were more important that any single resource or organisational factor in determining differences in LOS between hospitals or countries.

Radiology imaging delays as independent predictors of length of hospital stay for emergency medical admissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cournane, S.; Conway, R.; Creagh, D.; Byrne, D.G.; Sheehy, N.; Silke, B.

2016-01-01

Aim: To investigate the extent to which the time to completion for computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound could be shown to influence the length of stay and costs incurred while in hospital, while accounting for patient acuity. Materials and methods: All emergency admissions, totalling 25,326 imaging investigations between 2010–2014 were evaluated. The 50"t"h, 75"t"h, and 90"t"h centiles of completion times for each imaging type was entered into a multivariable truncated Poisson regression model predicting the length of hospital stay. Estimates of risk (odds or incidence rate ratios [IRRs]) of the regressors were adjusted for acute illness severity, Charlson comorbidity index, chronic disabling disease score, and sepsis status. Quantile regression analysis was used to examine the impact of imaging on total hospital costs. Results: For all imaging examinations, longer hospital lengths of stay were shown to be related to delays in imaging time. Increased delays in CT and MRI were shown to be associated with increased hospital episode costs, while ultrasound did not independently predict increased hospital costs. The magnitude of the effect of imaging delays on episode costs were equivalent to some measures of illness severity. Conclusion: CT, MRI, and ultrasound are undertaken in patients with differing clinical complexity; however, even with adjustment for complexity, the time delay in a more expeditious radiological service could potentially shorten the hospital episode and reduce costs. - Highlights: • There are differing clinical complexities for patients depending on the modality. • A predictive risk model, incorporating advanced imaging, was devised. • Inpatients delays in radiology imaging associated with longer LOS. • Inpatients who underwent radiology imaging associated with increased hospital costs.

The effects of inpatient exercise therapy on the length of hospital stay in stages I-III colon cancer patients: randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Ki-Yong; Hur, Hyuk; Kim, Dong-Hyun; Min, Jihee; Jeong, Duck Hyoun; Chu, Sang Hui; Lee, Ji Won; Ligibel, Jennifer A; Meyerhardt, Jeffrey A; Jones, Lee W; Jeon, Justin Y; Kim, Nam Kyu

2013-05-01

This study aimed to examine the effects of a postsurgical, inpatient exercise program on postoperative recovery in operable colon cancer patients We conducted the randomized controlled trial with two arms: postoperative exercise vs. usual care. Patients with stages I-III colon cancer who underwent colectomy between January and December 2011 from the Colorectal Cancer Clinic, were recruited for the study. Subjects in the intervention group participated in the postoperative inpatient exercise program consisted of twice daily exercise, including stretching, core, balance, and low-intensity resistance exercises. The usual care group was not prescribed a structured exercise program. The primary endpoint was the length of hospital stay. Secondary endpoints were time to flatus, time to first liquid diet, anthropometric measurements, and physical function measurements. A total of 31 (86.1 %) patients completed the trial, with adherence to exercise interventions at 84.5 %. The mean length of hospital stay was 7.82 ± 1.07 days in the exercise group compared with 9.86 ± 2.66 days in usual care (mean difference, 2.03 days; 95 % confidence interval (CI), -3.47 to -0.60 days; p = 0.005) in per-protocol analysis. The mean time to flatus was 52.18 ± 21.55 h in the exercise group compared with 71.86 ± 29.2 h in the usual care group (mean difference, 19.69 h; 95 % CI, -38.33 to -1.04 h; p = 0.036). Low-to-moderate-intensity postsurgical exercise reduces length of hospital stay and improves bowel motility after colectomy procedure in patients with stages I-III colon cancer.

The Relationship Between Length of Stay and Readmissions in Bariatric Surgery Patients

Science.gov (United States)

Lois, Alex W.; Frelich, Matthew J.; Sahr, Natasha A.; Hohmann, Samuel F.; Wang, Tao; Gould, Jon C.

2015-01-01

Background Hospital readmissions are a quality indicator in bariatric surgery. In recent years, length of stay following bariatric surgery has trended down significantly. We hypothesized that a shorter postoperative hospitalization does not increase the likelihood of readmission. Methods The University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) is an alliance of academic medical centers and affiliated hospitals. The UHC’s clinical database contains information on inpatient stay and returns (readmissions) up to 30 days post-discharge. A multicenter analysis of outcomes was performed using data from the January 2009 to December 2013 for patients 18 years and older. Patients were identified by bariatric procedure ICD-9 codes and restricted by diagnosis codes for morbid obesity. Results A total of 95,294 patients met inclusion criteria. The mean patient age was 45.4 (±0.11) years and 73,941 (77.6%) subjects were female. There were 5,423 (5.7%) readmissions within the study period. Patients with hospitalizations of 3 days and more than 3 days were twice and four times as likely to be readmitted than those with hospitalizations of one day, respectively (pbariatric surgery. Early discharge does not appear to be associated with increased readmission rates. PMID:26032831

Operative time, blood loss, hemoglobin drop, blood transfusion, and hospital stay in orthognathic surgery.

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Salma, Ra'ed Ghaleb; Al-Shammari, Fahad Mohammed; Al-Garni, Bishi Abdullah; Al-Qarzaee, Mohammed Abdullah

2017-06-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the operative time, blood loss, hemoglobin drop, blood transfusion, and length of hospital stay in orthognathic surgery. A 10-year retrospective analysis was performed on patients who underwent bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (with or without genioplasty), Le Fort I osteotomy (with or without genioplasty), or any combination of these procedures. A total of 271 patients were included. The age range was 17 to 49 years, with a mean age of 24.13 ± 4.51 years. Approximately 62% of patients underwent double-jaw surgery. The most common procedure was bilateral sagittal split with Le Fort I (37%). The average operative time was 3.96 ± 1.25 h. The mean estimated blood loss was 345.2 ± 149.74 mL. Approximately 9% of patients received intraoperative blood transfusion. The mean hemoglobin drop in the non-transfusion cases was 2.38 ± 0.89 g/dL. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 1.85 ± 0.83 days. Only one patient was admitted to the ICU for one night. In orthognathic surgery, blood loss is relatively minor, blood transfusion is frequent, and ICU admission is unlikely. Operative time, blood loss, blood transfusion, and the complexity of the surgical procedure can significantly increase the length of hospital stay. Males may bleed more than females in orthognathic surgery. Hemoglobin drop can be overestimated due to hemodilution in orthognathic surgery, which may influence the decision to use blood transfusion.

[Screening for malnutrition among hospitalized patients in a Colombian University Hospital].

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Cruz, Viviana; Bernal, Laura; Buitrago, Giancarlo; Ruiz, Álvaro J

2017-04-01

On admission, 30 to 50% of hospitalized patients have some degree of malnutrition, which is associated with longer length of stay, higher rates of complications, mortality and greater costs. To determine the frequency of screening for risk of malnutrition in medical records and assess the usefulness of the Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST). In a cross-sectional study, we searched for malnutrition screening in medical records, and we applied the MST tool to hospitalized patients at the Internal Medicine Wards of San Ignacio University Hospital. Of 295 patients included, none had been screened for malnutrition since hospital admission. Sixty one percent were at nutritional risk, with a higher prevalence among patients with HIV (85.7%), cancer (77.5%) and pneumonia. A positive MST result was associated with a 3.2 days increase in length of hospital stay (p = 0.024). The prevalence of malnutrition risk in hospitalized patients is high, but its screening is inadequate and it is underdiagnosed. The MST tool is simple, fast, low-cost, and has a good diagnostic performance.

Constipation prophylaxis reduces length of stay in elderly hospitalized heart failure patients with home laxative use.

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Staller, Kyle; Khalili, Hamed; Kuo, Braden

2015-11-01

Elderly, hospitalized patients suffer disproportionately from constipation; however, little data suggest that constipation prophylaxis reduces length of stay (LOS). We performed a retrospective analysis of elderly patients admitted to our hospital with congestive heart failure (CHF) to determine the effects of constipation prophylaxis on LOS. Patients ≥ 65 years old admitted with the diagnosis of CHF in 2012 were evaluated for home and hospital laxative use on admission. Our primary outcome was LOS. We used linear regression modeling to independently evaluate the impact of constipation prophylaxis on LOS. Among 618 patients who were eligible for our study, 201 (32.5%) were using laxatives at home, whereas 254 (41.1%) were started on a prophylactic laxative on admission. There was no significant difference in LOS between patients receiving prophylaxis versus those who did not (P = 0.32). Patients with home laxative use had a 1 day longer LOS compared to those without laxative use (6 vs 5, P = 0.03). Among patients with home laxative use, there were 2 days longer LOS in those who were not given constipation prophylaxis on admission (8 vs 6, P = 0.002). After multivariate adjustment, failure to use constipation prophylaxis in patients with home laxative use was the only independent predictor of increased LOS (P = 0.03). Among elderly patients admitted for CHF exacerbations, failure to use constipation prophylaxis in patients with home laxative use is associated with a significantly longer LOS. Our data suggest that routine use of bowel prophylaxis for elderly CHF patients with preexisting constipation may reduce LOS. © 2015 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Healthcare associated infections in Paediatric Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary care hospital in India: Hospital stay & extra costs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jitender Sodhi

2016-01-01

Interpretation & conclusions: This study highlights the effect of HAI on costs for PICU patients, especially costs due to prolongation of hospital stay, and suggests the need to develop effective strategies for prevention of HAI to reduce costs of health care.

Who chooses, who uses, who rates: the impact of agency on electronic word-of-mouth about hospitals stays.

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Drevs, Florian; Hinz, Vera

2014-01-01

Patients' agents rather than patients themselves often choose hospitals and rehabilitation centers and evaluate inpatient stays. Thus, online reviews of a hospital may reflect a service experience the patient is not responsible for in two ways. First, a patient may evaluate a hospital that a physician as agent has selected, although he still received the service and is qualified to evaluate it. Second, relatives who may not be directly involved in the inpatient stay may write online reviews, which reflect their own experiences and evaluations. The study analyzes patient satisfaction data in online hospitals reviews and patients' underlying motives for electronic word-of-mouth according to the type of hospital admission and the perspective of the reviewer. The study uses a sample of 822 reviews from an online platform for hospital reviews and primary data generated by an online survey distributed to the writers of these reviews. Patients who choose a hospital themselves write more positive online reviews than those with an other-directed choice. Relatives' online reviews more often deal with negative hospital experiences and are more likely to reflect a desire for retaliation. The study results imply that medical care centers (hospitals and rehabilitation facilities) should pay more attention to agency by focusing on the needs and perceptions of relatives who often act as the critical voice of patients in electronic word-of-mouth behavior.

The Determinants of Costs and Length of Stay for Hip Fracture Patients

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Castelli, Adriana; Daidone, Silvio; Jacobs, Rowena; Kasteridis, Panagiotis; Street, Andrew David

2015-01-01

Background and Purpose An ageing population at greater risk of proximal femoral fracture places an additional clinical and financial burden on hospital and community medical services. We analyse the variation in i) length of stay (LoS) in hospital and ii) costs across the acute care pathway for hip fracture from emergency admission, to hospital stay and follow-up outpatient appointments. Patients and Methods We analyse patient-level data from England for 2009/10 for around 60,000 hip fracture cases in 152 hospitals using a random effects generalized linear multi-level model where the dependent variable is given by the patient’s cost or length of stay (LoS). We control for socio-economic characteristics, type of fracture and intervention, co-morbidities, discharge destination of patients, and quality indicators. We also control for provider and social care characteristics. Results Older patients and those from more deprived areas have higher costs and LoS, as do those with specific co-morbidities or that develop pressure ulcers, and those transferred between hospitals or readmitted within 28 days. Costs are also higher for those having a computed tomography (CT) scan or cemented arthroscopy. Costs and LoS are lower for those admitted via a 24h emergency department, receiving surgery on the same day of admission, and discharged to their own homes. Interpretation Patient and treatment characteristics are more important as determinants of cost and LoS than provider or social care factors. A better understanding of the impact of these characteristics can support providers to develop treatment strategies and pathways to better manage this patient population. PMID:26204450

Length of stay, hospitalization cost, and in-hospital mortality in US adult inpatients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura, 2006-2012.

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An, Ruopeng; Wang, Peizhong Peter

2017-01-01

In this study, we examined the length of stay, hospitalization cost, and risk of in-hospital mortality among US adult inpatients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). We analyzed nationally representative data obtained from Nationwide/National Inpatient Sample database of discharges from 2006 to 2012. In the US, there were an estimated 296,870 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 284,831-308,909) patient discharges recorded for ITP from 2006 to 2012, during which ITP-related hospitalizations had increased steadily by nearly 30%. The average length of stay for an ITP-related hospitalization was found to be 6.02 days (95% CI: 5.93-6.10), which is 28% higher than that of the overall US discharge population (4.70 days, 95% CI: 4.66-4.74). The average cost of ITP-related hospitalizations was found to be US$16,594 (95% CI: US$16,257-US$16,931), which is 48% higher than that of the overall US discharge population (US$11,200; 95% CI: US$11,033-US$11,368). Gender- and age-adjusted mortality risk in inpatients with ITP was 22% (95% CI: 19%-24%) higher than that of the overall US discharge population. Across diagnosis related groups, length of stay for ITP-related hospitalizations was longest for septicemia (7.97 days, 95% CI: 7.55-8.39) and splenectomy (7.40 days, 95% CI: 6.94-7.86). Splenectomy (US$25,262; 95% CI: US$24,044-US$26,481) and septicemia (US$18,430; 95% CI: US$17,353-US$19,507) were associated with the highest cost of hospitalization. The prevalence of mortality in ITP-related hospitalizations was highest for septicemia (11.11%, 95% CI: 9.60%-12.63%) and intracranial hemorrhage (9.71%, 95% CI: 7.65%-11.77%). Inpatients with ITP had longer hospital stay, bore higher costs, and faced greater risk of mortality than the overall US discharge population.

Patient Awareness and Expectations of Pharmacist Services During Hospital Stay.

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King, Philip K; Martin, Steven J; Betka, Eric M

2017-10-01

There are insufficient data in the United States regarding patient awareness and expectations of hospital pharmacist availability and services. The objective of this research is to assess patient awareness and expectations of hospital pharmacist services and to determine whether a marketing campaign for pharmacist services increases patient awareness and expectations. Eligible inpatients were surveyed before and after implementation of a hospital-wide pharmacist services marketing campaign (12 items; Likert scale of 1 [strongly disagree] to 4 [strongly agree]; maximum total score of 48) regarding awareness of pharmacist services. The primary outcome was the change in median total survey scores from baseline. Other outcomes included the frequency of patient requests for pharmacists. Similar numbers of patients completed the survey before and after the campaign (intervention, n = 140, vs control, n = 147). Awareness of pharmacist availability and services was increased (41 [interquartile ranges, IQRs: 36-46] vs 37 [IQR 31-43]; P marketing campaign implementation. Awareness among inpatients of pharmacist services is low. Marketing pharmacist availability and services to patients in the hospital improves awareness and expectations for pharmacist-provided care and increases the frequency of patient-initiated interaction between pharmacists and patients. This could improve patient outcomes as pharmacists become more integrally involved in direct patient care.

Malnutrition in hospitalized patients: results from La Rioja.

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Martín Palmero, Ángela; Serrano Pérez, Andra; Chinchetru Ranedo, Mª José; Cámara Balda, Alejandro; Martínez de Salinas Santamarí, Mª Ángeles; Villar García, Gonzalo; Marín Lizárraga, Mª Del Mar

2017-03-30

There is a high malnutrition prevalence in hospitalized patients. To determine the malnutrition prevalence in hospitalized patients of La Rioja Community (Spain) when evaluated with different screening/ evaluation tools and its relationship with hospital stay and mortality. Cross sectional observational study of hospitalized adult patients (age > 18 years old) from medical and surgical departments that underwent within 72 h of their admission a nutritional screening with Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS) 2002, Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) y Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). 384 patients (273 medical and 111 surgical) were evaluated. Almost fifty percent of them were considered malnourished independently of the screening/assessment tool used. High concordance was found between SGA and NRS-2002 (k = 0.758). Malnourished patients had a longer hospital stay than those well-nourished (9.29 vs. 7.10 days; p = 0.002), used a greater number of medicines (9.2 vs. 7.4; p = 0.001) and underwent a higher number of diagnostic tests (16.4 vs. 12.5; p = 0,002). Half of the hospitalized patients in the medical and surgical department of La Rioja are malnourished. This is associated with a longer hospital stay, higher use of medicines, diagnostics tests and greater mortality. Malnutrition could be detected with easy screening tools to treat it appropriately.

Race-based differences in length of stay among patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy.

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Schneider, Eric B; Calkins, Keri L; Weiss, Matthew J; Herman, Joseph M; Wolfgang, Christopher L; Makary, Martin A; Ahuja, Nita; Haider, Adil H; Pawlik, Timothy M

2014-09-01

Race-based disparities in operative morbidity and mortality have been demonstrated for various procedures, including pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). Race-based differences in hospital length-of-stay (LOS), especially related to provider volume at the surgeon and hospital level, remain poorly defined. Using the 2003-2009 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, we determined year-specific PD volumes for surgeons and hospitals and grouped them into terciles. Patient race (white, black, or Hispanic), age, sex, and comorbidities were examined. Median length of stay was calculated, and multivariable logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with increased LOS. Among 4,319 eligible individuals, 3,502 (81.1%) were white, 423 (9.8%) were black, and 394 (9.1%) were Hispanic. Overall median LOS was 12 days (range, 0-234). Median annual surgeon volume was 8 (interquartile range [IQR], 2-19; range, 1-54). Annual hospital volume ranged from 1 to 129 (median, 19; IQR, 7-55). White patients were more likely to have been treated at medium- to high-volume hospitals (odds ratio [OR] 1.53, P < .001) and by medium- to high-volume surgeons (OR 1.62, P < .001) than black or Hispanic patients. After PD, white, black, and Hispanic patients demonstrated similar in-hospital mortality (5.1%, 5.7% and 7.2% respectively P = .250). After adjustment, black (OR 1.36, P = .010) and Hispanic (OR 1.68, P < .001) patients were more likely to have a greater LOS after PD. Black and Hispanic PD patients were less likely than white patients to be treated at higher-volume hospitals and by higher-volume surgeons. Proportional mortality and LOS after PD were greater among black and Hispanic patients. Copyright © 2014 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Mortality, readmission and length of stay have different relationships using hospital-level versus patient-level data: an example of the ecological fallacy affecting hospital performance indicators.

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Hofstede, Stefanie N; van Bodegom-Vos, Leti; Kringos, Dionne S; Steyerberg, Ewout; Marang-van de Mheen, Perla J

2018-06-01

Ecological fallacy refers to an erroneous inference about individuals on the basis of findings for the group to which those individuals belong. Suppose analysis of a large database shows that hospitals with a high proportion of long length of stay (LOS) patients also have higher than average in-hospital mortality. This may prompt efforts to reduce mortality among patients with long LOS. But patients with long LOS may not be the ones at higher risk of death. It may be that hospitals with higher mortality (regardless of LOS) also have more long LOS patients-either because of quality problems on both counts or because of unaccounted differences in case mix. To provide more insight how the ecological fallacy influences the evaluation of hospital performance indicators, we assessed whether hospital-level associations between in-hospital mortality, readmission and long LOS reflect patient-level associations. Patient admissions from the Dutch National Medical Registration (2007-2012) for specific diseases (stroke, colorectal carcinoma, heart failure, acute myocardial infarction and hip/knee replacements in patients with osteoarthritis) were analysed, as well as all admissions. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess patient-level associations. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to quantify hospital-level associations. Overall, we observed 2.2% in-hospital mortality, 8.1% readmissions and a mean LOS of 5.9 days among 8 478 884 admissions in 95 hospitals. Of the 10 disease-specific associations tested, 2 were reversed at hospital-level, 3 were consistent and 5 were only significant at either hospital-level or patient-level. A reversed association was found for stroke: patients with long LOS had 58% lower in-hospital mortality (OR 0.42 (95% CI 0.40 to 0.44)), whereas the hospital-level association was reversed (r=0.30, plevel associations were found for each hospital, but LOS varied across hospitals, thereby resulting in a positive hospital-level association

Do pressure ulcers influence length of hospital stay in surgical cardiothoracic patients? A prospective evaluation.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schuurman, J.P.; Schoonhoven, L.; Keller, B.P.; Ramshorst, B. van

2009-01-01

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: The aim and objective of this study was to determine whether the occurrence of pressure ulcers following cardiothoracic surgery increases the length of hospitalisation. BACKGROUND: Literature suggests that a pressure ulcer extends the length of hospital stay. The impact of

Cost of management in epistaxis admission: Impact of patient and hospital characteristics.

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Goljo, Erden; Dang, Rajan; Iloreta, Alfred M; Govindaraj, Satish

2015-12-01

To investigate patient and hospital characteristics associated with increased cost and length of stay in the inpatient management of epistaxis. Retrospective cross-sectional study of the 2008 to 2012 National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample. Patient and hospital characteristics of epistaxis admissions were analyzed. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to ascertain variables associated with increased cost and length of hospital stay. Variables significantly associated with high cost were further analyzed to determine the contribution of operative intervention and total procedures to cost. A total of 16,828 patients with an admitting diagnosis of epistaxis were identified. The average age was 67.5; 52.3% of the patients were male; 73.3% of the patients were Caucasian; and 70.7% of the hospital stays were government funded. The average length of stay was 3.24 days, and average hospitalization cost was $6,925. Longer length of stay was associated with black race, alcohol abuse, sinonasal disease, renal disease, Medicaid, and care at a northeastern U.S. hospital. Increased hospitalization costs of > $1,000 were associated with Asian/Pacific Islander race; sinonasal disease; renal disease; top income quartile; and care at urban teaching, northeastern, and western hospitals in the United States. High costs were predicted by procedural intervention in patients with comorbid alcohol abuse, sinonasal disease, renal disease, patients with private insurance, and patients managed at large hospitals. Although hospitalization costs are complex and multifactorial, we were able to identify patient and hospital characteristics associated with high costs in the management of epistaxis. Early identification and intervention, combined with implementation of targeted hospital management protocols, may improve outcomes and reduce financial burden. 2C. © 2015 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Trends In Complicated Newborn Hospital Stays and Costs..

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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The article, Trends In Complicated Newborn Hospital Stays and Costs, 2002-2009, Implications For the Future, published in Volume 4, Issue 4 of Medicare and Medicaid...

Effect of Job Specialization on the Hospital Stay and Job Satisfaction of ED Nurses

OpenAIRE

Shamsi; Mahmoudi; Sirati Nir; Babatabar Darzi

2016-01-01

Background In recent decades, the increasing crowdedness of the emergency departments has posed various problems for patients and healthcare systems worldwide. These problems include prolonged hospital stay, patient dissatisfaction and nurse burnout or job dissatisfaction. Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of emergency department (ED) nurses’ job specialization on their job satisfaction and the length ...

[Impact of an emergency department short-stay unit on clinical management and quality of hospital care indicators].

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Richard Espiga, Fernando; Mòdol Deltell, Josep María; Martín-Sánchez, Francisco Javier; Fernández Sierra, Abel; Fernández Pérez, Cristina; Pastor, Antoni Juan

2017-06-01

The primary aim was to study the impact that creating a short-stay unit (SSU) had on clinical management and quality of care indicators of a hospital overall and its conventional wards. The secondary aim was to establish values for those indicators and determine the level of satisfaction of patients admitted to the SSU. Quasi-experimental before-after study of the impact of establishing a SSU in a tertiary care teaching hospital. The first period (without the SSU) was in 2012, the second (with the SSU) was from 2013 through 2015. To meet the first objective we selected cases in 2012 in which patients were hospitalized for problems related to the 5 diagnosis-related groups most often admitted to the SSU in the second period. To meet the second objective, we studied all patients admitted to the SSU in the second period Data related to quality of care and clinical management were analyzed retrospectively. and asked them to complete a questionnaire on patient satisfaction. A total of 76 241 admissions were included: 19 090 in the first period and 57 151 in the second (2705 admissions were to the SSU). The mean hospital stay decreased in the second period (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.93; 95% CI, 0.91-0.95); the mean stay also decreased on medical wards (IRR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.92-0.96) with no impact on adverse outcomes. The mean stay in the SSU was under 3 days in spite of an increase in the weighted mean (IRR,1.08; 95% CI, 1.05-1.11). A total of 320 questionnaires were received (11.8% response rate); all aspects were assessed very highly. Our experience suggests that opening a SSU could improve clinical management and quality of care indicators for a hospital overall and for its conventional wards in the context of the GRDs that most frequently lead to admissions.

Pulmonary Embolism Inpatients Treated With Rivaroxaban Had Shorter Hospital Stays and Lower Costs Compared With Warfarin.

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Margolis, Jay M; Deitelzweig, Steven; Kline, Jeffrey; Tran, Oth; Smith, David M; Crivera, Concetta; Bookhart, Brahim; Schein, Jeff

2016-11-01

Using real-world data, this study compares inpatient length of stay (LOS) and costs for patients with a primary diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) initiating treatment with oral anticoagulation with rivaroxaban versus warfarin. Hospitalizations from MarketScan's Hospital Drug Database were selected from November 1, 2012, through December 31, 2013, for adults with a primary diagnosis of PE initiating treatment with rivaroxaban or warfarin. Warfarin patients were matched 1:1 to rivaroxaban patients using exact and propensity score matching. Hospital LOS, treatment patterns, and hospitalization costs were evaluated. Matched cohorts included 751 rivaroxaban-treated patients and 751 warfarin-treated patients. Adjusted mean LOS was 3.77 days for rivaroxaban patients (95% CI, 3.66-3.87 days) and 5.48 days for warfarin patients (95% CI, 5.33-5.63 days; P < .001). Mean (SD) LOS was shorter for patients taking rivaroxaban whether admission was for provoked PE (rivaroxaban: 5.2 [5.1] days; warfarin: 7.0 [6.5] days; P < .001) or unprovoked PE (rivaroxaban: 3.4 [2.3] days; warfarin: 5.1 [2.7] days; P < .001). Mean (SD) days from first dose to discharge were 2.5 (1.7) (rivaroxaban) and 4.0 (2.9) (warfarin) when initiated with parenteral anticoagulants (P < .001) and 2.7 (1.7) (rivaroxaban) and 4.0 (2.2) (warfarin) without parenteral anticoagulants (P < .001). The rivaroxaban cohort incurred significantly lower unadjusted mean (SD) hospitalization costs (rivaroxaban: $8473 [$9105]; warfarin: $10,291 [$9185]; P < .001), confirmed by covariate adjustment with generalized linear modeling estimating predicted mean hospitalization costs of $8266 for rivaroxaban patients (95% CI, $7851-$8681) and $10,511 for warfarin patients (95% CI, $10,031-$10,992; P < .001). patients with PE treated with rivaroxaban incurred significantly lower hospitalization costs by $2245 per admission compared with patients treated with warfarin, which was attributable to cost offsets from 1.71 fewer days of

Predicting discharge in forensic psychiatry: the legal and psychosocial factors associated with long and short stays in forensic psychiatric hospitals.

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Ross, Thomas; Querengässer, Jan; Fontao, María Isabel; Hoffmann, Klaus

2012-01-01

In Germany, both the number of patients treated in forensic psychiatric hospitals and the average inpatient treatment period have been increasing for over thirty years. Biographical and clinical factors, e.g., the number of prior offences, type of offence, and psychiatric diagnosis, count among the factors that influence the treatment duration and the likelihood of discharge. The aims of the current study were threefold: (1) to provide an estimate of the German forensic psychiatric patient population with a low likelihood of discharge, (2) to replicate a set of personal variables that predict a relatively high, as opposed to a low, likelihood of discharge from forensic psychiatric hospitals, and (3) to describe a group of other factors that are likely to add to the existing body of knowledge. Based on a sample of 899 patients, we applied a battery of primarily biographical and other personal variables to two subgroups of patients. The first subgroup of patients had been treated in a forensic psychiatric hospital according to section 63 of the German legal code for at least ten years (long-stay patients, n=137), whereas the second subgroup had been released after a maximum treatment period of four years (short-stay patients, n=67). The resulting logistic regression model had a high goodness of fit, with more than 85% of the patients correctly classified into the groups. In accordance with earlier studies, we found a series of personal variables, including age at first admission and type of offence, to be predictive of a short or long-stay. Other findings, such as the high number of immigrants among the short-stay patients and the significance of a patient's work time before admission to a forensic psychiatric hospital, are more clearly represented than has been observed in previous research. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of patient characteristics on care time in patients hospitalized with schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sugibayashi Y

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Yukiko Sugibayashi,1 Kimio Yoshimura,1 Keita Yamauchi,1,2 Ataru Inagaki,3 Naoki Ikegami1 1Department of Health Policy and Management, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, 2Keio University Graduate School of Health Management, Kanagawa, 3Aoyama Gakuin University, School of International Politics, Economics and Communication, Tokyo, Japan Background: In the current Japanese payment system for the treatment of psychiatric inpatients, the length of hospital stay and nurse staffing levels are key determinants of the amount of payment. These factors do not fully reflect the costs of care for each patient. The objective of this study was to clarify the relationship between patient characteristics and their care costs as measured by “care time” for patients with schizophrenia.Methods: Patient characteristics and care time were investigated in 14,557 inpatients in 102 psychiatric hospitals in Japan. Of these 14,557 inpatients, data for 8,379 with schizophrenia were analyzed using a tree-based model.Results: The factor exerting the greatest influence on care time was ”length of stay”, so subjects were divided into 2 groups, a “short stay group” with length of stay ≦104 days, and “long stay group” ≧105 days. Each group was further subdivided according to dependence with regard to “activities of daily living”, “psychomotor agitation”, “verbal abuse”, and “frequent demands/repetitive complaints”, which were critical variables affecting care time. The mean care time was shorter in the long-stay group; however, in some long-stay patients, the mean care time was considerably longer than that in patients in the short-stay group.Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that it is necessary to construct a new payment system reflecting not only length of stay and nurse staffing levels, but also individual patient characteristics. Keywords: psychiatric hospital, schizophrenia, care time, case mix, tree-based model

Early Discharge in Low-Risk Patients Hospitalized for Acute Coronary Syndromes: Feasibility, Safety and Reasons for Prolonged Length of Stay.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marie-Eva Laurencet

Full Text Available Length of hospital stay (LHS is an indicator of clinical effectiveness. Early hospital discharge (≤72 hours is recommended in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS at low risk of complications, but reasons for prolonged LHS poorly reported.We collected data of ACS patients hospitalized at the Geneva University Hospitals from 1st July 2013 to 30th June 2015 and used the Zwolle index score to identify patients at low risk (≤ 3 points. We assessed the proportion of eligible patients who were successfully discharged within 72 hours and the reasons for prolonged LHS. Outcomes were defined as adherence to recommended therapies, major adverse events at 30 days and patients' satisfaction using a Likert-scale patient-reported questionnaire.Among 370 patients with ACS, 255 (68.9% were at low-risk of complications but only 128 (50.2%were eligible for early discharge, because of other clinical reasons for prolonged LHS (e.g. staged coronary revascularization, cardiac monitoring in 127 patients (49.8%. Of the latter, only 45 (35.2% benefitted from an early discharge. Reasons for delay in discharge in the remaining 83 patients (51.2% were mainly due to delays in additional investigations, titration of medical therapy, admission or discharge during weekends. In the early discharge group, at 30 days, only one patient (2.2% had an adverse event (minor bleeding, 97% of patients were satisfied by the medical care.Early discharge was successfully achieved in one third of eligible ACS patients at low risk of complications and appeared sufficiently safe while being overall appreciated by the patients.

Early Discharge in Low-Risk Patients Hospitalized for Acute Coronary Syndromes: Feasibility, Safety and Reasons for Prolonged Length of Stay.

Science.gov (United States)

Laurencet, Marie-Eva; Girardin, François; Rigamonti, Fabio; Bevand, Anne; Meyer, Philippe; Carballo, David; Roffi, Marco; Noble, Stéphane; Mach, François; Gencer, Baris

2016-01-01

Length of hospital stay (LHS) is an indicator of clinical effectiveness. Early hospital discharge (≤72 hours) is recommended in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) at low risk of complications, but reasons for prolonged LHS poorly reported. We collected data of ACS patients hospitalized at the Geneva University Hospitals from 1st July 2013 to 30th June 2015 and used the Zwolle index score to identify patients at low risk (≤ 3 points). We assessed the proportion of eligible patients who were successfully discharged within 72 hours and the reasons for prolonged LHS. Outcomes were defined as adherence to recommended therapies, major adverse events at 30 days and patients' satisfaction using a Likert-scale patient-reported questionnaire. Among 370 patients with ACS, 255 (68.9%) were at low-risk of complications but only 128 (50.2%)were eligible for early discharge, because of other clinical reasons for prolonged LHS (e.g. staged coronary revascularization, cardiac monitoring) in 127 patients (49.8%). Of the latter, only 45 (35.2%) benefitted from an early discharge. Reasons for delay in discharge in the remaining 83 patients (51.2%) were mainly due to delays in additional investigations, titration of medical therapy, admission or discharge during weekends. In the early discharge group, at 30 days, only one patient (2.2%) had an adverse event (minor bleeding), 97% of patients were satisfied by the medical care. Early discharge was successfully achieved in one third of eligible ACS patients at low risk of complications and appeared sufficiently safe while being overall appreciated by the patients.

Variation in Hospital Length of Stay : Do Physicians Adapt Their Length of Stay Decisions to What Is Usual in the Hospital Where They Work?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jong, Judith D. de; Westert, Gert P.; Lagoe, Ronald; Groenewegen, Peter P.

2006-01-01

Objective. To test the hypothesis that physicianswho work in different hospitals adapt their length of stay decisions to what is usual in the hospital under consideration. Data Sources. Secondary data were used, originating from the Statewide Planning and ResearchCooperative System (SPARCS). SPARCS

Variation in hospital length of stay: do physicians adapt their length of stay decisions to what is usual in the hospital where they work?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jong, J.D. de; Westert, G.P.; Lagoe, R.; Groenewegen, P.P.

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that physicians who work in different hospitals adapt their length of stay decisions to what is usual in the hospital under consideration. DATA SOURCES: Secondary data were used, originating from the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS).

Length of Hospital Stay Prediction at the Admission Stage for Cardiology Patients Using Artificial Neural Network

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Pei-Fang (Jennifer Tsai

2016-01-01

Full Text Available For hospitals’ admission management, the ability to predict length of stay (LOS as early as in the preadmission stage might be helpful to monitor the quality of inpatient care. This study is to develop artificial neural network (ANN models to predict LOS for inpatients with one of the three primary diagnoses: coronary atherosclerosis (CAS, heart failure (HF, and acute myocardial infarction (AMI in a cardiovascular unit in a Christian hospital in Taipei, Taiwan. A total of 2,377 cardiology patients discharged between October 1, 2010, and December 31, 2011, were analyzed. Using ANN or linear regression model was able to predict correctly for 88.07% to 89.95% CAS patients at the predischarge stage and for 88.31% to 91.53% at the preadmission stage. For AMI or HF patients, the accuracy ranged from 64.12% to 66.78% at the predischarge stage and 63.69% to 67.47% at the preadmission stage when a tolerance of 2 days was allowed.

The Definition of a Prolonged Intensive Care Unit Stay for Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage Patients: An Application with National Health Insurance Research Database

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Chien-Lung Chan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Length of stay (LOS in the intensive care unit (ICU of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH patients is one of the most important issues. The disease severity, psychosocial factors, and institutional factors will influence the length of ICU stay. This study is used in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD to define the threshold of a prolonged ICU stay in sICH patients. Methods. This research collected the demographic data of sICH patients in the NHIRD from 2005 to 2009. The threshold of prolonged ICU stay was calculated using change point analysis. Results. There were 1599 sICH patients included. A prolonged ICU stay was defined as being equal to or longer than 10 days. There were 436 prolonged ICU stay cases and 1163 nonprolonged cases. Conclusion. This study showed that the threshold of a prolonged ICU stay is a good indicator of hospital utilization in ICH patients. Different hospitals have their own different care strategies that can be identified with a prolonged ICU stay. This indicator can be improved using quality control methods such as complications prevention and efficiency of ICU bed management. Patients’ stay in ICUs and in hospitals will be shorter if integrated care systems are established.

Hospital-Level Variation in Practice Patterns and Patient Outcomes for Pediatric Patients Hospitalized With Functional Constipation.

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Librizzi, Jamie; Flores, Samuel; Morse, Keith; Kelleher, Kelly; Carter, Jodi; Bode, Ryan

2017-06-01

Constipation is a common pediatric condition with a prevalence of 3% to 5% in children aged 4 to 17 years. Currently, there are no evidence-based guidelines for the management of pediatric patients hospitalized with constipation. The primary objective was to evaluate practice patterns and patient outcomes for the hospital management of functional constipation in US children's hospitals. We conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort study of children aged 0 to 18 years hospitalized for functional constipation from 2012 to 2014 by using the Pediatric Health Information System. Patients were included by using constipation and other related diagnoses as classified by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision . Patients with complex chronic conditions were excluded. Outcome measures included percentage of hospitalizations due to functional constipation, therapies used, length of stay, and 90-day readmission rates. Statistical analysis included means with 95% confidence intervals for individual hospital outcomes. A total of 14 243 hospitalizations were included, representing 12 804 unique patients. The overall percentage of hospitalizations due to functional constipation was 0.65% (range: 0.19%-1.41%, P hospitalization included: electrolyte laxatives: 40% to 96%; sodium phosphate enema: 0% to 64%; mineral oil enema: 0% to 61%; glycerin suppository: 0% to 37%; bisacodyl 0% to 47%; senna: 0% to 23%; and docusate 0% to 11%. Mean length of stay was 1.97 days (range: 1.31-2.73 days, P hospitalized with functional constipation across US children's hospitals. Collaborative initiatives to adopt evidence-based best practices guidelines could help standardize the hospital management of pediatric functional constipation. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Risk factors associated with malnutrition in hospitalized patients

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Roberta Flores Marquezini FRAGAS

2016-06-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective To identify factors associated with malnutrition in patients hospitalized in general public hospitals of the city of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Methods This cross-sectional study included 397 patients of both sexes aged more than 18 years, staying at three public hospitals in Manaus, Amazonas. The patients were submitted to anthropometric and subjective global assessments, the latter being the main diagnostic method. For association analyses between malnutrition (dependent variable and other covariates, we used contingency table for variable selection and multiple logistic regression for independent effect test between exposure and outcome. The strength of association between the variables was expressed as odds ratio, with a 95% confidence interval. The analyses were performed by Epi Info 7.0. Results Among the risk factors associated with hospital malnutrition, hospital stays longer than 15 days, when analyzed alone, nearly tripled the odds of malnutrition. However, in the final model, the variables that remained associated were: persistent change in diet, presence of gastrointestinal symptoms, recent weight loss, weight loss in the last six months, cancer, and age higher than 60 years. Conclusion Malnutrition is recurrent in hospitals, and the factors associated with malnutrition can be identified on admission, allowing adequate monitoring during hospital stay. Therefore, a more effective performance of nutritional screening and monitoring programs is critical.

Early Ambulation Decreases Length of Hospital Stay, Perioperative Complications and Improves Functional Outcomes in Elderly Patients Undergoing Surgery for Correction of Adult Degenerative Scoliosis.

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Adogwa, Owoicho; Elsamadicy, Aladine A; Fialkoff, Jared; Cheng, Joseph; Karikari, Isaac O; Bagley, Carlos

2017-09-15

Ambispective cohort review. To examine the effects of early mobilization on patient outcomes, complications profile, and 30-day readmission rates. Prolonged immobilization after surgery can result in functional decline and an increased risk of hospital-associated complications. We conducted an ambispective study of 125 elderly patients (>65 years) undergoing elective spinal surgery for correction of adult degenerative scoliosis. We identified all unplanned readmissions within 30 days of discharge. Unplanned readmissions were defined to have occurred as a result of either a surgical or a nonsurgical complication. "Days of immobility" was defined as the number of days until a patient moved out of bed beyond a chair. Patients in the top and bottom quartiles were dichotomized into "early ambulators" and "late ambulators", respectively. Early ambulators were ambulatory within 24 hours of surgery, whereas late ambulators were ambulatory at a minimum of 48 hours after surgery. Complication rates, duration of hospital stay, and 30-day readmission rates were compared between early ambulators and late ambulators. Baseline characteristics were similar between both cohorts. Compared with patients with a longer duration of immobility (i.e., late ambulators), the prevalence of at least one perioperative complication was significantly lower in the early ambulators cohort (30% vs. 54%, P = 0.06). The length of inhospital stay was 34% shorter in the early ambulators cohort (5.33 days vs. 8.11 days, P = 0.01). Functional independence was superior in the early ambulators cohort, with the majority of patients discharged directly home after surgery compared with late ambulators (71.2% vs. 22.0%, P = 0.01). Early ambulation after surgery significantly reduces the incidence of perioperative complications, shortens duration of inhospital stay, and contributes to improved perioperative functional status in elderly patients. Even a delay of 24 hours to ambulation is

Hip fracture in hospitalized medical patients

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Zapatero Antonio

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of the present study is to analyze the incidence of hip fracture as a complication of admissions to internal medicine units in Spain. Methods We analyzed the clinical data of 2,134,363 adults who had been admitted to internal medicine wards. The main outcome was a diagnosis of hip fracture during hospitalization. Outcome measures included rates of in-hospital fractures, length of stay and cost. Results A total of 1127 (0.057% admittances were coded with an in-hospital hip fracture. In hospital mortality rate was 27.9% vs 9.4%; p  Conclusions In-hospital hip fracture notably increased mortality during hospitalization, doubling the mean length of stay and mean cost of admission. These are reasons enough to stress the importance of designing and applying multidisciplinary plans focused on reducing the incidence of hip fractures in hospitalized patients.

The management of subjective quality of life by short-stay hospital patients: An exploratory study

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Karlinski Evelyn

2003-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This study tested the homeostatic model of subjective quality of life in a group of 47 short stay patients as they progressed through the stages of hospitalization for surgery. Method Participants completed a questionnaire measuring subjective quality of life, positive and negative affect, self-esteem, optimism and cognitive flexibility, the day prior to admission (T1, two days post-operation (T2 and one week after discharge (T3. Neuroticism and Extroversion were measured at Time 1. Results All variables remained stable across the three times, apart from positive affect, which dropped significantly post-operation but returned to its previous level post discharge. Conclusion Although the homeostatic model of subjective quality of life was supported at Time 1, the analyses raise doubts about the stability of personality. This finding is consistent with recent discussions of personality.

Day of Surgery Impacts Outcome: Rehabilitation Utilization on Hospital Length of Stay in Patients Undergoing Elective Meningioma Resection.

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Sarkiss, Christopher A; Papin, Joseph A; Yao, Amy; Lee, James; Sefcik, Roberta K; Oermann, Eric K; Gordon, Errol L; Post, Kalmon D; Bederson, Joshua B; Shrivastava, Raj K

2016-09-01

Meningiomas account for approximately one third of all brain tumors in the United States. In high-volume medical centers, the average length of stay (LOS) for a patient is 6.8 days compared with 8.8 days in low-volume centers with median total admission charges equaling approximately $55,000. To our knowledge, few studies have evaluated day of surgery and its effect on hospital LOS. Our primary goal was to analyze patient outcome as a direct result of surgical date, as well as to characterize the individual variables that may impact their hospital course, early access to rehabilitation, and long-term functional status. A retrospective database was generated for cranial meningioma patients who underwent elective surgical resection at our institution over a 3-year study period (2011-2014). Inclusion criteria included any patient who underwent elective meningioma resection and was discharged either home or to a rehabilitation facility with at least 6 months of follow-up. Exclusion criteria included any patient who was not discharged after resection (i.e., expired). Each patient's medical record was evaluated for a subset of demographics and clinical variables. Given that patients who undergo surgical resection of meningiomas have a national median LOS of 6 days, we subdivided the patients into 2 cohorts: early discharge (LOS Whitney test). Day of surgery may play a significant role in LOS for meningioma patients. Clinicians should remain aware of those factors that may delay optimal patient discharge and early access to rehabilitation facilities. Further studies will need to be performed to assess the social variables that may affect LOS, as well as the financial implications for such extended hospital courses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Nutritional status recording in hospitalized patient notes].

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Matos, L; Teixeira, M A; Henriques, A; Tavares, M M; Alvares, L; Antunes, A; Amaral, Teresa F

2007-01-01

The prevalence of disease-related malnutrition (DRM) is described to be of 30-60% on admission to hospital, and of 10% in the community. It has been associated with worse clinical outcomes, namely higher morbidity and mortality as well as higher frequency of health care and its associated costs. The lack of screening and monitoring of nutritional status have been said to be risk factors for the increased prevalence of DRM during hospital stay. The aims of this study were to evaluate the importance given by health care professionals to certain aspects related with nutritional status (weight, food intake) of hospital patients and to see if there were any differences between the under and non undernourished ones. A systematic sample of patients from six hospitals was collected. Pregnancy, paediatric age and critical illness were exclusion criteria as well as incapacity to fulfil nutritional risk screening protocol and length-of-stay less than 24h. Socio-demographic, anthropometric data and clinical notes (e.g. weight, food/nutrient intake) from medical records were collected and Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 protocol was applied. A total of 1152 patients were included in this study. The prevalence of nutritional risk varied between 28.5% and 47.3% while undernutrition classified by anthropometrical parameters was considerably lower (6.3% to 14.9%). Two thirds of the patients had their food intake monitored and registered in medical records but only one third were weighted. Undernourished patients had their food intake more frequently monitored but their weight was less frequently measured, than the well-nourished ones. DRM prevalence amongst hospital patients on admission is significantly high. Clinical notes regarding nutritional status is rather infrequent on medical records. This study showed that urges the need to empower health care providers of the importance of the screening and monitoring of weight and food intake, on admission and during hospital stay.

Costs for Hospital Stays in the United States, 2011

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... Lauren M. Wier, M.P.H., and Claudia Steiner, M.D., M.P.H. Introduction Health care ... Truven Health Analytics), Wier, LM (Truven Health Analytics), Steiner, C (AHRQ). Costs for Hospital Stays in the ...

Risk factors for prolonged hospital stay after isolated coronary artery bypass grafting

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Elayne Kelen de Oliveira

2013-09-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Characteristics of the patient and the coronary artery bypass grafting may predispose individuals to prolonged hospitalization, increasing costs and morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate individual and perioperative risk factors of prolonged hospitalization in intensive care units and wards. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study of 104 patients undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting with cardiopulmonary bypass. Patients hospitalized >3 days in the intensive care unit or >7 days in the ward were considered for the study. The association between variables was estimated by the chi-square test, odds ratio and logistic regression; P 3 days in the intensive care unit occurred for 22.1% of patients and >7 days in the ward for 27.9%. Among preoperative factors, diabetes (OR=3.17 and smoking (OR=4.07 were predictors of prolonged intensive care unit stay. Combining the pre-, intra-and postoperative variables, only mechanical ventilation for more than 24 hours (OR=6.10 was predictive of intensive care unit outcome. For the ward outcome, the preoperative predictor was left ventricular ejection fraction 24 hours for the intensive care unit and presence of infection for the ward.

Prevalence of malnutrition and associated factors among hospitalized elderly patients in King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

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Alzahrani, Sami H; Alamri, Sultan H

2017-07-03

Malnutrition is a nutritional disorder that adversely affects the body from a functional or clinical perspective. It is very often observed in the elderly population. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of malnutrition among hospitalized elderly patients and its associated factors and outcomes in terms of length of stay and mortality in King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In a cross-sectional study, we evaluated the nutritional status of hospitalized elderly patients using the most recent version of the short form of Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA-SF). A total of 248 hospitalized patients were included (70.0 ± 7.7 years; 60% female). According to the MNA-SF, a total of 76.6% patients were either malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. Malnourished patients had significantly lower levels of serum albumin (28.2 ± 7.7), hemoglobin (10.5 ± 1.8), and lymphocyte (1.7 ± 0.91). They had increased tendency to stay in the hospital for longer durations (IQR, 5-11 days; median = 7 days) and had a mortality rate of 6.9%. Malnutrition was highly prevalent among hospitalized elderly and was associated with increased length of stay and mortality.

Clinical outcome in measles patients hospitalized with complications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rehman, A.U.; Saeed, T.

2008-01-01

Measles is a highly communicable viral illness and is common cause of childhood mortality and morbidity. Keeping in view the high prevalence of measles in the developing world, we carried out this study to look into the complicated measles cases and clinical outcome in patients admitted in children ward of Ayub Teaching Hospital. Detailed history and physical examination of all the hospitalized patients with complication of measles were recorded in a proforma. Immunization and nutritional status of each admitted patient was assessed and the clinical outcome of measles was compared with demographic profile. one hundred thirty six hospitalized patients with complications of measles were studied. There was 60.3% male and 57.3% of patients were vaccinated against measles. Malnourished patients were 71.35% and had longer hospital stay (>5 days). Pneumonia (39.7%) and diarrhoea (38.2%) were the commonest complications. Seven children died and encephalitis (57.1%) was the commonest cause of death. The most common complications of measles are pneumonia and diarrhoea with dehydration requiring admission. Malnutrition results in more complications and longer hospital stay. Mortality is significantly associated with encephalitis. (author)

Geriatric comanagement reduces perioperative complications and shortens duration of hospital stay after lumbar spine surgery: a prospective single-institution experience.

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Adogwa, Owoicho; Elsamadicy, Aladine A; Vuong, Victoria D; Moreno, Jessica; Cheng, Joseph; Karikari, Isaac O; Bagley, Carlos A

2017-12-01

OBJECTIVE Geriatric patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery have unique needs due to the physiological changes of aging. They are at risk for adverse outcomes such as delirium, infection, and iatrogenic complications, and these complications, in turn, contribute to the risk of functional decline, nursing home admission, and death. Whether preoperative and perioperative comanagement by a geriatrician reduces the incidence of in-hospital complications and length of in-hospital stay after elective lumbar spine surgery remains unknown. METHODS A unique model of comanagement for elderly patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery was implemented at a major academic medical center. The Perioperative Optimization of Senior Health (POSH) program was launched with the aim of improving outcomes in elderly patients (> 65 years old) undergoing complex lumbar spine surgery. In this model, a geriatrician evaluates elderly patients preoperatively, in addition to performing routine preoperative anesthesia surgical screening, and comanages them daily throughout the course of their hospital stay to manage medical comorbid conditions and coordinate multidisciplinary rehabilitation along with the neurosurgical team. The first 100 cases were retrospectively reviewed after initiation of the POSH protocol and compared with the immediately preceding 25 cases to assess the incidence of perioperative complications and clinical outcomes. RESULTS One hundred twenty-five patients undergoing lumbar decompression and fusion were enrolled in this pilot program. Baseline characteristics were similar between both cohorts. The mean length of in-hospital stay was 30% shorter in the POSH cohort (6.13 vs 8.72 days; p = 0.06). The mean duration of time between surgery and patient mobilization was significantly shorter in the POSH cohort compared with the non-POSH cohort (1.57 days vs 2.77 days; p = 0.02), and the number of steps ambulated on day of discharge was 2-fold higher in the POSH cohort (p = 0

A clinical randomized controlled trial of music therapy and progressive muscle relaxation training in female breast cancer patients after radical mastectomy: results on depression, anxiety and length of hospital stay.

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Zhou, Kaina; Li, Xiaomei; Li, Jin; Liu, Miao; Dang, Shaonong; Wang, Duolao; Xin, Xia

2015-02-01

To examine effects of music therapy and progressive muscle relaxation training on depression, anxiety and length of hospital stay in Chinese female breast cancer patients after radical mastectomy. A total of 170 patients were randomly allocated to the intervention group (n = 85) receiving music therapy and progressive muscle relaxation training plus routine nursing care and the control group (n = 85) receiving routine nursing care. Music therapy and progressive muscle relaxation training were performed twice a day within 48 h after radical mastectomy, once in the early morning (6a.m.-8a.m.) and once in the evening (9p.m.-11p.m.), for 30 min per session until discharged from the hospital. A general linear model with univariate analysis showed that the intervention group patients had significant improvement in depression and anxiety in the effects of group (F = 20.31, P Music therapy and progressive muscle relaxation training can reduce depression, anxiety and length of hospital stay in female breast cancer patients after radical mastectomy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Right ventricular stroke work index as a negative predictor of mortality and initial hospital stay after lung transplantation.

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Armstrong, Hilary F; Schulze, P Christian; Kato, Tomoko S; Bacchetta, Matthew; Thirapatarapong, Wilawan; Bartels, Matthew N

2013-06-01

Studies have shown that patients with poor pre-lung transplant (LTx) right ventricular (RV) function have prolonged post-operative ventilation time and intensive care stay as well as a higher risk of in-hospital death. RV stroke work index (RVSWI) calculates RV workload and contractility. We hypothesized that patients with higher RV workload capacity, indicated by higher RVSWI, would have better outcomes after LTx. A retrospective record review was performed on all LTx patients between 2005 and 2011 who had right heart catheterizations (RHC) 1-year before LTx. In addition, results for echocardiograms and cardiopulmonary exercise testing within 1-year of RHCs were gathered. Mean RVSWI was 9.36 ± 3.59 for 115 patients. There was a significant relation between mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP), RVSWI, RV end-diastolic diameter (RVEDd), left atrial dimension (LAD), peak and resting pressure of end-tidal carbon dioxide, minute ventilation /volume of carbon dioxide production, and 1-year mortality after LTx. Contrary to our hypothesis, those who survived had lower RVSWI than those who died within 1 year (8.99 ± 3.38 vs 11.6 ± 4.1, p = 0.026). Hospital length of stay significantly correlated with mPAP, RVSWI, left ventricular ejection fraction, percentage of fractional shortening, RVEDd, RV fractional area change, LAD, and RV wall thickness in diastole. Intensive care length of stay also significantly correlated with these variables and with body mass index. RVSWI was significantly different between groups of different RV function, indicating that increased RVSWI is associated with impairment of RV structure and function in patients undergoing LTx evaluation. This study demonstrates an association between 1-year mortality, initial hospital and intensive care length of stay, and pre-LTx RVSWI. Increased mPAP is a known risk for outcomes in LTx patients. Our findings support this fact and also show increased mortality with elevation of RVSWI, demonstrating the value

Early Appropriate Care: A Protocol to Standardize Resuscitation Assessment and to Expedite Fracture Care Reduces Hospital Stay and Enhances Revenue.

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Vallier, Heather A; Dolenc, Andrea J; Moore, Timothy A

2016-06-01

We hypothesized that a standardized protocol for fracture care would enhance revenue by reducing complications and length of stay. Prospective consecutive series. Level 1 trauma center. Two hundread and fifty-three adult patients with a mean age of 40.7 years and mean Injury Severity Score of 26.0. Femur, pelvis, or spine fractures treated surgically. Hospital and professional charges and collections were analyzed. Fixation was defined as early (<36 hours) or delayed. Complications and hospital stay were recorded. Mean charges were US $180,145 with a mean of US $66,871 collected (37%). The revenue multiplier was US $59,882/$6989 (8.57), indicating hospital collection of US $8.57 for every professional dollar, less than half of which went to orthopaedic surgeons. Delayed fracture care was associated with more intensive care unit (4.5 vs. 9.4) and total hospital days (9.4 vs. 15.3), with mean loss of actual revenue US $6380/patient delayed (n = 47), because of the costs of longer length of stay. Complications were associated with the highest expenses: mean of US $291,846 charges and US $101,005 collections, with facility collections decreased by 5.1%. An uncomplicated course of care was associated with the most favorable total collections: (US $60,017/$158,454 = 38%) and the shortest mean stay (8.7 days). Facility collections were nearly 9 times more than professional collections. Delayed fixation was associated with more complications, and facility collections decreased 5% with a complication. Furthermore, delayed fixation was associated with longer hospital stay, accounting for US $300K more in actual costs during the study. A standardized protocol to expedite definitive fixation enhances the profitability of the trauma service line. Economic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Hip fracture in hospitalized medical patients.

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Zapatero, Antonio; Barba, Raquel; Canora, Jesús; Losa, Juan E; Plaza, Susana; San Roman, Jesús; Marco, Javier

2013-01-08

The aim of the present study is to analyze the incidence of hip fracture as a complication of admissions to internal medicine units in Spain. We analyzed the clinical data of 2,134,363 adults who had been admitted to internal medicine wards. The main outcome was a diagnosis of hip fracture during hospitalization.Outcome measures included rates of in-hospital fractures, length of stay and cost. A total of 1127 (0.057%) admittances were coded with an in-hospital hip fracture. In hospital mortality rate was 27.9% vs 9.4%; p patients with a hip fracture (20.7 days vs 9.8 days; p hip-fracture patients (6927€ per hospitalization vs 3730€ in non fracture patients). Risk factors related to fracture were: increasing age by 10 years increments (OR 2.32 95% CI 2.11-2.56), female gender (OR 1.22 95% CI 1.08-1.37), admission from nursing home (OR 1.65 95% CI 1.27-2.12), dementia (1.55 OR 95% CI1.30-1.84), malnutrition (OR 2.50 95% CI 1.88-3.32), delirium (OR 1.57 95% CI 1.16-2.14), and anemia (OR 1.30 95%CI 1.12-1.49). In-hospital hip fracture notably increased mortality during hospitalization, doubling the mean length of stay and mean cost of admission. These are reasons enough to stress the importance of designing and applying multidisciplinary plans focused on reducing the incidence of hip fractures in hospitalized patients.

Introduction of a breast cancer care programme including ultra short hospital stay in 4 early adopter centres: framework for an implementation study.

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de Kok, Mascha; Frotscher, Caroline N A; van der Weijden, Trudy; Kessels, Alfons G H; Dirksen, Carmen D; van de Velde, Cornelis J H; Roukema, Jan A; Bell, Antoine V R J; van der Ent, Fred W; von Meyenfeldt, Maarten F

2007-07-02

Whereas ultra-short stay (day care or 24 hour hospitalisation) following breast cancer surgery was introduced in the US and Canada in the 1990s, it is not yet common practice in Europe. This paper describes the design of the MaDO study, which involves the implementation of ultra short stay admission for patients after breast cancer surgery, and evaluates whether the targets of the implementation strategy are reached. The ultra short stay programme and the applied implementation strategy will be evaluated from the economic perspective. The MaDO study is a pre-post-controlled multi-centre study, that is performed in four hospitals in the Netherlands. It includes a pre and post measuring period of six months each with six months of implementation in between in at least 40 patients per hospital per measurement period. Primary outcome measure is the percentage of patients treated in ultra short stay. Secondary endpoints are the percentage of patients treated according to protocol, degree of involvement of home care nursing, quality of care from the patient's perspective, cost-effectiveness of the ultra short stay programme and cost-effectiveness of the implementation strategy. Quality of care will be measured by the QUOTE-breast cancer instrument, cost-effectiveness of the ultra short stay programme will be measured by means of the EuroQol (administered at four time-points) and a cost book for patients. Cost-effectiveness analysis will be performed from a societal perspective. Cost-effectiveness of the implementation strategy will be measured by determination of the costs of implementation activities. This study will reveal barriers and facilitators for implementation of the ultra short stay programme. Moreover, the results of the study will provide information about the cost-effectiveness of the ultra short stay programme and the implementation strategy. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN77253391.

Hospitalization stay and costs attributable to Clostridium difficile infection: a critical review.

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Gabriel, L; Beriot-Mathiot, A

2014-09-01

In most healthcare systems, third-party payers fund the costs for patients admitted to hospital for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) whereas, for CDI cases arising as complications of hospitalization, not all related costs are refundable to the hospital. We therefore aimed to critically review and categorize hospital costs and length of hospital stay (LOS) attributable to Clostridium difficile infection and to investigate the economic burden associated with it. A comprehensive literature review selected papers describing the costs and LOS for hospitalized patients as outcomes of CDI, following the use of statistics to identify costs and LOS solely attributable to CDI. Twenty-four studies were selected. Estimated attributable costs, all ranges expressed in US dollars, were $6,774-$10,212 for CDI requiring admission, $2,992-$29,000 for hospital-acquired CDI, and $2,454-$12,850 where no categorization was made. The ranges for LOS values were 5-13.6, 2.7-21.3, and 2.8-17.9 days, respectively. The categorization of CDI attributable costs allows budget holders to anticipate the cost per CDI case, a perspective that should enrich the design of appropriate incentives for the various budget holders to invest in prevention so that CDI prevention is optimized globally. Copyright © 2014 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interhospital transfer delays emergency abdominal surgery and prolongs stay.

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Limmer, Alexandra M; Edye, Michael B

2017-11-01

Interhospital transfer of patients requiring emergency surgery is common practice. It has the potential to delay surgical intervention, increase rate of complications and thus length of hospital stay. A retrospective cohort study was conducted of adult patients who underwent emergency surgery for abdominal pain at a large metropolitan hospital in New South Wales (Hospital A) in 2013. The impact of interhospital transfer on time to surgical intervention, post-operative length of stay and overall length of stay was assessed. Of the 910 adult patients who underwent emergency surgery for abdominal pain at Hospital A in 2013, 31.9% (n = 290) were transferred by road ambulance from a local district hospital (Hospital B). The leading surgical procedures performed were appendicectomy (n = 299, 32.9%), cholecystectomy (n = 174, 19.1%), gastrointestinal endoscopy (n = 95, 10.4%), cystoscopy (n = 86, 9.5%), hernia repair (n = 45, 4.9%), salpingectomy (n = 19, 2.1%) and oversewing of perforated peptic ulcer (n = 13, 1.4%). Overall, interhospital transfer (n = 290, 31.9%) was associated with increases in mean time to surgical intervention (14.2 h, P < 0.001), post-operative length of stay (1.1 days, P = 0.001) and overall length of stay (1.6 days, P < 0.001). Delayed surgical intervention was observed across all procedure types except surgery for perforated peptic ulcer, where transferred patients underwent surgery within a comparable timeframe to direct admissions. Interhospital transfer delays surgical intervention and increases length of hospital stay. This mandates attention due to the implications for patient outcomes and added burden to the healthcare system. The system did, however, show capability to appropriately expedite surgery for acutely life-threatening cases. © 2016 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Nationwide analysis of prolonged hospital stay and readmission after elective ventral hernia repair

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Helgstrand, Frederik; Rosenberg, Jacob; Kehlet, Henrik

2011-01-01

Early outcome after elective ventral hernia repair is unsatisfactory, but detailed analyses are lacking. The aim of this study was to describe the aetiology of prolonged hospital stay (LOS), readmission and death <30 days after elective ventral hernia repair.......Early outcome after elective ventral hernia repair is unsatisfactory, but detailed analyses are lacking. The aim of this study was to describe the aetiology of prolonged hospital stay (LOS), readmission and death

Excess body weight in children may increase the length of hospital stay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Teresa Bechere Fernandes

2015-02-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of excess body weight in the pediatric ward of University Hospital and to test both the association between initial nutritional diagnosis and the length of stay and the in-hospital variation in nutritional status. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study based on information entered in clinical records from University Hospital. The data were collected from a convenience sample of 91 cases among children aged one to 10 years admitted to the hospital in 2009. The data that characterize the sample are presented in a descriptive manner. Additionally, we performed a multivariate linear regression analysis adjusted for age and gender. RESULTS: Nutritional classification at baseline showed that 87.8% of the children had a normal weight and that 8.9% had excess weight. The linear regression models showed that the average weight loss z-score of the children with excess weight compared with the group with normal weight was −0.48 (p = 0.018 and that their length of stay was 2.37 days longer on average compared with that of the normal-weight group (p = 0.047. CONCLUSIONS: The length of stay and loss of weight at the hospital may be greater among children with excess weight than among children with normal weight.

The Relationship of Trust and Intent to Stay Among Registered Nurses at Jordanian Hospitals.

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Atiyeh, Huda Mohammad; AbuAlRub, Raeda Fawzi

2017-10-01

This study examined the relationship between the level of trust with immediate supervisor and the level of intent to stay at work among registered nurses (RNs) in Jordan and explored if there is a significant difference between RNs working in governmental- and university-affiliated teaching hospitals. Financial retention strategies are not feasible in low- and middle-income countries. This study investigated if the level of trust that RNs hold toward their immediate supervisors could affect their intent to stay at work, so as to be used as a nonfinancial strategy. A descriptive correlational design was used to examine this relationship among a convenience sample of 260 hospital nurses in Jordan. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. When the level of trust increased, the level of intent to stay at work also increased. RNs working in governmental-affiliated teaching hospitals reported higher levels of trust and intent to stay at work than those working in university-affiliated teaching hospitals. The findings emphasized the positive effect of trust with immediate supervisor on the level of RNs' intent to stay. Building trust between RNs and their immediate supervisors could be an important retention strategy. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Additional weekend therapy may reduce length of rehabilitation stay after stroke: a meta-analysis of individual patient data

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Coralie English

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Questions: Among people receiving inpatient rehabilitation after stroke, does additional weekend physiotherapy and/or occupational therapy reduce the length of rehabilitation hospital stay compared to those who receive a weekday-only service, and does this change after controlling for individual factors? Does additional weekend therapy improve the ability to walk and perform activities of daily living, measured at discharge? Does additional weekend therapy improve health-related quality of life, measured 6 months after discharge from rehabilitation? Which individual, clinical and hospital characteristics are associated with shorter length of rehabilitation hospital stay? Design: This study pooled individual data from two randomised, controlled trials (n = 350 using an individual patient data meta-analysis and multivariate regression. Participants: People with stroke admitted to inpatient rehabilitation facilities. Intervention: Additional weekend therapy (physiotherapy and/or occupational therapy compared to usual care (5 days/week therapy. Outcome measures: Length of rehabilitation hospital stay, independence in activities of daily living measured with the Functional Independence Measure, walking speed and health-related quality of life. Results: Participants who received weekend therapy had a shorter length of rehabilitation hospital stay. In the un-adjusted analysis, this was not statistically significant (MD –5.7 days, 95% CI –13.0 to 1.5. Controlling for hospital site, age, walking speed and Functional Independence Measure score on admission, receiving weekend therapy was significantly associated with a shorter length of rehabilitation hospital stay (β = 7.5, 95% CI 1.7 to 13.4, p = 0.001. There were no significant between-group differences in Functional Independence Measure scores (MD 1.9 points, 95% CI –2.8 to 6.6, walking speed (MD 0.06 m/second, 95% CI –0.15 to 0.04 or health-related quality of life (SMD –0.04, 95% CI �

Additional weekend therapy may reduce length of rehabilitation stay after stroke: a meta-analysis of individual patient data.

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English, Coralie; Shields, Nora; Brusco, Natasha K; Taylor, Nicholas F; Watts, Jennifer J; Peiris, Casey; Bernhardt, Julie; Crotty, Maria; Esterman, Adrian; Segal, Leonie; Hillier, Susan

2016-07-01

Among people receiving inpatient rehabilitation after stroke, does additional weekend physiotherapy and/or occupational therapy reduce the length of rehabilitation hospital stay compared to those who receive a weekday-only service, and does this change after controlling for individual factors? Does additional weekend therapy improve the ability to walk and perform activities of daily living, measured at discharge? Does additional weekend therapy improve health-related quality of life, measured 6 months after discharge from rehabilitation? Which individual, clinical and hospital characteristics are associated with shorter length of rehabilitation hospital stay? This study pooled individual data from two randomised, controlled trials (n=350) using an individual patient data meta-analysis and multivariate regression. People with stroke admitted to inpatient rehabilitation facilities. Additional weekend therapy (physiotherapy and/or occupational therapy) compared to usual care (5 days/week therapy). Length of rehabilitation hospital stay, independence in activities of daily living measured with the Functional Independence Measure, walking speed and health-related quality of life. Participants who received weekend therapy had a shorter length of rehabilitation hospital stay. In the un-adjusted analysis, this was not statistically significant (MD -5.7 days, 95% CI -13.0 to 1.5). Controlling for hospital site, age, walking speed and Functional Independence Measure score on admission, receiving weekend therapy was significantly associated with a shorter length of rehabilitation hospital stay (β=7.5, 95% CI 1.7 to 13.4, p=0.001). There were no significant between-group differences in Functional Independence Measure scores (MD 1.9 points, 95% CI -2.8 to 6.6), walking speed (MD 0.06 m/second, 95% CI -0.15 to 0.04) or health-related quality of life (SMD -0.04, 95% CI -0.26 to 0.19) at discharge. Modest evidence indicates that additional weekend therapy might reduce

Immunonutrition - the influence of early postoperative glutamine supplementation in enteral/parenteral nutrition on immune response, wound healing and length of hospital stay in multiple trauma patients and patients after extensive surgery.

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Lorenz, Kai J; Schallert, Reiner; Daniel, Volker

2015-01-01

In the postoperative phase, the prognosis of multiple trauma patients with severe brain injuries as well as of patients with extensive head and neck surgery mainly depends on protein metabolism and the prevention of septic complications. Wound healing problems can also result in markedly longer stays in the intensive care unit and general wards. As a result, the immunostimulation of patients in the postoperative phase is expected to improve their immunological and overall health. A study involving 15 patients with extensive ENT tumour surgery and 7 multiple-trauma patients investigated the effect of enteral glutamine supplementation on immune induction, wound healing and length of hospital stay. Half of the patients received a glutamine-supplemented diet. The control group received an isocaloric, isonitrogenous diet. In summary, we found that total lymphocyte counts, the percentage of activated CD4+DR+ T helper lymphocytes, the in-vitro response of lymphocytes to mitogens, as well as IL-2 plasma levels normalised faster in patients who received glutamine-supplemented diets than in patients who received isocaloric, isonitrogenous diets and that these parameters were even above normal by the end of the second postoperative week. We believe that providing critically ill patients with a demand-oriented immunostimulating diet is fully justified as it reduces septic complications, accelerates wound healing, and shortens the length of ICU (intensive care unit) and general ward stays.

The effects of air pollution on length of hospital stay for adult patients with asthma.

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Luo, Li; Ren, Jing; Zhang, Fengyi; Zhang, Wei; Li, Chunyang; Qiu, Zhixin; Huang, Debin

2018-04-23

Length of hospital stay (LOS) of asthma can be a reflection of the disease burden faced by patients, and it is also sensitive to air pollution. This study aims at estimating and validating the effects of air pollution and readmission on the LOS for those who have asthma, considering their readmission history, minimum temperature, and threshold effects of air pollutants. In addition, sex, age, and season were also constructed for stratification to achieve more precise and specific results. The results show that no significant effects of PM 2.5 and NO 2 on LOS were observed in any of the patients, but there were significant effects of PM 2.5 and NO 2 on LOS when a stratifying subgroup analysis was performed. The effect of PM 10 on LOS was found to be lower than that of PM 2.5 and higher than that of NO 2 . SO 2 did not have a significant effect on LOS for patients with asthma in our study. Our study confirmed that the adverse effects of air pollutants (such as PM 10 ) on LOS for patients with asthma existed; in addition, these effects vary for different stratifications. We measured the effects of air pollutants on the LOS for patients with asthma, and this study offers policy makers quantitative evidence that can support relevant policies for health care resource management and ambient air pollutants control. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Statin Use and Hospital Length of Stay Among Adults Hospitalized With Community-acquired Pneumonia.

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Havers, Fiona; Bramley, Anna M; Finelli, Lyn; Reed, Carrie; Self, Wesley H; Trabue, Christopher; Fakhran, Sherene; Balk, Robert; Courtney, D Mark; Girard, Timothy D; Anderson, Evan J; Grijalva, Carlos G; Edwards, Kathryn M; Wunderink, Richard G; Jain, Seema

2016-06-15

Prior retrospective studies suggest that statins may benefit patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) due to antiinflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. However, prospective studies of the impact of statins on CAP outcomes are needed. We determined whether statin use was associated with improved outcomes in adults hospitalized with CAP. Adults aged ≥18 years hospitalized with CAP were prospectively enrolled at 3 hospitals in Chicago, Illinois, and 2 hospitals in Nashville, Tennessee, from January 2010-June 2012. Adults receiving statins before and throughout hospitalization (statin users) were compared with those who did not receive statins (nonusers). Proportional subdistribution hazards models were used to examine the association between statin use and hospital length of stay (LOS). In-hospital mortality was a secondary outcome. We also compared groups matched on propensity score. Of 2016 adults enrolled, 483 (24%) were statin users; 1533 (76%) were nonusers. Statin users were significantly older, had more comorbidities, had more years of education, and were more likely to have health insurance than nonusers. Multivariable regression demonstrated that statin users and nonusers had similar LOS (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], .88-1.12), as did those in the propensity-matched groups (HR, 1.03; 95% CI, .88-1.21). No significant associations were found between statin use and LOS or in-hospital mortality, even when stratified by pneumonia severity. In a large prospective study of adults hospitalized with CAP, we found no evidence to suggest that statin use before and during hospitalization improved LOS or in-hospital mortality. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2016. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

Association of bystander interventions and hospital length of stay and admission to intensive care unit in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors

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Riddersholm, Signe; Kragholm, Kristian; Mortensen, Rikke Nørmark

2017-01-01

for bystander defibrillation. 82% of patients without bystander interventions were admitted to ICU compared to 77.2% for bystander CPR, and 61.2% for bystander defibrillation. In-hospital mortality was 60% in the first category compared to 40.5% and 21.7% in the two latter categories. In regression models.......76-0.85]), were associated with lower risk of ICU admission. CONCLUSIONS: Bystander interventions were associated with reduced hospital length of stay and ICU admission, suggesting that these efforts improve recovery in OHCA survivors....

Preoperative exercise halves the postoperative complication rate in patients with lung cancer: a systematic review of the effect of exercise on complications, length of stay and quality of life in patients with cancer.

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Steffens, Daniel; Beckenkamp, Paula R; Hancock, Mark; Solomon, Michael; Young, Jane

2018-03-01

To investigate the effectiveness of preoperative exercises interventions in patients undergoing oncological surgery, on postoperative complications, length of hospital stay and quality of life. Intervention systematic review with meta-analysis. MEDLINE, Embase and PEDro. Trials investigating the effectiveness of preoperative exercise for any oncological patient undergoing surgery were included. The outcomes of interest were postoperative complications, length of hospital stay and quality of life. Relative risks (RRs), mean differences (MDs) and 95% CI were calculated using random-effects models. Seventeen articles (reporting on 13 different trials) involving 806 individual participants and 6 tumour types were included. There was moderate-quality evidence that preoperative exercise significantly reduced postoperative complication rates (RR 0.52, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.74) and length of hospital stay (MD -2.86 days, 95% CI -5.40 to -0.33) in patients undergoing lung resection, compared with control. For patients with oesophageal cancer, preoperative exercise was not effective in reducing length of hospital stay (MD 2.00 days, 95% CI -2.35 to 6.35). Although only assessed in individual studies, preoperative exercise improved postoperative quality of life in patients with oral or prostate cancer. No effect was found in patients with colon and colorectal liver metastases. Preoperative exercise was effective in reducing postoperative complications and length of hospital stay in patients with lung cancer. Whether preoperative exercise reduces complications, length of hospital stay and improves quality of life in other groups of patients undergoing oncological surgery is uncertain as the quality of evidence is low. PROSPEROREGISTRATION NUMBER. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

[Medical short stay unit for geriatric patients in the emergency department: clinical and healthcare benefits].

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Pareja, Teresa; Hornillos, Mercedes; Rodríguez, Miriam; Martínez, Javier; Madrigal, María; Mauleón, Coro; Alvarez, Bárbara

2009-01-01

To evaluate the impact of comprehensive geriatric assessment and management of high-risk elders in a medical short stay unit located in the emergency department of a general hospital. We performed a descriptive, prospective study of patients admitted to the medical short stay unit for geriatric patients of the emergency department in 2006. A total of 749 patients were evaluated, with a mean (standard deviation) stay in the unit of 37 (16) h. The mean age was 86 (7) years; 57% were women, and 50% had moderate-severe physical impairment and dementia. Thirty-five percent lived in a nursing home. The most frequent reason for admission was exacerbation of chronic cardiopulmonary disease. Multiple geriatric syndromes were identified. The most frequent were immobility, pressure sores and behavioral disorders related to dementia. Seventy percent of the patients were discharged to home after being stabilized and were followed-up by the geriatric clinic and day hospital (39%), the home care medical team (11%), or the nursing home or primary care physician (20%). During the month after discharge, 17% were readmitted and 7.7% died, especially patients with more advanced age or functional impairment. After the unit was opened, admissions to the acute geriatric unit fell by 18.2%. Medical short stay units for geriatric patients in emergency departments may be useful for geriatric assessment and treatment of exacerbations of chronic diseases. These units can help to reduce the number of admissions and optimize the care provided in other ambulatory and domiciliary geriatric settings.

Preoperative intervention reduces postoperative pulmonary complications but not length of stay in cardiac surgical patients: a systematic review

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David Snowdon

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Question: Does preoperative intervention in people undergoing cardiac surgery reduce pulmonary complications, shorten length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU or hospital, or improve physical function? Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis of (quasi randomised trials. Participants: People undergoing coronary artery bypass grafts and/or valvular surgery. Intervention: Any intervention, such as education, inspiratory muscle training, exercise training or relaxation, delivered prior to surgery to prevent/reduce postoperative pulmonary complications or to hasten recovery of function. Outcome measures: Time to extubation, length of stay in ICU and hospital (reported in days. Postoperative pulmonary complications and physical function were measured as reported in the included trials. Results: The 17 eligible trials reported data on 2689 participants. Preoperative intervention significantly reduced the time to extubation (MD -0.14 days, 95% CI -0.26 to -0.01 and the relative risk of developing postoperative pulmonary complications (RR 0.39, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.66. However, it did not significantly affect the length of stay in ICU (MD -0.15 days, 95% CI -0.37 to 0.08 or hospital (MD -0.55 days, 95% CI -1.32 to 0.23, except among older participants (MD -1.32 days, 95% CI -2.36 to -0.28. When the preoperative interventions were separately analysed, inspiratory muscle training significantly reduced postoperative pulmonary complications and the length of stay in hospital. Trial quality ranged from good to poor and considerable heterogeneity was present in the study features. Other outcomes did not significantly differ. Conclusion: For people undergoing cardiac surgery, preoperative intervention reduces the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications and, in older patients, the length of stay in hospital. [Snowdon D, Haines TP, Skinner EH (2014 Preoperative intervention reduces postoperative pulmonary complications but not length of stay in

Minor Postoperative Increases of Creatinine Are Associated with Higher Mortality and Longer Hospital Length of Stay in Surgical Patients

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Kork, Felix; Balzer, Felix; Spies, Claudia D.; Wernecke, Klaus-Dieter; Ginde, Adit A.; Jankowski, Joachim; Eltzschig, Holger K.

2015-01-01

Background Surgical patients frequently experience postoperative increases in creatinine levels. The authors hypothesized that even small increases in postoperative creatinine levels are associated with adverse outcomes. Methods The authors examined the association of postoperative changes from preoperative baseline creatinine with all-cause in-hospital mortality and hospital length of stay (HLOS) in a retrospective analysis of surgical patients at a single tertiary care center between January 2006 and June 2012. Results The data of 39,369 surgical patients (noncardiac surgery n = 37,345; cardiac surgery n = 2,024) were analyzed. Acute kidney injury (AKI)—by definition of the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcome group—was associated with a five-fold higher mortality (odds ratio [OR], 4.8; 95% CI, 4.1 to 5.7; P creatinine, exposure to radiocontrast agent, type of surgery, and surgical AKI risk factors. Importantly, even minor creatinine increases (Δcreatinine 25 to 49% above baseline but creatinine increases had a five-fold risk of death (OR, 5.4; 95% CI, 1.5 to 20.3; P creatinine levels are associated with adverse outcomes. These results emphasize the importance to find effective therapeutic approaches to prevent or treat even mild forms of postoperative kidney dysfunction to improve surgical outcomes. PMID:26492475

Probiotics supplementation and length of hospital stay in neonates with gastrointestinal surgery

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Veronica Mugarab-Samedi

Full Text Available Any manipulation on open bowel causes interventional impact on gut microbiome, and surgical stress triggers bacterial translocation; thus, it will be fundamental to determine gut microbiome after surgery. Monitoring dynamic changes in microbiome of post-surgical infants who received probiotics and placebo could provide with important information about gut colonization and potential bacterial overgrowth.The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of probiotics supplementation on length of hospital stay, duration of parenteral nutrition, and feed tolerance in neonates after gastrointestinal surgery. Keywords: Neonates, Surgery, Probiotics, Microbiome, Length of hospital stay, Full enteral feeds

Ingestive Skill Difficulties are Frequent Among Acutely-Hospitalized Frail Elderly Patients, and Predict Hospital Outcomes

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Hansen, Tina; Lambert, Heather; Faber, Jens

2012-01-01

Purpose : To examine the relationship between ingestive skill performance while eating and drinking and frailty status in acutely-hospitalized elderly patients and to examine whether there is a relationship between the proportion of ingestive skill difficulties and Length of Hospital Stay (LOS) a...

Association of Expanded Medicaid Coverage With Hospital Length of Stay After Injury.

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Holzmacher, Jeremy L; Townsend, Kerry; Seavey, Caleb; Gannon, Stephanie; Schroeder, Mary; Gondek, Stephen; Collins, Lois; Amdur, Richard L; Sarani, Babak

2017-10-01

The expansion of Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act is a state-level decision that affects how patients with traumatic injury (trauma patients) interact with locoregional health care systems. Washington, DC; Maryland; and Virginia represent 3 unique payer systems with liberal, moderate, and no Medicaid expansion, respectively, under the Affordable Care Act. Characterizing the association of Medicaid expansion with hospitalization after injury is vital in the disposition planning for these patients. To determine the association between expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act and duration of hospitalization after injury. This retrospective cohort study included patients admitted from Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC, to a single level I trauma center. Data were collected from January 1, 2013, through March 6, 2016, in Virginia and Washington, DC, and from May 1, 2013, through March 6, 2016, in Maryland. All patients with Medicare or Medicaid coverage and all uninsured patients were included. Patients with private insurance, patients with severe head or pelvic injuries, and those who died during hospitalization were excluded. Hospital length of stay (LOS) and whether its association with patient insurance status varied by state of residence. A total of 2314 patients (1541 men [66.6%] and 773 women [33.4%]; mean [SD] age, 52.9 [22.8] years) were enrolled in the study. The uninsured rate in the Washington, DC, cohort (190 of 1699 [11.2%]) was significantly lower compared with rates in the Virginia (141 of 296 [47.6%]) or the Maryland (106 of 319 [33.2%]) cohort (P Medicaid vs non-Medicaid recipients varied significantly by state. For Medicaid recipients, mean LOS in Washington, DC, was significantly shorter (2.57 days; 95% CI, 2.36-2.79 days) than in Maryland (3.51 days; 95% CI, 2.81-4.38 days; P = .02) or Virginia (3.9 days; 95% CI, 2.79-5.45 days; P = .05). Expanded Medicaid eligibility is associated with shorter

Pre- and postoperative stoma education and guidance within an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programme reduces length of hospital stay in colorectal surgery.

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Forsmo, H M; Pfeffer, F; Rasdal, A; Sintonen, H; Körner, H; Erichsen, C

2016-12-01

Stoma formation delays discharge after colorectal surgery. Stoma education is widely recommended, but little data are available regarding whether educational interventions are effective. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate whether an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programme with dedicated ERAS and stoma nurse specialists focusing on counselling and stoma education can reduce the length of hospital stay, re-admission, and stoma-related complications and improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) compared to current stoma education in a traditional standard care pathway. In a single-center study 122 adult patients eligible for laparoscopic or open colorectal resection who received a planned stoma were treated in either the ERAS program with extended stoma education (n = 61) or standard care with current stoma education (n = 61). The primary endpoint was total postoperative hospital stay. Secondary endpoints were postoperative hospital stay, major or minor morbidity, early stoma-related complications, health-related quality of life, re-admission rate, and mortality. HRQoL was measured by the generic 15D instrument. Total hospital stay was significantly shorter in the ERAS group with education than the standard care group (median [range], 6 days [2-21 days] vs. 9 days [5-45 days]; p stoma-related complications and 30-day mortality, the two treatment groups exhibited similar outcomes. Patients receiving a planned stoma can be included in an ERAS program. Pre-operative and postoperative stoma education in an enhanced recovery programme is associated with a significantly shorter hospital stay without any difference in re-admission rate or early stoma-related complications. Copyright © 2016 IJS Publishing Group Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association of Dermatology Consultations With Patient Care Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients With Inflammatory Skin Diseases.

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Milani-Nejad, Nima; Zhang, Myron; Kaffenberger, Benjamin H

2017-06-01

The value of inpatient dermatology consultations has traditionally been demonstrated with frequency in changes of diagnosis and management; however, the impact of dermatology consultations on metrics such as hospital length of stay and readmission rates remains unknown. To determine the association of dermatology consultations with patient care in hospitalized patients using objective values. We retrospectively queried the deidentified database of patients hospitalized between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2014, at a single university medical center. A total of 413 patients with a primary inflammatory skin condition discharge diagnosis and 647 patients with primary inflammatory skin condition admission diagnosis were selected. Hospital length of stay and 1-year readmission with inflammatory skin conditions. The 413 patients with a primary inflammatory skin condition discharge diagnosis were 61.0% female and had a mean (SD) age of 55.1 (16.4) years. The 647 patients with primary inflammatory skin condition admission diagnosis were 50.8% female and had a mean (SD) age of 57.8 (15.9) years. Multivariable modeling showed that dermatology consultations were associated with a reduction of 1-year inflammatory skin condition readmissions among patients who were discharged primarily with an inflammatory skin condition (readmission probability, 0.0025; 95% CI, 0.00020-0.030 with dermatology consult vs 0.026; 95% CI, 0.0065-0.10 without; odds ratio, 0.093; 95% CI, 0.010-0.840; P = .03). No other confounding variable was associated with reduction in readmissions. Multivariable modeling also showed that dermatology consultations were associated with a reduction in the adjusted hospital length of stay by 2.64 days (95% CI, 1.75-3.53 days; P Dermatology consultations were associated with improvements of outcomes among hospitalized patients. The expansion of the role of dermatology consultation services may improve patient care in a cost-effective manner.

Hospital billing for blood processing and transfusion for inpatient stays.

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McCue, Michael J; Nayar, Preethy

2009-07-01

Medicare, an important payer for hospitals, reimburses hospitals for inpatient stays using Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs). Many private insurers also use the DRG methodology to reimburse hospitals for their services. Therefore, those blood service organizations that bill Medicare directly require an understanding of the DRG system of payment to enable them to bill Medicare correctly, and in order to be certain they are adequately reimbursed. Blood centers that do not bill Medicare directly need to understand how hospitals are reimbursed for blood and blood components as this affects a hospital's ability to pay service fees related to these products. This review presents a detailed explanation of how hospitals are reimbursed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for Medicare inpatient services, including blood services.

Budget Impact of a Comprehensive Nutrition-Focused Quality Improvement Program for Malnourished Hospitalized Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Sulo, Suela; Feldstein, Josh; Partridge, Jamie; Schwander, Bjoern; Sriram, Krishnan; Summerfelt, Wm Thomas

2017-07-01

Nutrition interventions can alleviate the burden of malnutrition by improving patient outcomes; however, evidence on the economic impact of medical nutrition intervention remains limited. A previously published nutrition-focused quality improvement program targeting malnourished hospitalized patients showed that screening patients with a validated screening tool at admission, rapidly administering oral nutritional supplements, and educating patients on supplement adherence result in significant reductions in 30-day unplanned readmissions and hospital length of stay. To assess the potential cost-savings associated with decreased 30-day readmissions and hospital length of stay in malnourished inpatients through a nutrition-focused quality improvement program using a web-based budget impact model, and to demonstrate the clinical and fiscal value of the intervention. The reduction in readmission rate and length of stay for 1269 patients enrolled in the quality improvement program (between October 13, 2014, and April 2, 2015) were compared with the pre-quality improvement program baseline and validation cohorts (4611 patients vs 1319 patients, respectively) to calculate potential cost-savings as well as to inform the design of the budget impact model. Readmission rate and length-of-stay reductions were calculated by determining the change from baseline to post-quality improvement program as well as the difference between the validation cohort and the post-quality improvement program, respectively. As a result of improved health outcomes for the treated patients, the nutrition-focused quality improvement program led to a reduction in 30-day hospital readmissions and length of stay. The avoided hospital readmissions and reduced number of days in the hospital for the patients in the quality improvement program resulted in cost-savings of $1,902,933 versus the pre-quality improvement program baseline cohort, and $4,896,758 versus the pre-quality improvement program in the

Placebo controlled trial of zinc supplementation on duration of hospital stay in children with pneumonia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, A.K.; Iqbal, M.J.; Akhtar, R.; Afzal, M.F.

2012-01-01

Background: Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in children younger than 5 years of age. Zinc may have an important protective role in cases of childhood pneumonia. Objectives: To study the effect of zinc supplementation on duration of hospital stay in children (6 months to 5 years) with pneumonia. Methodology: This Randomized control trial was conducted in the Department of Paediatrics Unit - I, King Edward Medical University / Mayo Hospital, Lahore from January to December 2011. After consent, 150 children from 6 months to 5 years of age with pneumonia consistent with WHO ARI definition along with crepitations on auscultation were registered by non-probability purposive sampling and were randomized into treatment group (Group A) and placebo group (Group B). Seventy five children supplemented with zinc for 14 days while 75 children were supplemented with placebo. Outcome measure was duration of hospital stay. T-test was used to compare the groups. Results: Out of total study population of 150, majority (35%) of children were below 2 years. There was male predominance (64%). Mean duration of hospital stay was significantly reduced in treatment group (p value < 0.05). Conclusion: Zinc supplementation results in statistically significant reduction in the duration of hospital stay in children (6 months to 5 years) with pneumonia. (author)

Marginal Hospital Cost of Surgery-related Hospital-acquired Pressure Ulcers.

Science.gov (United States)

Spector, William D; Limcangco, Rhona; Owens, Pamela L; Steiner, Claudia A

2016-09-01

Patients who develop hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (HAPUs) are more likely to die, have longer hospital stays, and are at greater risk of infections. Patients undergoing surgery are prone to developing pressure ulcers (PUs). To estimate the hospital marginal cost of a HAPU for adults patients who were hospitalized for major surgeries, adjusted for patient characteristics, comorbidities, procedures, and hospital characteristics. Data are from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Databases and the Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System for 2011 and 2012. PU information was obtained using retrospective structured record review from trained MPMS data abstractors. Costs are derived using HCUP hospital-specific cost-to-charge ratios. Marginal cost estimates were made using Extended Estimating Equations. We estimated the marginal cost at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of the cost distribution using Simultaneous Quantile Regression. We find that 3.5% of major surgical patients developed HAPUs and that the HAPUs added ∼$8200 to the cost of a surgical stay after adjusting for comorbidities, patient characteristics, procedures, and hospital characteristics. This is an ∼44% addition to the cost of a major surgical stay but less than half of the unadjusted cost difference. In addition, we find that for high-cost stays (75th percentile) HAPUs added ∼$12,100, whereas for low-cost stays (25th percentile) HAPUs added ∼$3900. This paper suggests that HAPUs add ∼44% to the cost of major surgical hospital stays, but the amount varies depending on the total cost of the visit.

Intravenous Drug Abuse by Patients Inside the Hospital: A Cause for Sustained Bacteremia

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Noopur Goel

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Patients with history of intravenous drug abuse are noted to be at risk of several infections including HIV, endocarditis, and other opportunistic infections. We report the case of a patient with sustained Bacillus cereus bacteremia despite use of multiple antibiotic regimens during his inpatient stay. Our case highlights the importance of high suspicion for active drug use inside the hospital in such patients. This is important in order to minimize unnecessary diagnostic workup and provide adequate treatment and safe hospital stay for these patients.

Recurrent spine surgery patients in hospital administrative database

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Sami Walid

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Hospital patient databases are typically used by administrative staff to estimate loss-profit ratios and to help with the allocation of hospital resources. These databases can also be very useful in following rehospitalization. This paper studies the recurrence of spine surgery patients in our hospital population based on administrative data analysis. Methods: Hospital data on 4,958 spine surgery patients operated between 2002 and 2009 were retrospectively reviewed. After sorting the cohort per ascending discharge date, the patient official name, consisting of first, middle and last names, was used as the variable determining duplicate cases in the SPSS statistical program, designating the first case in each group as primary. Yearly recurrence rate and change in procedure distribution were studied. In addition, hospital charges and length of stay were compared using the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test. Results: Of 4,958 spine surgery patients 364 (7.3% were categorized as duplicate cases by SPSS. The number of primary cases from which duplicate cases emerged was 327 meaning that some patients had more than two spine surgeries. Among primary patients (N=327 the percentage of excision of intervertebral disk procedures was 33.3% and decreased to 15.1% in recurrent admissions of the same patients (N=364. This decrease was compensated by an increase in lumbar fusion procedures. On the other hand, the rate of cervical fusion remained the same. The difference in hospital charges between primary and duplicate patients was $2,234 for diskectomy, $6,319 for anterior cervical fusion, $8,942 for lumbar fusion – lateral technique, and $12,525 for lumbar fusion – posterior technique. Recurrent patients also stayed longer in hospital, up to 0.9 day in lumbar fusion – posterior technique patients. Conclusion: Spine surgery is associated with an increasing possibility of additional spine surgery with rising invasiveness and cost.

Observation-status patients in children's hospitals with and without dedicated observation units in 2011.

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Macy, Michelle L; Hall, Matthew; Alpern, Elizabeth R; Fieldston, Evan S; Shanley, Leticia A; Hronek, Carla; Hain, Paul D; Shah, Samir S

2015-06-01

Pediatric observation units (OUs) have demonstrated reductions in lengths of stay (LOS) and costs of care. Hospital-level outcomes across all observation-status stays have not been evaluated in relation to the presence of a dedicated OU in the hospital. To compare observation-status stay outcomes in hospitals with and without a dedicated OU. Cross-sectional analysis of hospital administrative data. Observation-status stay outcomes were compared in hospitals with and without a dedicated OU across 4 categories: (1) LOS, (2) standardized costs, (3) conversion to inpatient status, and (4) return care. Observation-status stays in 31 free-standing children's hospitals contributing observation patient data to the Pediatric Health Information System database, 2011. Fifty-one percent of the 136,239 observation-status stays in 2011 occurred in 14 hospitals with a dedicated OU; the remainder were in 17 hospitals without. The percentage of observation-status same-day discharges was higher in hospitals with a dedicated OU compared with hospitals without (23.8 vs 22.1, P hospitals with a dedicated OU (11.06%) compared with hospitals without (9.63%, P hospital-level outcomes. Inclusion of location of care (eg, dedicated OU, inpatient unit, emergency department) in hospital administrative datasets would allow for more meaningful comparisons of models of hospital care. © 2015 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Presence of gingivitis and periodontitis significantly increases hospital charges in patients undergoing heart valve surgery.

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Allareddy, Veerasathpurush; Elangovan, Satheesh; Rampa, Sankeerth; Shin, Kyungsup; Nalliah, Romesh P; Allareddy, Veerajalandhar

2015-01-01

To examine the prevalence and impact of gingivitis and periodontitis in patients having heart valve surgical procedures. Nationwide Inpatient Sample for the years 2004-2010 was used. All patients who had heart valve surgical procedures were selected. Prevalence of gingivitis/periodontitis was examined in these patients. Impact of gingivitis/periodontitis on hospital charges, length of stay, and infectious complications was examined. 596,190 patients had heart valve surgical procedures. Gingivitis/periodontitis was present in 0.2 percent. Outcomes included: median hospital charges ($175,418 with gingivitis/ periodontitis versus $149,353 without gingivitis/periodontitis) and median length of stay (14 days with gingivitis/periodontitis versus 8 days without gingivitis/periodontitis). After adjusting for the effects of patient- and hospital-level confounding factors, hospital charges and length of stay were significantly higher (p gingivitis/periodontitis compared to their counterparts. Further, patients with gingivitis/periodontitis had significantly higher odds for having bacterial infections (OR = 3.41, 95% CI = 2.33-4.98, p gingivitis/periodontitis. Presence of gingivitis and periodontitis is associated with higher risk for bacterial infections and significant hospital resource utilization.

Decreased calorie and protein intake is a risk factor for infection and prolonged length of stay in surgical patients: A prospective cohort study

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Michelli Cristina Silva de ASSIS

2016-06-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective The aim was to assess whether postoperative calorie and protein intakes increase the risk of infection and prolonged length of stay in a tertiary care university hospital in Southern Brazil. Methods This is a prospective cohort study approved by the hospital's Research Ethics Committee. The sample consisted of adult patients undergoing elective surgery. The exclusion criteria included patients who could not undergo nutritional assessment and those with a planned hospital stay of fewer than 72 hours. Nutritional status was assessed on admission and every seven days thereafter until hospital discharge or death. Demographic and clinical data, as well as information regarding independent and outcome variables, were collected from the patient's records. Food intake assessment was conducted by researchers six times a week. Calorie and protein intakes were considered adequate if equal to or greater than 75% of the prescribed amount, and length of stay was considered prolonged when above the average for specialty and type of surgery. Data was analyzed using Poisson regression. Results Of the 519 study patients, 16.2% had adequate nutritional therapy. Most of these patients were men with ischemic heart disease and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. After adjusting for confounders, inadequate nutritional therapy increased risk of infection by 121.0% (RR=2.21; 95%CI=1.01-4.86 and risk of prolonged length of stay by 89.0% (RR=1.89; 95%CI=1.01-3.53. Conclusion Most patients did not have adequate nutritional therapy. Those with inadequate nutritional therapy had a higher risk of infection and longer length of stay.

Immunonutrition – the influence of early postoperative glutamine supplementation in enteral/parenteral nutrition on immune response, wound healing and length of hospital stay in multiple trauma patients and patients after extensive surgery

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Lorenz, Kai J.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: In the postoperative phase, the prognosis of multiple trauma patients with severe brain injuries as well as of patients with extensive head and neck surgery mainly depends on protein metabolism and the prevention of septic complications. Wound healing problems can also result in markedly longer stays in the intensive care unit and general wards. As a result, the immunostimulation of patients in the postoperative phase is expected to improve their immunological and overall health. Patients and methods: A study involving 15 patients with extensive ENT tumour surgery and 7 multiple-trauma patients investigated the effect of enteral glutamine supplementation on immune induction, wound healing and length of hospital stay. Half of the patients received a glutamine-supplemented diet. The control group received an isocaloric, isonitrogenous diet.Results: In summary, we found that total lymphocyte counts, the percentage of activated CD4+DR+ T helper lymphocytes, the in-vitro response of lymphocytes to mitogens, as well as IL-2 plasma levels normalised faster in patients who received glutamine-supplemented diets than in patients who received isocaloric, isonitrogenous diets and that these parameters were even above normal by the end of the second postoperative week.Summary: We believe that providing critically ill patients with a demand-oriented immunostimulating diet is fully justified as it reduces septic complications, accelerates wound healing, and shortens the length of ICU (intensive care unit and general ward stays.

Reducing the length of postnatal hospital stay: implications for cost and quality of care.

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Bowers, John; Cheyne, Helen

2016-01-15

UK health services are under pressure to make cost savings while maintaining quality of care. Typically reducing the length of time patients stay in hospital and increasing bed occupancy are advocated to achieve service efficiency. Around 800,000 women give birth in the UK each year making maternity care a high volume, high cost service. Although average length of stay on the postnatal ward has fallen substantially over the years there is pressure to make still further reductions. This paper explores and discusses the possible cost savings of further reductions in length of stay, the consequences for postnatal services in the community, and the impact on quality of care. We draw on a range of pre-existing data sources including, national level routinely collected data, workforce planning data and data from national surveys of women's experience. Simulation and a financial model were used to estimate excess demand, work intensity and bed occupancy to explore the quantitative, organisational consequences of reducing the length of stay. These data are discussed in relation to findings of national surveys to draw inferences about potential impacts on cost and quality of care. Reducing the length of time women spend in hospital after birth implies that staff and bed numbers can be reduced. However, the cost savings may be reduced if quality and access to services are maintained. Admission and discharge procedures are relatively fixed and involve high cost, trained staff time. Furthermore, it is important to retain a sufficient bed contingency capacity to ensure a reasonable level of service. If quality of care is maintained, staffing and bed capacity cannot be simply reduced proportionately: reducing average length of stay on a typical postnatal ward by six hours or 17% would reduce costs by just 8%. This might still be a significant saving over a high volume service however, earlier discharge results in more women and babies with significant care needs at home. Quality

Comparing the effects of adaptive support ventilation and synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation on intubation duration and hospital stay after coronary artery bypass graft surgery

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Ahmadreza Yazdannik

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Different modes of mechanical ventilation are used for respiratory support after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG. This study aimed to compare the effect(s of using adaptive support ventilation (ASV and synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation (SIMV on the length of mechanical ventilation (intubation duration and hospital stay after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Materials and Methods: In a randomized control trial, 64 patients were ventilated with ASV as the experiment group or with SIMV as the control group after CABG surgery in Chamran Hospital of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The time of tracheal intubation and the length of hospital stay were compared between the two groups. Data were analyzed and described using statistical analysis (independent t-test. Results: The mean time of intubation duration was significantly lower in ASV group compared with SIMV group. (4.83 h vs 6.71 h, P < 0.001. The lengths of hospital stay in the ASV and the SIMV groups were 140.6 h and 145.1 h, respectively. This difference was significant between the two groups (P = 0.006. Conclusions: According to the results of this study, using ASV mode for mechanical ventilation after CABG led to a decrease in intubation duration and also hospital stay in comparison with the SIMV group. It is recommended to use ASV mode on ventilators for respiratory support of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Fall risk assessment: retrospective analysis of Morse Fall Scale scores in Portuguese hospitalized adult patients.

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Sardo, Pedro Miguel Garcez; Simões, Cláudia Sofia Oliveira; Alvarelhão, José Joaquim Marques; Simões, João Filipe Fernandes Lindo; Melo, Elsa Maria de Oliveira Pinheiro de

2016-08-01

The Morse Fall Scale is used in several care settings for fall risk assessment and supports the implementation of preventive nursing interventions. Our work aims to analyze the Morse Fall Scale scores of Portuguese hospitalized adult patients in association with their characteristics, diagnoses and length of stay. Retrospective cohort analysis of Morse Fall Scale scores of 8356 patients hospitalized during 2012. Data were associated to age, gender, type of admission, specialty units, length of stay, patient discharge, and ICD-9 diagnosis. Elderly patients, female, with emergency service admission, at medical units and/or with longer length of stays were more frequently included in the risk group for falls. ICD-9 diagnosis may also be an important risk factor. More than a half of hospitalized patients had "medium" to "high" risk of falling during the length of stay, which determines the implementation and maintenance of protocoled preventive nursing interventions throughout hospitalization. There are several fall risk factors not assessed by Morse Fall Scale. There were no statistical differences in Morse Fall Scale score between the first and the last assessment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prognostic Indices of Poor Nutritional Status and Their Impact on Prolonged Hospital Stay in a Greek University Hospital

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Georgia Tsaousi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background. To ascertain the potential contributors to nutritional risk manifestation and to disclose the factors exerting a negative impact on hospital length of stay (LOS, by means of poor nutritional status, in a nonselected hospitalized population. Materials and Methods. NutritionDay project questionnaires were applied to 295 adult patients. Study parameters included anthropometric data, demographics, medical history, dietary-related factors, and self-perception of health status. Body Mass Index (BMI and Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST were calculated for each participant. MUST score was applied for malnutrition assessment, while hospital LOS constituted the outcome of interest. Results. Of the total cohort, 42.3% were at nutritional risk and 21.4% malnourished. Age, gender, BMI, MUST score, autonomy, health quality, appetite, quantity of food intake, weight loss, arm or calf perimeter (P7 days. Conclusion. Nutritional status and nutrition-related parameters such as weight loss, quantity of food intake, appetite, arm circumference, dietary type, and extent of dependence confer considerable prognostic value regarding hospital LOS in acute care setting.

National trends in hospital length of stay for acute myocardial infarction in China.

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Li, Qian; Lin, Zhenqiu; Masoudi, Frederick A; Li, Jing; Li, Xi; Hernández-Díaz, Sonia; Nuti, Sudhakar V; Li, Lingling; Wang, Qing; Spertus, John A; Hu, Frank B; Krumholz, Harlan M; Jiang, Lixin

2015-01-20

China is experiencing increasing burden of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the face of limited medical resources. Hospital length of stay (LOS) is an important indicator of resource utilization. We used data from the Retrospective AMI Study within the China Patient-centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events, a nationally representative sample of patients hospitalized for AMI during 2001, 2006, and 2011. Hospital-level variation in risk-standardized LOS (RS-LOS) for AMI, accounting for differences in case mix and year, was examined with two-level generalized linear mixed models. A generalized estimating equation model was used to evaluate hospital characteristics associated with LOS. Absolute differences in RS-LOS and 95% confidence intervals were reported. The weighted median and mean LOS were 13 and 14.6 days, respectively, in 2001 (n = 1,901), 11 and 12.6 days in 2006 (n = 3,553), and 11 and 11.9 days in 2011 (n = 7,252). There was substantial hospital level variation in RS-LOS across the 160 hospitals, ranging from 9.2 to 18.1 days. Hospitals in the Central regions had on average 1.6 days (p = 0.02) shorter RS-LOS than those in the Eastern regions. All other hospital characteristics relating to capacity for AMI treatment were not associated with LOS. Despite a marked decline over the past decade, the mean LOS for AMI in China in 2011 remained long compared with international standards. Inter-hospital variation is substantial even after adjusting for case mix. Further improvement of AMI care in Chinese hospitals is critical to further shorten LOS and reduce unnecessary hospital variation.

Association of emergency department and hospital characteristics with elopements and length of stay.

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Handel, Daniel A; Fu, Rongwei; Vu, Eugene; Augustine, James J; Hsia, Renee Y; Shufflebarger, Charles M; Sun, Benjamin

2014-06-01

As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) core measures in 2013 compare Emergency Department (ED) treatment time intervals, it is important to identify ED and hospital characteristics associated with these metrics to facilitate accurate comparisons. The objective of this study is to assess differences in operational metrics by ED and hospital characteristics. ED-level characteristics included annual ED volume, percentage of patients admitted, percentage of patients presenting by ambulance, and percentage of pediatric patients. Hospital-level characteristics included teaching hospital status, trauma center status, hospital ownership (nonprofit or for-profit), inpatient bed capacity, critical access status, inpatient bed occupancy, and rural vs. urban location area. Data from the ED Benchmarking Alliance from 2004 to 2009 were merged with the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey Database to include hospital characteristics that may impact ED throughput. Overall median length of stay (LOS) and left before treatment is complete (LBTC) were the primary outcome variables, and a linear mixed model was used to assess the association between outcome variables and ED and hospital characteristics, while accounting for correlations among multiple observations within each hospital. All data were at the hospital level on a yearly basis. There were 445 EDs included in the analysis, from 2004 to 2009, with 850 observations over 6 years. Higher-volume EDs were associated with higher rates of LBTC and LOS. For-profit hospitals had lower LBTC and LOS. Higher inpatient bed occupancies were associated with a higher LOS. Increasing admission percentages were positively associated with overall LOS for EDs, but not with rates of LBTC. Higher-volume EDs are associated with higher LBTC and LOS, and for-profit hospitals appear more favorably in these metrics compared with their nonprofit counterparts. It is important to appreciate that hospitals have different baselines

Evaluation of the effect of an intervention on the nutritional status of hospitalized patients.

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Miguel Montoya, Isabel; Ortí Lucas, Rafael; Ferrer Ferrándiz, Esperanza; Martín Baena, David; Montejano Lozoya, Raimunda

2017-04-07

To compare the nutritional status of a population of hospitalized patients, divided into 2 different groups, both at admission and hospital discharge, and to assess the influence of nutritional alteration during the hospital stay. Quasi-experimental study comprising 2 groups of patients (N=581); an intervention group (n=303), in which nurses received specific training on managing care methodology, and a control group (n=278), in which nurses continued their usual dynamics. Each group was made up of 2 care units with patients from both surgical and medical specialties. patients admitted to the selected units with a minimum stay of 5 days. The sample selection was performed prospectively and consecutively after implementing the training. Of the 581 patients studied, 49.4% were women and 50.6% were men. Mean patient age was 68.29 (SD 16.23) years. In the intervention group, the odds ratio (OR) associated with good nutritional status was multiplied by 1.7 (OR=1.67) compared to the control group in the first evaluation and by 1.4 times (OR=1.43) at hospital discharge. The average stay in days was higher in the control group (13.71, SD 10.19) than in the intervention group (10.89, SD 7.49) (Pnutritional alteration and a shorter hospital stay than those admitted to the control units. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Convalescence and hospital stay after colonic surgery with balanced analgesia, early oral feeding, and enforced mobilisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møiniche, S; Bülow, Steffen; Hesselfeldt, Peter

1995-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the combined effects of pain relief by continuous epidural analgesia, early oral feeding and enforced mobilisation on convalescence and hospital stay after colonic resection. DESIGN: Uncontrolled pilot investigation. SETTING: University hospital, Denmark. SUBJECTS: 17...... unselected patients (median age 69 years) undergoing colonic resection. INTERVENTIONS: Patients received combined epidural and general anaesthesia during operations and after operation were given continuous epidural bupivacaine 0.25%, 4 ml hour and morphine 0.2 mg hour, for 96 hours and oral paracetamol 4 g....../daily. No patient had a nasogastric tube, and oral feeding with normal food and protein enriched solutions (1000 Kcal (4180 KJ/day) was instituted 24 hours postoperatively together with intensive mobilisation. RESULTS: Median visual analogue pain scores were zero at rest and minimal during coughing and mobilisation...

Does improved access to diagnostic imaging results reduce hospital length of stay? A retrospective study

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Hurlen Petter

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background One year after the introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT to support diagnostic imaging at our hospital, clinicians had faster and better access to radiology reports and images; direct access to Computed Tomography (CT reports in the Electronic Medical Record (EMR was particularly popular. The objective of this study was to determine whether improvements in radiology reporting and clinical access to diagnostic imaging information one year after the ICT introduction were associated with a reduction in the length of patients' hospital stays (LOS. Methods Data describing hospital stays and diagnostic imaging were collected retrospectively from the EMR during periods of equal duration before and one year after the introduction of ICT. The post-ICT period was chosen because of the documented improvement in clinical access to radiology results during that period. The data set was randomly split into an exploratory part used to establish the hypotheses, and a confirmatory part. The data was used to compare the pre-ICT and post-ICT status, but also to compare differences between groups. Results There was no general reduction in LOS one year after ICT introduction. However, there was a 25% reduction for one group - patients with CT scans. This group was heterogeneous, covering 445 different primary discharge diagnoses. Analyses of subgroups were performed to reduce the impact of this divergence. Conclusion Our results did not indicate that improved access to radiology results reduced the patients' LOS. There was, however, a significant reduction in LOS for patients undergoing CT scans. Given the clinicians' interest in CT reports and the results of the subgroup analyses, it is likely that improved access to CT reports contributed to this reduction.

[Shortened hospital stay for elective cesarean section after initiation of a fast-track program and midwifery home-care].

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Gunnarsdottir, Johanna; Bjornsdottir, Thorbjörg Edda; Halldorsson, Thorhallur Ingi; Halldorsdottir, Gudrun; Geirsson, Reynir Tomas

2011-07-01

To audit whether hospital stay shortened without increasing readmissions after implementation of fast-track methodology for elective cesarean section and characterize what influences length of stay. A fast-track program was initiated in November 2008, with a one year clinical audit and satisfaction survey. Discharge criteria were predefined and midwife home visits included if discharge was within 48 hours. Hospital stay by parity for women with elective section for singleton pregnancy between 1.11. 2008 - 31.10. 2009 (n=213, fast-track 182) was compared to 2003 (n=199) and 2007 (n=183). Readmissions and outpatient visits 2007 and 2008-9 were counted. Reasons for longer stay were recorded in fast-track, and body mass index. Median hospital stay decreased significantly from 81 to 52 hours between 2007 and 2008-9. Readmissions were four in each period and outpatient visit rates similar. In 2008-9, 66% of all women were discharged within 48 hours. Women in the fast-track program were satisfied with early discharge. Hospital stay for parous women was shorter in 2007 compared to 2003, but unchanged for nulliparas. Parity had a minimal influence on length of stay in 2008-9, although nulliparous women ≤ 25 years were more likely to stay >48 hours. Body mass index did not correlate with length of stay. Pain was rarely the reason for a longer stay in the fast-track program and 90% were satisfied with pain-medication after discharge. Most healthy women can be discharged early after singleton birth by elective cesarean, without increasing readmissions.

[Mortality and length of stay in a surgical intensive care unit.].

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Abelha, Fernando José; Castro, Maria Ana; Landeiro, Nuno Miguel; Neves, Aida Maria; Santos, Cristina Costa

2006-02-01

Outcome in intensive care can be categorized as mortality related or morbidity related. Mortality is an insufficient measure of ICU outcome when measured alone and length of stay may be seen as an indirect measure of morbidity related outcome. The aim of the present study was to estimate the incidence and predictive factors for intrahospitalar outcome measured by mortality and LOS in patients admitted to a surgical ICU. In this prospective study all 185 patients, who underwent scheduled or emergency surgery admitted to a surgical ICU in a large tertiary university medical center performed during April and July 2004, were eligible to the study. The following variables were recorded: age, sex, body weight and height, core temperature (Tc), ASA physical status, emergency or scheduled surgery, magnitude of surgical procedure, anesthesia technique, amount of fluids during anesthesia, use of temperature monitoring and warming techniques, duration of the anesthesia, length of stay in ICU and in the hospital and SAPS II score. The mean length of stay in the ICU was 4.09 +/- 10.23 days. Significant risk factors for staying longer in ICU were SAPS II, ASA physical status, amount of colloids, fresh frozen plasma units and packed erythrocytes units used during surgery. Fourteen (7.60%) patients died in ICU and 29 (15.70%) died during their hospitalization. Statistically significant independent risk factors for mortality were emergency surgery, major surgery, high SAPS II scores, longer stay in ICU and in the hospital. Statistically significant protective factors against the probability of dying in the hospital were low body weight and low BMI. In conclusion, prolonged ICU stay is more frequent in more severely ill patients at admission and it is associated with higher hospital mortality. Hospital mortality is also more frequent in patients submitted to emergent and major surgery.

Job stress and intent to stay at work among registered female nurses working in Thai hospitals.

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Kaewboonchoo, Orawan; Yingyuad, Boonrord; Rawiworrakul, Tassanee; Jinayon, Adchara

2014-01-01

Job stress is one of the factors that increase the likelihood of turnover. Intent to leave work is one of the most accurate predictors of turnover. This cross-sectional study was created to evaluate the intent of nurses working at hospitals to continue working and to determine the relationship between job stress and intent to stay at work. The subjects were 514 female hospital nurses aged 21-58 years old, who had worked full time at the study hospitals for at least 1 year. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which included sections on demographic characteristics, the Thai version of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), and intent to stay at work. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify factors related to intent to stay at work. The prevalences of high job strain and low intent to stay at work were 17.5 and 22.4%, respectively. The mean (SD) scores of the nurses for psychological job demand, decision latitude, workplace social support, and intent to stay at work were 33.5 (4.4), 70.7 (6.9), 23.8 (2.8), and 14.6 (2.9), respectively. Multiple regression analysis indicated that intent to stay at work was significantly correlated with only supervisor support among the nurses with high-strain jobs and with coworker support in nurses with active jobs. The findings suggest that different job types need different sources of social support in the workplace. Proactive steps by nurse managers to increase workplace social support might lead to an increase in intent to stay and reduce nursing turnover in hospitals and possibly other settings.

Experience with day stay surgery.

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Cohen, D; Keneally, J; Black, A; Gaffney, S; Johnson, A

1980-02-01

Potential advantages of day stay surgery are cost saving, improved utilization of staff and hospital facilities, and reduction of stress for the paediatric patient and his family. The successful program requires careful case selection, full operating and anesthetic facilities and good follow-up. Day stay surgery was initiated at Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children in 1974. Experience is reviewed in relation to the total number and nature of surgical admissions and the daily utilisation of the facility. Utilization has markedly increased in the past 2 yr. Current practice is reviewed with regard to initial assessment, preparation for surgery and overall management during the day admission. Parental attitudes towards day stay surgery were evaluated indicating both the advantages and the problems encountered. These related mainly to insufficient information, transport difficulties and afternoon operations. Recommendations for improving the day stay service are discussed with special reference to: (1) communication with the parents as to adequate pre-operative explanation, revision of the day stay information pamphlet and improved distribution, and clear postoperative instructions, (2) the timing of operations, and (3) transport and parking facilities.

Prospective evaluation of a clinical guideline recommending hospital length of stay in upper gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage.

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Hay, J A; Maldonado, L; Weingarten, S R; Ellrodt, A G

Upper gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage (UGIH) is a common and potentially life-threatening disorder. Resource utilization can vary without adverse effect on patient outcome. Clinical practice guidelines are a potential solution to reduce variation in practice while improving patient outcomes. To validate prospectively the safety, acceptability, and impact of a clinical practice guideline defining the medically appropriate length of stay (LOS) for patients hospitalized with UGIH. Prospective, controlled time-series study with an alternate-month design. Outcome surveyors and patients were blinded to study group allocation. GUIDELINE: A retrospectively validated scoring system using 4 independent variables: hemodynamics, time from bleeding, comorbidity, and esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) findings to predict risk of adverse events. The quantitative risk for the low-risk subset was 0.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.0%-2.0%) for subsequent complications and 0% (95% CI, 0.0%-0.9%) for life-threatening complications from this retrospective evaluation. A 1000-bed, not-for-profit, university-affiliated teaching hospital. Consecutive adult patients hospitalized for acute UGIH. Concurrent feedback of guideline recommendation (same-day hospital discharge) to physicians caring for patients at low risk for complication. No risk information was provided during control months. Seventy percent (209/299) of UGIH patients achieved low-risk status according to the guideline and were therefore potentially suitable for early discharge from the hospital. Providing real-time quantitative risk information (intervention group only) was associated with an increase in guideline compliance from 30% to 70% (Preduction of 1.7 days per patient; P<.001). No differences in complications, patient health status, or patient satisfaction were found when measured 1 month after discharge. An independent variable predicting decreased hospital LOS for low-risk UGIH patients was early EGD

Identification of older hospitalized patients at risk for functional decline

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoogerduijn, J.G.

2011-01-01

Between 30% and 60% of older patients experience functional decline after hospitalization, resulting in a decline in health-related quality of life and autonomy. This is associated with increased risk of readmission, nursing home placement and mortality, increased length of hospital stay and

Impact on patient outcome of emergency department length of stay prior to ICU admission.

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García-Gigorro, R; de la Cruz Vigo, F; Andrés-Esteban, E M; Chacón-Alves, S; Morales Varas, G; Sánchez-Izquierdo, J A; Montejo González, J C

2017-05-01

The favorable evolution of critically ill patients is often dependent on time-sensitive care intervention. The timing of transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU) therefore may be an important determinant of outcomes in critically ill patients. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact upon patient outcome of the length of stay in the Emergency Care Department. A single-center ambispective cohort study was carried out. A general ICU and Emergency Care Department (ED) of a single University Hospital. We included 269 patients consecutively transferred to the ICU from the ED over an 18-month period. Patients were first grouped into different cohorts based on ED length of stay (LOS), and were then divided into two groups: (a) ED LOS ≤5h and (b) ED LOS >5h. Demographic, diagnostic, length of stay and mortality data were compared among the groups. Median ED LOS was 277min (IQR 129-622). Patients who developed ICU complications had a longer ED LOS compared to those who did not (349min vs. 209min, p5h. The odds ratio of dying for patients with ED LOS >5h was 2.5 (95% CI 1.3-4.7). Age and sepsis diagnosis were the risk factors associated to prolongation of ED length of stay. A prolonged ED stay prior to ICU admission is related to the development of time-dependent complications and increased mortality. These findings suggest possible benefit from earlier ICU transfer and the prompt initiation of organ support. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.

Costs of hospital malnutrition.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Lori Jane; Bernier, Paule; Jeejeebhoy, Khursheed; Allard, Johane; Duerksen, Donald; Gramlich, Leah; Laporte, Manon; Keller, Heather H

2017-10-01

Hospital malnutrition has been established as a critical, prevalent, and costly problem in many countries. Many cost studies are limited due to study population or cost data used. The aims of this study were to determine: the relationship between malnutrition and hospital costs; the influence of confounders on, and the drivers (medical or surgical patients or degree of malnutrition) of the relationship; and whether hospital reported cost data provide similar information to administrative data. To our knowledge, the last two goals have not been studied elsewhere. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on data from the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force prospective cohort study combined with administrative data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Subjective Global Assessment was used to assess the relationship between nutritional status and length of stay and hospital costs, controlling for health and demographic characteristics, for 956 patients admitted to medical and surgical wards in 18 hospitals across Canada. After controlling for patient and hospital characteristics, moderately malnourished patients' (34% of surveyed patients) hospital stays were 18% (p = 0.014) longer on average than well-nourished patients. Medical stays increased by 23% (p = 0.014), and surgical stays by 32% (p = 0.015). Costs were, on average, between 31% and 34% (p-values < 0.05) higher than for well-nourished patients with similar characteristics. Severely malnourished patients (11% of surveyed patients) stayed 34% (p = 0.000) longer and had 38% (p = 0.003) higher total costs than well-nourished patients. They stayed 53% (p = 0.001) longer in medical beds and had 55% (p = 0.003) higher medical costs, on average. Trends were similar no matter the type of costing data used. Over 40% of patients were found to be malnourished (1/3 moderately and 1/10 severely). Malnourished patients had longer hospital stays and as a result cost more than well

Increased length of inpatient stay and poor clinical coding: audit of patients with diabetes.

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Daultrey, Harriet; Gooday, Catherine; Dhatariya, Ketan

2011-11-01

People with diabetes stay in hospital for longer than those without diabetes for similar conditions. Clinical coding is poor across all specialties. Inpatients with diabetes often have unrecognized foot problems. We wanted to look at the relationships between these factors. A single day audit, looking at the prevalence of diabetes in all adult inpatients. Also looking at their feet to find out how many were high-risk or had existing problems. A 998-bed university teaching hospital. All adult inpatients. (a) To see if patients with diabetes and foot problems were in hospital for longer than the national average length of stay compared with national data; (b) to see if there were people in hospital with acute foot problems who were not known to the specialist diabetic foot team; and (c) to assess the accuracy of clinical coding. We identified 110 people with diabetes. However, discharge coding data for inpatients on that day showed 119 people with diabetes. Length of stay (LOS) was substantially higher for those with diabetes compared to those without (± SD) at 22.39 (22.26) days, vs. 11.68 (6.46) (P coding was poor with some people who had been identified as having diabetes on the audit, who were not coded as such on discharge. Clinical coding - which is dependent on discharge summaries - poorly reflects diagnoses. Additionally, length of stay is significantly longer than previous estimates. The discrepancy between coding and diagnosis needs addressing by increasing the levels of awareness and education of coders and physicians. We suggest that our data be used by healthcare planners when deciding on future tariffs.

Determinants in Adolescence of Stroke-Related Hospital Stay Duration in Men: A National Cohort Study.

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Bergh, Cecilia; Udumyan, Ruzan; Appelros, Peter; Fall, Katja; Montgomery, Scott

2016-09-01

Physical and psychological characteristics in adolescence are associated with subsequent stroke risk. Our aim is to investigate their relevance to length of hospital stay and risk of second stroke. Swedish men born between 1952 and 1956 (n=237 879) were followed from 1987 to 2010 using information from population-based national registers. Stress resilience, body mass index, cognitive function, physical fitness, and blood pressure were measured at compulsory military conscription examinations in late adolescence. Joint Cox proportional hazards models estimated the associations of these characteristics with long compared with short duration of stroke-related hospital stay and with second stroke compared with first. Some 3000 men were diagnosed with nonfatal stroke between ages 31 and 58 years. Low stress resilience, underweight, and higher systolic blood pressure (per 1-mm Hg increase) during adolescence were associated with longer hospital stay (compared with shorter) in ischemic stroke, with adjusted relative hazard ratios (and 95% confidence intervals) of 1.46 (1.08-1.89), 1.41 (1.04-1.91), and 1.01 (1.00-1.02), respectively. Elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressures during adolescence were associated with longer hospital stay in men with intracerebral hemorrhage: 1.01 (1.00-1.03) and 1.02 (1.00-1.04), respectively. Among both stroke types, obesity in adolescence conferred an increased risk of second stroke: 2.06 (1.21-3.45). Some characteristics relevant to length of stroke-related hospital stay and risk of second stroke are already present in adolescence. Early lifestyle influences are of importance not only to stroke risk by middle age but also to recurrence and use of healthcare resources among stroke survivors. © 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

Association of Resident Coverage with Cost, Length of Stay, and Profitability at a Community Hospital

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Shine, Daniel; Beg, Sumbul; Jaeger, Joseph; Pencak, Dorothy; Panush, Richard

2001-01-01

OBJECTIVE The effect of care by medical residents on hospital length of stay (LOS), indirect costs, and reimbursement was last examined across a range of illnesses in 1981; the issue has never been examined at a community hospital. We studied resource utilization and reimbursement at a community hospital in relation to the involvement of medical residents. DESIGN This nonrandomized observational study compared patients discharged from a general medicine teaching unit with those discharged from nonteaching general medical/surgical units. SETTING A 620-bed community teaching hospital with a general medicine teaching unit (resident care) and several general medicine nonteaching units (no resident care). PATIENTS All medical discharges between July 1998 and February 1999, excluding those from designated subspecialty and critical care units. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Endpoints included mean LOS in excess of expected LOS, mean cost in excess of expected mean payments, and mean profitability (payments minus total costs). Observed values were obtained from the hospital's database and expected values from a proprietary risk–cost adjustment program. No significant difference in LOS between 917 teaching-unit patients and 697 nonteaching patients was demonstrated. Costs averaged $3,178 (95% confidencence interval (CI) ± $489) less than expected among teaching-unit patients and $4,153 (95% CI ± $422) less than expected among nonteaching-unit patients. Payments were significantly higher per patient on the teaching unit than on the nonteaching units, and as a result mean, profitability was higher: $848 (95% CI ± $307) per hospitalization for teaching-unit patients and $451 (95% CI ± $327) for patients on the nonteaching units. Teaching-unit patients of attendings who rarely admitted to the teaching unit (nonteaching attendings) generated an average profit of $1,299 (95% CI ± $613), while nonteaching patients of nonteaching attendings generated an average profit of $208

Assessment of Risk Factors, Treatment and Hospital Stay in Complicated Urinary Tract Infections in Men Caused by Pseudomonas: A Case-Control Study

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Hasan Selçuk Özger

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: It is known that Pseudomonas has been isolated more frequently in health care-related urinary tract infections (UTIs. It was aimed to determine the risk factors and empiric therapies due to antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas-related male UTIs, and assess the effect of Pseudomonas isolation on treatment and length of hospital stay. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted between January 2011 and January 2013 with 228 male health care-related complicated UTI patients hospitalized in the Urology and Infectious Diseases Inpatient Clinics at Gazi University Faculty of Medicine. Three hundred UTI attacks in 228 patients were evaluated retrospectively with regard to agents. Results: Pseudomonas was isolated in 37 of 300 complicated UTI attacks in 228 male patients. Nephrolithiasis, recurrent UTI and internal urinary catheterization were determined as the risk factors for Pseudomonas related with health care-related UTI. It was understood that nephrolithiasis increased Pseudomonas isolated UTI risk 3.5 fold and recurrent UTI increased the risk 8.9 fold. The antibiotic resistance of Pseudomonas was higher than other agents. Pseudomonas related UTIs prolonged the duration of hospital stay and antibiotic treatment. Conclusion: In the presence of nephrolithiasis, recurrent UTI and internal urinary catheterization, drugs against Pseudomonas would be appropriate empiric treatment for health care-related complicated UTI. Ciprofloxacin use should be restricted when local antibiotic resistance, which leads empiric treatment, is taken into consideration. Increases in hospital stay and antibiotic treatment duration were thought to be associated with recurrent infection frequency and high antibiotics resistance in Pseudomonas related UTIs.

A multicomponent approach to identify predictors of hospital outcomes in older in-patients: a multicentre, observational study.

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Stefanie L De Buyser

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The identification of older patients at risk of poor hospital outcomes (e.g. longer hospital stay, in-hospital mortality, and institutionalisation is important to provide an effective healthcare service. OBJECTIVE: To identify factors related to older patients' clinical, nutritional, functional and socio-demographic profiles at admission to an acute care ward that can predict poor hospital outcomes. DESIGN AND SETTING: The CRiteria to assess appropriate Medication use among Elderly complex patients project was a multicentre, observational study performed in geriatric and internal medicine acute care wards of seven Italian hospitals. SUBJECTS: One thousand one hundred twenty-three consecutively admitted patients aged 65 years or older. METHODS: Hospital outcomes were length of stay, in-hospital mortality, and institutionalisation. RESULTS: Mean age of participants was 81 years, 56% were women. Median length of stay was 10 (7-14 days, 41 patients died during hospital stay and 37 were newly institutionalised. Number of drugs before admission, metastasized cancer, renal failure or dialysis, infection, falls at home during the last year, pain, and walking speed were independent predictors of LoS. Total dependency in activities of daily living and inability to perform grip strength test were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. Malnutrition and total dependency in activities of daily living were independent predictors of institutionalisation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm that not only diseases, but also multifaceted aspects of ageing such as physical function and malnutrition are strong predictors of hospital outcomes and suggest that these variables should be systematically recorded.

Increasing Short-Stay Unplanned Hospital Admissions among Children in England; Time Trends Analysis ’97–‘06

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Saxena, Sonia; Bottle, Alex; Gilbert, Ruth; Sharland, Mike

2009-01-01

Background Timely care by general practitioners in the community keeps children out of hospital and provides better continuity of care. Yet in the UK, access to primary care has diminished since 2004 when changes in general practitioners' contracts enabled them to ‘opt out’ of providing out-of-hours care and since then unplanned pediatric hospital admission rates have escalated, particularly through emergency departments. We hypothesised that any increase in isolated short stay admissions for childhood illness might reflect failure to manage these cases in the community over a 10 year period spanning these changes. Methods and Findings We conducted a population based time trends study of major causes of hospital admission in children 2 days. By 2006, 67.3% of all unplanned admissions were isolated short stays <2 days. The increases in admission rates were greater for common non-infectious than infectious causes of admissions. Conclusions Short stay unplanned hospital admission rates in young children in England have increased substantially in recent years and are not accounted for by reductions in length of in-hospital stay. The majority are isolated short stay admissions for minor illness episodes that could be better managed by primary care in the community and may be evidence of a failure of primary care services. PMID:19829695

Performance of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in long-stay patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders in a psychiatric institute.

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Ong, Hui Lin; Subramaniam, Mythily; Abdin, Edimansyah; Wang, Peizhi; Vaingankar, Janhavi Ajit; Lee, Siau Pheng; Shafie, Saleha; Seow, Esmond; Chong, Siow Ann

2016-07-30

Studies have found that age and education were associated with cognition in older adults. However, little is known how clinical factors (e.g. age of illness onset, length of hospital stay, type of antipsychotic medications, and duration of illness) are associated with cognitive functioning in patients with schizophrenia. This study aimed to examine the influence of socio-demographic and clinical factors on cognitive domains measured using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) among patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders residing in a psychiatric institute in Singapore. A single-phase interview was conducted at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders (n=110). MMSE was administered to all participants. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, smoking, alcohol consumption, and medical history were collected. Age, gender, and level of education were significantly associated with MMSE scores. After adjusting for all socio-demographic correlates, longer length of hospital stay remained significant in predicting lower MMSE scores. Length of hospital stay was independently associated with cognitive functioning. Early interventions for cognition such as physical and mental exercises should be implemented for better prognosis. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Lived experiences and challenges of older surgical patients during hospitalization for cancer: An ethnographic fieldwork

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Lisbeth Uhrenfeldt

2014-02-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the lived experiences of older surgical patients’ (aged 74 years and older experienced challenges during a brief admission to hospital. Age, gender, polypharmacy, and the severity of illness are also factors known to affect the hospitalization process. For an ethnographic study using participant observation and interviews, surgical cancer patients (n = 9, aged 74 years and older were recruited during admission to a Danish teaching hospital. Using ethnographic strategies of participant observation and interviews, each patient was followed through the course of 1 day during their stay at the hospital. Interviews were carried out with all patients during this time. Three areas of concern were identified as prominent in the patients’ experiences and challenges during their short hospital stay: teeth and oral cavity, eating in a hospital setting, and medication during hospitalization. Short-term hospitalization requires focused collaboration between staff and patient concerning individual challenges from their teeth and oral cavity as support of nutritional needs during surgical treatment for cancer.

Patient satisfaction and quality of surgical care in US hospitals.

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Tsai, Thomas C; Orav, E John; Jha, Ashish K

2015-01-01

The relationship between patient satisfaction and surgical quality is unclear for US hospitals. Using national data, we examined if hospitals with high patient satisfaction have lower levels of performance on accepted measures of the quality and efficiency of surgical care. Federal policymakers have made patient satisfaction a core measure for the way hospitals are evaluated and paid through the value-based purchasing program. There is broad concern that performance on patient satisfaction may have little or even a negative correlation with the quality of surgical care, leading to potential trade-offs in efforts to improve patient experience with other surgical quality measures. We used the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey data from 2010 and 2011 to assess performance on patient experience. We used national Medicare data on 6 common surgical procedures to calculate measures of surgical efficiency and quality: risk-adjusted length of stay, process score, risk-adjusted mortality rate, risk-adjusted readmission rate, and a composite z score across all 4 metrics. Multivariate models adjusting for hospital characteristics were used to assess the independent relationships between patient satisfaction and measures of surgical efficiency and quality. Of the 2953 US hospitals that perform one of these 6 procedures, the median patient satisfaction score was 69.5% (interquartile range, 63%-75.5%). Length of stay was shorter in hospitals with the highest levels of patient satisfaction (7.1 days vs 7.7 days, P patient satisfaction had the higher process of care performance (96.5 vs 95.5, P patient satisfaction also had a higher composite score for quality across all measures (P patient satisfaction provided more efficient care and were associated with higher surgical quality. Our findings suggest there need not be a trade-off between good quality of care for surgical patients and ensuring a positive patient experience.

Impact of self-financed rotavirus vaccines on hospital stays and costs in Spain after a 3-year introductory period.

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Redondo-González, O; Tenías-Burillo, J M; Ruiz-Gonzalo, J

2017-07-01

Vaccination has reduced rotavirus hospitalizations by 25% in European regions with low-moderate vaccine availability. We aimed to quantify the reduction in hospital costs after the longest period in which Rotarix® and Rotateq® were simultaneously commercially available in Spain. Cases, length of stay (LOS), and diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) were retrieved from the Minimum Basic Data Set. Healthcare expenditure was estimated through the cost accounting system Gescot®. DRGs were clustered: I, non-bacterial gastroenteritis with complications; II, without complications; III, requiring surgical/other procedures or neonatal cases (highest DRG weights). Comparisons between pre (2003-2005)- and post-vaccine (2007-2009) hospital stays and costs by DRG group were made. Rotaviruses were the most common agents of specific-coded gastroenteritis (N = 1657/5012). LOS and extended LOS of rotaviruses fell significantly in 2007-2009 (β-coefficient = -0·43, 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) -0·68 to -0·17; and odds ratio 0·62, 95% CI 0·50-0·76, respectively). Overall, costs attributable to rotavirus hospitalizations fell approximately €244 per patient (95% CI -365 to -123); the decrease in DRG group III was €2269 per patient (95% CI -4098 to -380). We concluded modest savings in hospital costs, largely attributable to cases with higher DRG weights, and a faster recovery. A universal rotavirus vaccination program deserves being re-evaluated, regarding its potential high impact on both at-risk children and societal costs.

Ethnic variations in unplanned readmissions and excess length of hospital stay: a nationwide record-linked cohort study.

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de Bruijne, Martine C; van Rosse, Floor; Uiters, Ellen; Droomers, Mariël; Suurmond, Jeanine; Stronks, Karien; Essink-Bot, Marie-Louise

2013-12-01

Studies in the USA have shown ethnic inequalities in quality of hospital care, but in Europe, this has never been analysed. We explored variations in indicators of quality of hospital care by ethnicity in the Netherlands. We analysed unplanned readmissions and excess length of stay (LOS) across ethnic groups in a large population of hospitalized patients over an 11-year period by linking information from the national hospital discharge register, the Dutch population register and socio-economic data. Data were analysed with stepwise logistic regression. Ethnic differences were most pronounced in older patients: all non-Western ethnic groups > 45 years had an increased risk for excess LOS compared with ethnic Dutch patients, with odds ratios (ORs) (adjusted for case mix) varying from 1.05 [95% confidence intervals (95% CI) 1.02-1.08] for other non-Western patients to 1.14 (95% CI 1.07-1.22) for Moroccan patients. The risk for unplanned readmission in patients >45 years was increased for Turkish (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.18-1.30) and Surinamese patients (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.07-1.16). These differences were explained partially, although not substantially, by differences in socio-economic status. We found significant ethnic variations in unplanned readmissions and excess LOS. These differences may be interpretable as shortcomings in the quality of hospital care delivered to ethnic minority patients, but exclusion of alternative explanations (such as differences in patient- and community-level factors, which are outside hospitals' control) requires further research. To quantify potential ethnic inequities in hospital care in Europe, we need empirical prospective cohort studies with solid quality outcomes such as adverse event rates.

The effect of hospital volume on patient outcomes in severe acute pancreatitis

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Shen Hsiu-Nien

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We investigated the relation between hospital volume and outcome in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP. The determination is important because patient outcome may be improved through volume-based selective referral. Methods In this cohort study, we analyzed 22,551 SAP patients in 2,208 hospital-years (between 2000 and 2009 from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database. Primary outcome was hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were hospital length of stay and charges. Hospital SAP volume was measured both as categorical and as continuous variables (per one case increase each hospital-year. The effect was assessed using multivariable logistic regression models with generalized estimating equations accounting for hospital clustering effect. Adjusted covariates included patient and hospital characteristics (model 1, and additional treatment variables (model 2. Results Irrespective of the measurements, increasing hospital volume was associated with reduced risk of hospital mortality after adjusting the patient and hospital characteristics (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.995, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.993-0.998 for per one case increase. The patients treated in the highest volume quartile (≥14 cases per hospital-year had 42% lower risk of hospital mortality than those in the lowest volume quartile (1 case per hospital-year after adjusting the patient and hospital characteristics (adjusted OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.40-0.83. However, an inverse relation between volume and hospital stay or hospital charges was observed only when the volume was analyzed as a categorical variable. After adjusting the treatment covariates, the volume effect on hospital mortality disappeared regardless of the volume measures. Conclusions These findings support the use of volume-based selective referral for patients with SAP and suggest that differences in levels or processes of care among hospitals may have contributed to the volume

Clinical impact of antimicrobial resistance in European hospitals: excess mortality and length of hospital stay related to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

de Kraker, Marlieke E A

2011-04-01

Antimicrobial resistance is threatening the successful management of nosocomial infections worldwide. Despite the therapeutic limitations imposed by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), its clinical impact is still debated. The objective of this study was to estimate the excess mortality and length of hospital stay (LOS) associated with MRSA bloodstream infections (BSI) in European hospitals. Between July 2007 and June 2008, a multicenter, prospective, parallel matched-cohort study was carried out in 13 tertiary care hospitals in as many European countries. Cohort I consisted of patients with MRSA BSI and cohort II of patients with methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) BSI. The patients in both cohorts were matched for LOS prior to the onset of BSI with patients free of the respective BSI. Cohort I consisted of 248 MRSA patients and 453 controls and cohort II of 618 MSSA patients and 1,170 controls. Compared to the controls, MRSA patients had higher 30-day mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 4.4) and higher hospital mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 3.5). Their excess LOS was 9.2 days. MSSA patients also had higher 30-day (aOR = 2.4) and hospital (aHR = 3.1) mortality and an excess LOS of 8.6 days. When the outcomes from the two cohorts were compared, an effect attributable to methicillin resistance was found for 30-day mortality (OR = 1.8; P = 0.04), but not for hospital mortality (HR = 1.1; P = 0.63) or LOS (difference = 0.6 days; P = 0.96). Irrespective of methicillin susceptibility, S. aureus BSI has a significant impact on morbidity and mortality. In addition, MRSA BSI leads to a fatal outcome more frequently than MSSA BSI. Infection control efforts in hospitals should aim to contain infections caused by both resistant and susceptible S. aureus.

Chronology of prescribing error during the hospital stay and prediction of pharmacist's alerts overriding: a prospective analysis

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Bruni Vanida

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Drug prescribing errors are frequent in the hospital setting and pharmacists play an important role in detection of these errors. The objectives of this study are (1 to describe the drug prescribing errors rate during the patient's stay, (2 to find which characteristics for a prescribing error are the most predictive of their reproduction the next day despite pharmacist's alert (i.e. override the alert. Methods We prospectively collected all medication order lines and prescribing errors during 18 days in 7 medical wards' using computerized physician order entry. We described and modelled the errors rate according to the chronology of hospital stay. We performed a classification and regression tree analysis to find which characteristics of alerts were predictive of their overriding (i.e. prescribing error repeated. Results 12 533 order lines were reviewed, 117 errors (errors rate 0.9% were observed and 51% of these errors occurred on the first day of the hospital stay. The risk of a prescribing error decreased over time. 52% of the alerts were overridden (i.e error uncorrected by prescribers on the following day. Drug omissions were the most frequently taken into account by prescribers. The classification and regression tree analysis showed that overriding pharmacist's alerts is first related to the ward of the prescriber and then to either Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical class of the drug or the type of error. Conclusions Since 51% of prescribing errors occurred on the first day of stay, pharmacist should concentrate his analysis of drug prescriptions on this day. The difference of overriding behavior between wards and according drug Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical class or type of error could also guide the validation tasks and programming of electronic alerts.

Queueing network model for obstetric patient flow in a hospital.

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Takagi, Hideaki; Kanai, Yuta; Misue, Kazuo

2016-03-03

A queueing network is used to model the flow of patients in a hospital using the observed admission rate of patients and the histogram for the length of stay for patients in each ward. A complete log of orders for every movement of all patients from room to room covering two years was provided to us by the Medical Information Department of the University of Tsukuba Hospital in Japan. We focused on obstetric patients, who are generally hospitalized at random times throughout the year, and we analyzed the patient flow probabilistically. On admission, each obstetric patient is assigned to a bed in one of the two wards: one for normal delivery and the other for high-risk delivery. Then, the patient may be transferred between the two wards before discharge. We confirm Little's law of queueing theory for the patient flow in each ward. Next, we propose a new network model of M/G/ ∞ and M/M/ m queues to represent the flow of these patients, which is used to predict the probability distribution for the number of patients staying in each ward at the nightly census time. Although our model is a very rough and simplistic approximation of the real patient flow, the predicted probability distribution shows good agreement with the observed data. The proposed method can be used for capacity planning of hospital wards to predict future patient load in each ward.

Nutritional assessment: comparison of clinical assessment and objective variables for the prediction of length of hospital stay and readmission.

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Jeejeebhoy, Khursheed N; Keller, Heather; Gramlich, Leah; Allard, Johane P; Laporte, Manon; Duerksen, Donald R; Payette, Helene; Bernier, Paule; Vesnaver, Elisabeth; Davidson, Bridget; Teterina, Anastasia; Lou, Wendy

2015-05-01

Nutritional assessment commonly includes multiple nutrition indicators (NIs). To promote efficiency, a minimum set is needed for the diagnosis of malnutrition in the acute care setting. The objective was to compare the ability of different NIs to predict outcomes of length of hospital stay and readmission to refine the detection of malnutrition in acute care. This was a prospective cohort study of 1022 patients recruited from 18 acute care hospitals (academic and community), from 8 provinces across Canada, between 1 July 2010 and 28 February 2013. Participants were patients aged ≥18 y admitted to medical and surgical wards. NIs measured at admission were subjective global assessment (SGA; SGA A = well nourished, SGA B = mild or moderate malnutrition, and SGA C = severe malnutrition), Nutrition Risk Screening (2002), body weight, midarm and calf circumference, serum albumin, handgrip strength (HGS), and patient-self assessment of food intake. Logistic regression determined the independent effect of NIs on the outcomes of length of hospital stay (available for analysis. After we controlled for age, sex, and diagnosis, only SGA C (OR: 2.19; 95% CI: 1.28, 3.75), HGS (OR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.96, 0.99 per kg of increase), and reduced food intake during the first week of hospitalization (OR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.08, 2.11) were independent predictors of length of stay. SGA C (OR: 2.12; 95% CI: 1.24, 3.93) and HGS (OR: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.94, 0.98) but not food intake were independent predictors of 30-d readmission. SGA, HGS, and food intake were independent predictors of outcomes for malnutrition. Because food intake in this study was judged days after admission and HGS has a wide range of normal values, SGA is the single best predictor and should be advocated as the primary measure for diagnosis of malnutrition. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02351661. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

An investigation into the variables associated with length of hospital stay related to primary cleft lip and palate surgery and alveolar bone grafting.

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Izadi, N; Haers, P E

2012-10-01

This retrospective study evaluated variables associated with length of stay (LOS) in hospital for 406 admissions of primary cleft lip and palate and alveolus surgery between January 2007 and April 2009. Three patients were treated as day cases, 343 (84%) stayed one night, 48 (12%) stayed 2 nights and 12 (3%) stayed > 2 nights. Poisson regression analysis showed that there was no association between postoperative LOS and age, distance travelled, diagnosis and type of operation, with a p value > 0.2 for all variables. 60/406 patients stayed 2 nights or more postoperatively mostly due to poor pain control and inadequate oral intake. Patients with palate repair were more likely to have postoperative LOS > 1 night, compared to patients with lip repair, p value = 0.011. Four patients (1%), all of whom had undergone cleft palate surgery, were readmitted within 4 weeks of the operation due to respiratory obstruction or haemorrhage. Using logistic regression, evidence showed that these readmissions were related to a longer original postoperative LOS. This study shows that length of stay for primary cleft lip, palate and alveolus surgery can in most cases be limited to one night postoperatively, provided that adequate support can be provided at home. Copyright © 2012 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of casemix funding on outcomes in patients admitted to hospital with suspected unstable angina.

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Kerr, G D; Dunt, D; Gordon, I R

1998-01-19

To determine the effect of the introduction of casemix funding on resource utilisation and clinical outcomes in patients admitted to hospital with suspected unstable angina. A prospective cohort study with a 6-month follow-up. A suburban community hospital in Melbourne, Victoria. 336 consecutive patients admitted to the coronary care unit with suspected unstable angina before (156) and after (180) the introduction of casemix funding. Introduction of casemix funding in July 1993. Indices of resource utilisation: length of stay in hospital, length of stay in the coronary care unit, and total cost of investigations (pathology and radiology). Rates of serious cardiac events during hospital stay and after discharge. Readmissions within 28 days and 6 months of discharge. After the introduction of casemix funding there was a 1% increase in duration of hospital stay and a 5% increase in time spent in the coronary care unit, but neither of these increases was statistically significant. However, there was a significant reduction in total cost of investigations (39% decrease; 95% confidence interval, 14%-70%; P Casemix funding had no effect on short term clinical outcomes but resulted in significantly reduced investigation costs.

Incidence, hospital costs and in-hospital mortality rates of surgically treated patients with traumatic cranial epidural hematoma

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Atci Ibrahim Burak

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Background: In this study, the patients who were operated in two clinics due to traumatic cranial epidural hematoma (EDH were assessed retrospectively and the factors that increase the costs were tried to be revealed through conducting cost analyses. Methods: The patients who were operated between 2010 and 2016 with the diagnosis of EDH were assessed in terms of age, sex, trauma etiology, Glasgow coma scale (GCS at admission, the period from trauma to hospital arrival, trauma-related injury in other organs, the localization of hematoma, the size of hematoma, length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU, length of antibiotherapy administration, number of consultations conducted, total cost of in-hospital treatments of the patients and prognosis. Results: Distribution of GCS were, between 13-15 in 18 (36% patients, 9-13 in 23 (46% patients and 3-8 in 9 (18% patients. The reasons for emergency department admissions were fall from high in 29 (58% patients, assault in 11 (22% patients and motor vehicle accident in 10 (20% patients. The average cost per ICU stay was 2838 $ (range=343-20571 $. The average cost per surgical treatment was 314 $. ICU care was approximately 9 times more expensive than surgical treatment costs. The mortality rate of the study cohort was 14% (7 patients. Conclusion: The prolonged period of stay in the ICU, antibiotherapy and repeat head CTs increase the costs for patients who are surgically treated for EDH.

Prehospital fast track care for patients with hip fracture: Impact on time to surgery, hospital stay, post-operative complications and mortality a randomised, controlled trial.

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Larsson, Glenn; Strömberg, Rn Ulf; Rogmark, Cecilia; Nilsdotter, Anna

2016-04-01

Ambulance organisations in Sweden have introduced prehospital fast track care (PFTC) for patients with suspected hip fracture. This means that the ambulance nurse starts the pre-operative procedure otherwise implemented at the accident & emergency ward (A&E) and transports the patient directly to the radiology department instead of A&E. If the diagnosis is confirmed, the patient is transported directly to the orthopaedic ward. No previous randomised, controlled studies have analysed PFTC to describe its possible advantages. The aim of this study is to examine whether PFTC has any impact on outcomes such as time to surgery, length of stay, post-operative complications and mortality. The design of this study is a prehospital randomised, controlled study, powered to include 400 patients. The patients were randomised into PFTC or the traditional care pathway (A&E group). Time from arrival to start for X-ray was faster for PFTC (mean, 28 vs. 145 min; pstart of X-ray to start of surgery (mean 18.40 h in both groups). No significant differences between the groups were observed with regard to: time from arrival to start of surgery (p=0.07); proportion operated within 24h (79% PFTC, 75% A&E; p=0.34); length of stay (p=0.34); post-operative complications (p=0.75); and 4 month mortality (18% PFTC, 15% A&E p=0.58). PFTC improved time to X-ray and admission to a ward, as expected, but did not significantly affect time to start of surgery, length of stay, post-operative complications or mortality. These outcomes were probably affected by other factors at the hospital. Patients with either possible life-threatening conditions or life-threatening conditions prehospital were excluded. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Obese motorcycle riders have a different injury pattern and longer hospital length of stay than the normal-weight patients.

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Liu, Hang-Tsung; Rau, Cheng-Shyuan; Wu, Shao-Chun; Chen, Yi-Chun; Hsu, Shiun-Yuan; Hsieh, Hsiao-Yun; Hsieh, Ching-Hua

2016-04-14

The adverse effects of obesity on the physical health have been extensively studied in the general population, but not in motorcycle riders (includes both drivers and pillions). The aim of this study was to compare injury patterns, injury severities, mortality rates, and in-hospital or intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS) between obese and normal-weight patients who were hospitalized for the treatment of trauma following motorcycle accidents in a level I trauma center. Detailed data of 466 obese adult patients with a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m(2) and 2701 normal-weight patients (25 > BMI ≥18.5 kg/m(2)) who had sustained motorcycle accident-related injuries were retrieved from the Trauma Registry System between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2013. We used the Pearson's chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, and independent Student's t-test to analyze differences between the two groups. Compared to normal-weight motorcycle riders, more obese riders were men and drivers as opposed to pillions. In addition, fewer obese motorcycle riders showed alcohol intoxication. Analyses of the patients' Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) scores revealed that obese motorcycle riders presented with a higher rate of injury to the thorax, but a lower rate of injury to the face than normal-weight patients. In addition, obese motorcycle riders had a 2.7-fold greater incidence of humeral, 1.9-fold greater incidence of pelvic, and 1.5-fold greater incidence of rib fractures. In contrast, normal-weight motorcycle riders sustained a significantly higher rate of maxillary and clavicle fractures. Obese motorcycle riders had a significant longer in-hospital LOS than normal-weight motorcycle riders did (10.6 days vs. 9.5 days, respectively; p = 0.044), with an increase in in-hospital LOS of 0.82 days associated with every 10-unit increase in BMI. No statistically significant differences in Injury Severity Score (ISS), New Injury Severity Score (NISS), Trauma

Shorter Hospital Stays and Lower Costs for Rivaroxaban Compared With Warfarin for Venous Thrombosis Admissions.

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Margolis, Jay M; Deitelzweig, Steven; Kline, Jeffrey; Tran, Oth; Smith, David M; Bookhart, Brahim; Crivera, Concetta; Schein, Jeff

2016-10-06

Venous thromboembolism, including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, results in a substantial healthcare system burden. This retrospective observational study compared hospital length of stay (LOS) and hospitalization costs for patients with venous thromboembolism treated with rivaroxaban versus those treated with warfarin. Hospitalizations for adult patients with a primary diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism who were initiated on rivaroxaban or warfarin were selected from MarketScan's Hospital Drug Database between November 1, 2012, and December 31, 2013. Patients treated with warfarin were matched 1:1 to patients treated with rivaroxaban using exact and propensity score matching. Hospital LOS, time from first dose to discharge, and hospitalization costs were reported descriptively and with generalized linear models (GLMs). The final study cohorts each included 1223 patients (751 with pulmonary embolism and 472 with deep vein thrombosis). Cohorts were well matched for demographic and clinical characteristics. Mean (±SD) LOS was 3.7±3.1 days for patients taking rivaroxaban and 5.2±3.7 days for patients taking warfarin, confirmed by GLM-adjusted results (rivaroxaban 3.7 days, warfarin 5.3 days, P<0.001). Patients with provoked venous thromboembolism admissions showed longer LOSs (rivaroxaban 5.1±4.5 days, warfarin 6.5±5.6 days, P<0.001) than those with unprovoked venous thromboembolism (rivaroxaban 3.3±2.4 days, warfarin 4.8±2.8 days, P<0.001). Days from first dose to discharge were 2.4±1.7 for patients treated with rivaroxaban and 3.9±3.7 for patients treated with warfarin when initiated with parenteral anticoagulants (P<0.001), and 2.7±1.7 and 3.7±2.1, respectively, when initiated without parenteral anticoagulants (P<0.001). Patients initiated on rivaroxaban incurred significantly lower mean total hospitalization costs ($8688±$9927 versus $9823±$9319, P=0.004), confirmed by modeling (rivaroxaban $8387 [95

Admission of people with dementia to psychiatric hospitals in Japan: factors that can shorten their hospitalizations.

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Morikawa, Takako; Maeda, Kiyoshi; Osaki, Tohmi; Kajita, Hiroyuki; Yotsumoto, Kayano; Kawamata, Toshio

2017-11-01

People exhibiting serious behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia are usually voluntarily or involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals for treatment. In Japan, the average hospital stay for individuals with dementia is about 2 years. Ideally, individuals should be discharged once their symptoms have subsided. However, we see cases in Japan where individuals remain institutionalized long after behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia are no longer apparent. This study will attempt to identify factors contributing to shorter stays in psychiatric hospitals for dementia patients. Questionnaires consisting of 17 items were mailed to 121 psychiatric hospitals with dementia treatment wards in western Japan. Out of 121 hospitals that received the questionnaires, 45 hospitals returned them. The total number of new patient admissions at all 45 hospitals during the month of August 2014 was 1428, including 384 dementia patients (26.9%). The average length of stay in the dementia wards in August 2014 was 482.7 days. Our findings revealed that the rate of discharge after 2 months was 35.4% for the dementia wards. In addition, we found that the average stay in hospitals charging or planning to charge the rehabilitation fee to dementia patients was significantly shorter than in hospitals not charging the rehabilitation fee. In Japan, dementia patients account for over 25% of new admissions to psychiatric hospitals with dementia wards. The average length of stay in a psychiatric hospital dementia ward is more than 1 year. A discharge after fewer than 2 months is exceedingly rare for those in a dementia ward compared with dementia patients in other wards. If institutions focus on rehabilitation, it may be possible to shorten the stay of dementia patients in psychiatric hospitals. © 2017 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

Correlates of Length of Stay and Boarding in Florida Emergency Departments for Patients With Psychiatric Diagnoses.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Joseph L; De Nadai, Alessandro S; Storch, Eric A; Langland-Orban, Barbara; Pracht, Etienne; Petrila, John

2016-11-01

Length of stay (LOS) and boarding in the emergency department (ED) for psychiatric patients have been the subject of concern, given the problems with crowding and excessive wait times in EDs. This investigation examined correlates of LOS and boarding in Florida EDs for patients presenting with psychiatric complaints from 2010 to 2013. Utilizing the Florida ED discharge database, the authors examined the association of LOS and boarding with hospital and encounter factors for adult patients presenting with a primary psychiatric diagnosis (N=597,541). The mean LOS was 7.77 hours. Anxiety disorders were the most frequent psychiatric complaint and were associated with the lowest mean LOS compared with other diagnoses (pboarding (a stay of more than six or more hours in the ED). Extended LOS was endemic for psychiatric patients in Florida EDs.

Incidence of Diarrhea in Hospitalized Patients with Standard Enteral Formula

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Shabbu Ahmadi bonakdar

2014-10-01

Conclusion: Evaluation of patients receiving Milatech standard formula showed that diarrhea wasn’t seen in hospitalized patients. Diarrhea was reported by the nurses may refer to other diarrhea genic causes including of long length of stay, entral duration or medical side effects or infections.

Costs and length of stay associated with antimicrobial resistance in acute kidney injury patients with bloodstream infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandijck, D M; Blot, S I; Decruyenaere, J M; Vanholder, R C; De Waele, J J; Lameire, N H; Claus, S; De Schuijmer, J; Dhondt, A W; Verschraegen, G; Hoste, E A

2008-01-01

Antimicrobial resistance negatively impacts on prognosis. Intensive care unit (ICU) patients, and particularly those with acute kidney injury (AKI), are at high risk for developing nosocomial bloodstream infections (BSI) due to multi-drug-resistant strains. Economic implications in terms of costs and length of stay (LOS) attributable to antimicrobial resistance are underevaluated. This study aimed to assess whether microbial susceptibility patterns affect costs and LOS in a well-defined cohort of ICU patients with AKI undergoing renal replacement therapy (RRT) who developed nosocomial BSI. Historical study (1995-2004) enrolling all adult RRT-dependent ICU patients with AKI and nosocomial BSI. Costs were considered as invoiced in the Belgian reimbursement system, and LOS was used as a surrogate marker for hospital resource allocation. Of the 1330 patients with AKI undergoing RRT, 92 had microbiologic evidence of nosocomial BSI (57/92, 62% due to a multi-drug-resistant microorganism). Main patient characteristics were equal in both groups. As compared to patients with antimicro-4 bial-susceptible BSI, patients with antimicrobial-resistant BSI were more likely to acquire Gram-positive infection (72.6% vs 25.5%, P0.05) or hospital costs (all P>0.05) when comparing patients with antimicrobial-resistant vs antimicrobial-susceptible BSI. However, although not statistically significant, patients with BSI caused by resistant Gram-negative-, Candida-, or anaerobic bacteria incurred substantial higher costs than those without. In a cohort of ICU patients with AKI and nosocomial BSI undergoing RRT, patients with antimicrobial-resistant vs antimicrobial-susceptible Gram-positive BSI did not have longer hospital stays, or higher hospital costs. Patients with resistant "other" (i.e. Gram-negative, Candida, or anaerobic) BSI were found to have a distinct trend towards increased resources use as compared to patients with susceptible "other" BSI, respectively.

Grip strength in a cohort of older medical inpatients in Malaysia: a pilot study to describe the range, determinants and association with length of hospital stay.

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Keevil, Victoria; Mazzuin Razali, Rizah; Chin, Ai-Vyrn; Jameson, Karen; Aihie Sayer, Avan; Roberts, Helen

2013-01-01

Grip strength is a marker of sarcopenia, the age-related decline in muscle mass and function, and has been little researched in Asian populations. We aimed to describe the feasibility and acceptability of measuring grip strength in hospitalized, older people in Malaysia and to explore its range, determinants and association with length of stay. Patients admitted acutely to the geriatrics ward of a teaching hospital were consecutively recruited. Inability to consent or use the dynamometer led to exclusion. Maximum grip strength, anthropometric data, length of hospital stay, discharge destination, 3-point Barthel score, mini-mental state examination, falls history and number of co-morbidities and medications on admission were recorded. 80/153 (52%) eligible patients were recruited (52 women; age range 64-100 years). 9/153 (6%) refused to participate and 64/153 (42%) were excluded (34 too unwell, 24 unable to consent, 4 unable to use the dynamometer, 2 other reasons). 76/80 patients (95%) reported that they would undergo grip strength measurement again. Determinants were similar to those of Caucasian populations but grip strength values were lower. After adjustment for sex, age and height, stronger grip strength was associated with shorter length of stay [hazard ratio 1.05 (95% CI 1.00, 1.09; P=0.03)]. This is the first report of grip strength measurement in hospitalized older people in Malaysia. It was feasible, acceptable to participants and associated with length of stay. Further research is warranted to elucidate the normative range in different ethnic groups and explore its potential use in clinical practice in Malaysia. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Role of duration of catheterization and length of hospital stay on the rate of catheter-related hospital-acquired urinary tract infections

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Al-Hazmi H

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Hamdan Al-HazmiDivision of Urology, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine and King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaObjective: Our aim is to prove that duration of catheterization and length of hospital stay (LOS are associated with the rate of hospital-acquired urinary tract infections (UTI, while taking into account type of urinary catheter used, the most common organisms found, patient diagnosis on admission, associated comorbidities, age, sex, precautions that should be taken to avoid UTI, and comparison with other studies.Methods: The study was done in a university teaching hospital with a 920-bed capacity; this hospital is a tertiary care center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The study was done on 250 selected patients during the year 2010 as a retrospective descriptive study. Patients were selected as purposive sample, all of them having been exposed to urinary catheterization; hospital-acquired UTI were found in 100 patients. Data were abstracted from the archived patients' files in the medical record department using the annual infection control logbook prepared by the infection control department. The data collected were demographic information about the patients, clinical condition (diagnosis and the LOS, and possible risk factors for infection such as duration of catheterization, exposure to invasive devices or surgical procedures, and medical condition.Results: There was a statistically significant association between the rate of UTI and duration of catheterization: seven patients had UTI out of 46 catheterized patients (15% at 3 days of catheterization, while 30 patients had UTI out of 44 catheterized patients (68% at 8 days of catheterization (median 8 days in infected patients versus 3 days in noninfected patients; P-value <0.05, which means that the longer the duration of catheterization, the higher the UTI rate. There was a statistically significant association between the rate of UTI and LOS

Funds for Treatment of Hospitalized Patients: Evidence from Bangladesh

Science.gov (United States)

Begum, Farhana; Hossain, Akmal

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT This study was designed to explore sources of funds for health expenditure of patients if they are hospitalized. We have included 379 patients of 3 private and 7 public hospitals to estimate total expenditure. Of them, 229 (60.4%) were from public and 150 (39.6%) from private hospitals. Mean expenditure was Tk 60,613.3 and 8,262.7, and duration of hospital stay was 10.7 and 11.8 days in private and public hospitals respectively. More than half (55%) of the patients from middle class were treated in private hospitals. Of them, 278 (74.0%) were funded by themselves, 48 (12.8%) by loan with interest rate of 100% to 180%, 23 (6.1%) by loan without interest, 17 (4.5%) by losing their fixed asset, and 4 (1.1%) by begging in the street. Most of the patients did bear expenditure by themselves, followed by loan with high interest rate. ‘Distress’ selling of property was also a source. Middle-class patients could be comfortable with expenditure if they were in public hospitals. PMID:25395909

Funds for treatment of hospitalized patients: evidence from Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Begum, Farhana; Alam, Shahinul; Hossain, Akmal

2014-09-01

This study was designed to explore sources of funds for health expenditure of patients if they are hospitalized. We have included 379 patients of 3 private and 7 public hospitals to estimate total expenditure. Of them, 229 (60.4%) were from public and 150 (39.6%) from private hospitals. Mean expenditure was Tk 60,613.3 and 8,262.7, and duration of hospital stay was 10.7 and 11.8 days in private and public hospitals respectively. More than half (55%) of the patients from middle class were treated in private hospitals. Of them, 278 (74.0%) were funded by themselves, 48 (12.8%) by loan with interest rate of 100% to 180%, 23 (6.1%) by loan without interest, 17 (4.5%) by losing their fixed asset, and 4 (1.1%) by begging in the street. Most of the patients did bear expenditure by themselves, followed by loan with high interest rate. 'Distress' selling of property was also a source. Middle-class patients could be comfortable with expenditure if they were in public hospitals.

In-hospital mortality, 30-day readmission, and length of hospital stay after surgery for primary colorectal cancer: A national population-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pucciarelli, S; Zorzi, M; Gennaro, N; Gagliardi, G; Restivo, A; Saugo, M; Barina, A; Rugge, M; Zuin, M; Maretto, I; Nitti, D

2017-07-01

The simultaneous assessment of multiple indicators for quality of care is essential for comparisons of performance between hospitals and health care systems. The aim of this study was to assess the rates of in-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission and length of hospital stay (LOS) in patients who underwent surgical procedures for colorectal cancer between 2005 and 2014 in Italy. All patients in the National Italian Hospital Discharge Dataset who underwent a surgical procedure for colorectal cancer during the study period were included. The adjusted odd ratios for risk factors for in-hospital mortality, 30-day readmission, and LOS were calculated using multilevel multivariable logistic regression. Among the 353 941 patients, rates of in-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission were 2.5% and 6%, respectively, and the median LOS was 13 days. High comorbidity, emergent/urgent admission, male gender, creation of a stoma, and an open approach increased the risks of all the outcomes at multivariable analysis. Age, hospital volume, hospital geographic location, and discharge to home/non-home produced different effects depending on the outcome considered. The most frequent causes of readmission were infection (19%) and bowel obstruction (14.6%). We assessed national averages for mortality, LOS and readmission and related trends over a 10-year time. Laparoscopic surgery was the only one that could be modified by improving surgical education. Higher hospital volume was associated with a LOS reduction, but our findings only partially support a policy of centralization for colorectal cancer procedures. Surgical site infection was identified as the most preventable cause of readmission. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd, BASO ~ The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.

The relationships between safety climate, teamwork, and intent to stay at work among Jordanian hospital nurses.

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Abualrub, Raeda F; Gharaibeh, Huda F; Bashayreh, Alaa Eddin I

2012-01-01

The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationships among safety climate, teamwork, and intent to stay at work as perceived by Jordanian hospital nurses. A descriptive correlational design was used to investigate these relationships among a convenience sample of 381 hospital nurses. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire that included the Safety Climate and Teamwork Scale and the McCain's Intent to Stay Scale. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, analysis of variance, and hierarchical regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The findings showed (a) a strong positive correlation between safety climate and teamwork; and (b) moderate positive correlations between safety climate and intent to stay at work, and between teamwork and intent to stay at work. Moreover, the overall model of hierarchical regression showed that 45% of the variation in the level of intent to stay at work was explained by background variables, leadership styles, decision-making styles, and safety climate. The findings emphasized the positive effect of safety climate and teamwork on the level of nurses' intent to stay. Nurse administrators should design and implement strategies that create a culture of safety climate and teamwork in their organizations. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Length of hospitalization is associated with selected biomarkers (albumin and lymphocytes) and with co-morbidities: study on 4000 patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Pontiroli, Antonio E; Loreggian, Lara; Rovati, Marco P L; De Patto, Elena; Folini, Laura; Raveglia, Federico; De Simone, Matilde; Baisi, Alessandro; Cioffi, Ugo

2017-01-01

Low albumin levels and low lymphocyte counts are intra hospital conditions that exert a negative influence on prognosis, healing and length of hospitalization. The study aimed to analyze the correlation between low blood levels of albumin, low lymphocytes, and length of stay. The secondary aim was to identify other co-morbidities associated with prolonged hospital stay. Retrospective pilot study was conducted by analyzing anamnestic and biochemical data, related to 4038 patients admitted to ten wards of Hospital San Paolo (Milan), collected from July 1 st 2012 to December 31 st 2012. A statistical analysis was carried out using the Correlation method, Multivariate Analysis and Regression. Lymphocyte count and co-morbidities were evaluated in the whole cohort, albumin levels in 1437 patients. In the whole sample, low albumin levels and low lymphocyte counts were directly correlated to longer hospitalizations. The stratification of the results by department and diagnosis suggests that there is a higher correlation in certain subpopulations, and albumin shows a greater correlation with length of stay than lymphocytes. Also advanced age, high platelets, type of diagnosis, male gender and emergency admission led to longer hospitalizations. A routine check of albumin, lymphocytes and a spectrum of significant variables can provide precious information which can eventually lead to a shorter hospital stay. Knowledge of the general health status of a patient and the possibility to estimate his/her length of hospital stay are essential information for Clinical Governance, and for the improvement of internal services of hospitals on a large scale.

Identification of hospitalized elderly patients at risk for adverse in-hospital outcomes in a university orthopedics and trauma surgery environment.

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Janine Gronewold

Full Text Available As a consequence of demographic changes, hospitals are confronted with increasing numbers of elderly patients, who are at high risk of adverse events during hospitalization. Geriatric risk screening followed by comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA and treatment has been requested by geriatric societies and task forces to identify patients at risk. Since empirical evidence on factors predisposing to adverse hospital events is scarce, we now prospectively evaluated implications of geriatric risk screening followed by CGA in a university hospital department of orthopedics and trauma surgery.Three hundred and eighty-one patients ≥75 years admitted to the Department of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery of the University Hospital Essen received Identification of Seniors at Risk (ISAR Screening followed by CGA via a geriatric liaison service in case of positive screening results. Associations between ISAR, CGA, comorbid risk factors and diseases, length of hospital stay, number of nursing and physiotherapy hours, and falls during hospital stay were analyzed.Of 381 ISAR screenings, 327 (85.8% were positive, confirming a high percentage of patients at risk of adverse events. Of these, 300 CGAs revealed 82.7% abnormal results, indicating activities of daily living impairment combined with cognitive, emotional or mobility disturbances. Abnormal CGA resulted in a longer hospital stay (14.0±10.3 days in ISAR+/CGA abnormal compared with 7.6±7.0 days in ISAR+/CGA normal and 8.1±5.4 days in ISAR-, both p<0.001, increased nursing hours (3.4±1.1 hours/day in ISAR+/CGA abnormal compared with 2.5±1.0 hours/day in ISAR+/CGA normal and 2.2±0.8 hours/day in ISAR-, both p<0.001, and increased falls (7.3% in ISAR+/CGA abnormal, 0% in ISAR+/CGA normal, 1.9% in ISAR-. Physiotherapy hours were only significantly increased in ISAR+/CGA abnormal (3.0±2.7 hours compared with in ISAR+/CGA normal (1.6±1.4 hours, p<0.001 whereas the comparison with ISAR- (2.4±2

Hospital stay of 2 days after open sigmoidectomy with a multimodal rehabilitation programme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kehlet, H; Mogensen, T

1999-01-01

the results of a multimodal rehabilitation regimen after open sigmoidectomy. METHODS: Sixteen unselected patients scheduled for elective sigmoid resection (median age 71 years) underwent operation under combined spinal-epidural anaesthesia. After operation, epidural analgesia was continued for 48 h......, with immediate oral nutrition and mobilization, and with planned discharge 2 days after surgery. RESULTS: The median postoperative hospital stay was 2 (range 2-6) days (48 h), patients being mobilized for a median of 5 h on the second postoperative day (24-48 h) and for 10 h on the third day (48-72 h). Within 48...... h of operation 14 patients had an oral intake of 2000 ml or more and 15 had resumed defaecation. Fatigue and pain scores were low during the first 8-9 days after operation, with a median of 13 h of mobilization per day after discharge. There were no medical or surgical complications during 30 days...

Emergency Department Length of Stay for Critical Care Admissions. A Population-based Study.

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Rose, Louise; Scales, Damon C; Atzema, Clare; Burns, Karen E A; Gray, Sara; Doing, Christina; Kiss, Alex; Rubenfeld, Gordon; Lee, Jacques S

2016-08-01

Hospital emergency department (ED) strain is common in North America. Excessive strain may result in prolonged ED length of stay and may lead to worse outcomes for patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). To describe patient, ED, and hospital characteristics associated with prolonged ED length of stay for adult patients admitted from EDs to ICUs. We conducted a population-based cohort study in the Province of Ontario, Canada, including patients admitted to an adult ICU from an ED and excluding only interhospital transfers and scheduled visits. Using regression modeling, we examined associations between patient- and hospital-level characteristics and two ED performance measures: length of stay in the ED of more than 6 hours and 90-day mortality. From April 2007 to March 2012, 261,274 adults presented to 118 EDs in Ontario, generating 314,836 ICU admissions. This activity represented 4.1% of all adult ED visits (incidence, 1,374 ICU admissions/100,000 ED visits). Median (interquartile range) ED length of stay was 7 (4-13) hours. Less than half (41.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 41.2-41.5) of these patients had an ED length of stay of 6 hours or less, whereas 10.5% (95% CI, 10.4-10.6) stayed 24 hours or longer. Hospital characteristics associated with ED length of stay more than 6 hours included shift-level ED crowding (mean length of stay of patients of similar acuity registering during same 8 h epoch) (odds ratio [OR], 1.19/h; 95% CI, 1.19-1.19), ED annual visit volume (OR, 1.01/1,000 patients; 95% CI, 1.01-1.01), time of ED presentation (00:00-07:59) (OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.38-1.45), and ICU functioning at greater than 20% above the average annual census (OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.08-1.12). ED length of stay more than 6 hours was not associated with 90-day mortality after adjustment for selected confounders (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.97-1.02). In this population-based study, less than half of adult ED patients were admitted to an ICU 6 hours or less after arrival to

Post-ICU psychological morbidity in very long ICU stay patients with ARDS and delirium.

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Bashar, Farshid R; Vahedian-Azimi, Amir; Hajiesmaeili, Mohammadreza; Salesi, Mahmood; Farzanegan, Behrooz; Shojaei, Seyedpouzhia; Goharani, Reza; Madani, Seyed J; Moghaddam, Kivan G; Hatamian, Sevak; Moghaddam, Hosseinali J; Mosavinasab, Seyed M M; Elamin, Elamin M; Miller, Andrew C

2018-02-01

We investigated the impact of delirium on illness severity, psychological state, and memory in acute respiratory distress syndrome patients with very long ICU stay. Prospective cohort study in the medical-surgical ICUs of 2 teaching hospitals. Very long ICU stay (>75days) and prolonged delirium (≥40days) thresholds were determined by ROC analysis. Subjects were ≥18years, full-code, and provided informed consent. Illness severity was assessed using Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation IV, Simplified Acute Physiology Score-3, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores. Psychological impact was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Impact of Event Scale-Revised, and the 14-question Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSS-14). Memory was assessed using the ICU Memory Tool survey. 181 subjects were included. Illness severity did not correlate with delirium duration. On logistic regression, only PTSS-14<49 correlated with delirium (p=0.001; 95% CI 1.011, 1.041). 49% remembered their ICU stay clearly. 47% had delusional memories, 50% reported intrusive memories, and 44% reported unexplained feelings of panic or apprehension. Delirium was associated with memory impairment and PTSS-14 scores suggestive of PTSD, but not illness severity. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Nosocomial infections in hospitalized patients in the burn unit of Hospital Universitario San José, Popayán - Colombia

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Yeni Arroyave

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Objective. To determine the prevalence and microbiological behavior of the infections in hospitalized patients in the burn unit of the University Hospital San José ( HUSJ at Popayan, Colombia, 2010-2011. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in patients admitted to the burn unit of HUSJ between the years 2010–2011. Patients were characterized sociodemographic and clinically. The prevalence of nosocomial infections was estimated. Frequency and antibiotic resistance of microorganisms isolated was described. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 15. Results. 113 patients was enrolled, the average age was 17.7 years and male gender predominated (55.8%. Hot liquids (64.6% were the principal cause, the average of body surface area burned was 11.3% and the average hospital stay was 19.8 days. 13.3% of the patients had some nosocomial infection. The most frequently diagnosed infections were sepsis (24%, urinary tract infection (20% and pneumonia (20%. Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequent bacteria (41.7% followed by Staphylococcus epidermidis, mostly meticilino-resistant. The mean length of hospital stay and burned surface area (BSA in patients with diagnosis of infection was 36.6 days and 17.3% respectively. Conclusions. The prevalence of infection is similar to that reported in Colombia. The resistance of the isolates was high. The meticilinoresistance of Staphylococcus was associated with clindamicina resistance.

Hospital Resource Utilisation by Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

McCarthy, S

2017-09-01

Little data is available on the resource utilisation of patients admitted with Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) in Ireland. A retrospective review of 50 randomly-selected patients admitted to Beaumont Hospital with CAP was undertaken. The mean length of stay of patients with CAP was 12 days (+\\/- 16 days). All patients were emergency admissions, all had a chest x-ray, a C-reactive protein blood test, and occupied a public bed at some point during admission. Common antimicrobial therapies were intravenous (IV) amoxicillin\\/clavulanic acid and oral clarithromycin; 60% received physiotherapy. The estimated mean cost of CAP per patient was €14,802.17. Costs arising from admission to hospital with CAP are substantial, but efforts can be undertaken to ensure that resources are used efficiently to improve patient care such as discharge planning and fewer in-hospital ward transfers

Depressed Patients Hospitalized in Southeast-Facing Rooms Are Discharged Earlier than Patients in Northwest-Facing Rooms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gbyl, Krzysztof; Madsen, Helle Ostergaard; Svendsen, Signe Dunker

2017-01-01

in a specialized affective disorders unit investigated the impact of daylight on the length of hospital stay and improvement of depression. Methods: For a period of 1 year, we collected data on sociodemographics, length of stay, vitamin D, and depression severity for patients in an inpatient affective disorders....... Conclusion: Due to the study design, no causality for the observed difference in length of stay can be given, but the results support findings in previous studies of the importance of architectural orientation providing natural daylight as a factor for improvement....

Effect of dysphasia and dysphagia on inpatient mortality and hospital length of stay: a database study.

Science.gov (United States)

Guyomard, Veronique; Fulcher, Robert A; Redmayne, Oliver; Metcalf, Anthony K; Potter, John F; Myint, Phyo K

2009-11-01

To examine the effect of dysphasia and dysphagia on stroke outcome. Retrospective database study. Norfolk, United Kingdom. Two thousand nine hundred eighty-three men and women with stroke admitted to the hospital between 1997 and 2001. Inpatient mortality and likelihood of longer length of hospital stay, defined as longer than median length of stay (LOS). Dysphagia was defined as difficulty swallowing any liquid (including saliva) or solid material. Dysphasia was defined as speech disorders in which there was impairment of the power of expression by speech, writing, or signs or impairment of the power of comprehension of spoken or written language. An experienced team assessed dysphagia and dysphasia using explicit criteria. Two thousand nine hundred eighty-three patients (1,330 (44.6%) male), median age 78 (range 17-105), were included, of whom 77.7% had ischemic, 10.5% had hemorrhagic, and 11.8% had undetermined stroke types. Dysphasia was present in 41.2% (1,230) and dysphagia in 50.5% (1,506), and 27.7% (827) had both conditions. Having either or both conditions was associated with greater mortality and longer LOS (P<.001 for all). Using multiple logistic regression models controlling for age, sex, premorbid Rankin score, previous disabling stroke, and stroke type, corresponding odds ratios for death and longer LOS were 2.2 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.8-2.7) and 1.4 (95% CI=1.2-1.6) for dysphasia; 12.5 (95% CI=8.9-17.3) and 3.9 (95% CI=3.3-4.6) for dysphagia, 5.5 (95% CI=3.7-8.2), 1.9 (95% CI=1.6-2.3) for either, and 13.8 (95% CI=9.4-20.4) and 3.7 (95% CI=3.1-4.6) if they had both, versus having no dysphasia, no dysphagia, or none of these conditions, respectively. Patients with dysphagia have worse outcome in terms of inpatient mortality and length of hospital stay than those with dysphasia. When both conditions are present, the presence of dysphagia appears to determine the likelihood of poor outcome. Whether this effect is related just to stroke severity

Urinary incontinence in hospital patients: prevalence and associated factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaqueline Betteloni Junqueira

2018-01-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objectives: to analyze the prevalence of urinary incontinence and its associated factors in hospital patients. Method: this is a cross-sectional epidemiological study whose data were collected using the instruments Sociodemographic and Clinical Data, Characteristics of Urinary Leakage and International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire - Short Form. Prevalence was surveyed on a single day for four consecutive months. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, Student t-test, Mann-Whitney test and logistic regression (forward stepwise. Results: the final sample consisted of 319 hospital adults (57.1% female, mean age of 47.9 years (SD=21.1. The prevalence of urinary incontinence was 22.9% (28% in women and 16.1% in men and the associated factors were: female sex (OR=3.89, age (OR=1.03, asthma (OR=3.66, use of laxatives (OR=3.26, use of diaper during the evaluation (OR=2.75, use of diaper at home (OR=10.29, and use of diaper at some point during the hospital stay (OR=6.74. Conclusion: the findings of this study differ from those found in the scarce existing literature on the subject in hospital patients. There is a need for previous studies such as this before proposing the implementation of preventive and therapeutic actions during the hospital stay.

Children staying in hospital: a research on psychological stress of caregivers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Commodari Elena

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Having a child hospitalized is a stressful event for parents. Previous studies have found increased stress in families with children affected by different kinds of pathologies, and analyzed disease related objective variables producing stress. However, most of these studies recruited caregivers of children with chronic or serious illnesses, and focused on evaluation of objective environmental stressors and did not consider subjective "perception" of stress. The aim of this study was to investigate perception of acute stress in caregivers taking care of children without serious physical damage that were hospitalized for short periods. Moreover, some variables, such as recreational and school services offered to children, influencing perception of cognitive, physiological and behavioral state relating to the sensation of "being stressed" were analyzed. Methods This study was realized with a sample of caregivers of children hospitalized for mild acute diseases. Research was conducted using two standardized tests, PSM (Psychological Stress Measure and STAI (State Trait Anxiety Inventory, whose characteristics of reliability and validity had been successfully established. Results Present data showed that caregivers of hospitalized children perceived high levels of stress and anxiety. Perception of stress was influenced by the degree of kindred with patients, length of hospitalization, and, notably, participation in some of the activities offered to children, mainly school services. Discussion Findings showed that child hospitalization is a stressful event for caregivers, even if hospitalization is for middle and transient pathologies. Perception of stress was influenced by length of hospitalization, and by degree of kindred. Findings even suggest that some services offered to children can modulate caregivers' perception of stress and impact of hospitalization. Caregivers whose children used school services describe themselves as

The Analysis of the Causes of Prolonged Hospitalization after Transarterial Chemoembolization in Patients with Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Nam Kyu; Jeong, Yong Yeon; Park, Seo Yeon; Kim, Jae Kyu

2011-01-01

We wanted to analyze the causes of prolonged hospitalization (over 7 days) after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma and its related factors. We analyzed the total hospital days after patients with unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma received transarterial chemoembolization, and these patients were treated during the recent 6 month at our hospital. Two hundred twenty three sessions showed a short term hospital stay (less than 7 days) and 57 sessions showed a prolonged hospital stay (more than 7 days), so a total of 280 sessions were analyzed. The hospital stay less than seven days was set for the control group and this was correlated with the patient's age, gender, the level of bilirubin and albumin, the platelet counts, the AST/ALT ratio, the a-FT, the presence of portal vein thrombosis and ascites, several scoring systems (Child-Pugh, CLIP, and OKUDA score) and the need for additional embolization at the time of the procedure. Compared with that of the control group, ascites (p=0.004), portal vein thrombosis (p=0.000), a platelet count below the hundred thousand (p=0.012), a Child-Pugh score more than B (p=0.023), a CLIP score more than 2 (p=0.000) and a OKUDA score more than II (p=0.000) showed significant differences. The evaluation of patients' factors would be useful to predict extended post-procedural hospitalization after hepatic chemoembolisation

Trends in complicated newborn hospital stays & costs, 2002-2009: implications for the future.

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Trudnak Fowler, Tara; Fairbrother, Gerry; Owens, Pamela; Garro, Nicole; Pellegrini, Cynthia; Simpson, Lisa

2014-01-01

With the steady growth in Medicaid enrollment since the recent recession, concerns have been raised about care for newborns with complications. This paper uses all-payer administrative data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), to examine trends from 2002 through 2009 in complicated newborn hospital stays, and explores the relationship between expected sources of payment and reasons for hospitalizations. Trends in complicated newborn stays, expected sources of payment, costs, and length of stay were examined. A logistic regression was conducted to explore likely payer source for the most prevalent diagnoses in 2009. Complicated births and hospital discharges within 30 days of birth remained relatively constant between 2002 and 2009, but average costs per discharge increased substantially (p<.001 for trend). Most strikingly, over time, the proportion of complicated births billed to Medicaid increased, while the proportion paid by private payers decreased. Among complicated births, the most prevalent diagnoses were preterm birth/low birth weight (23%), respiratory distress (18%), and jaundice (10%). The top two diagnoses (41% of newborns) accounted for 61% of the aggregate cost. For infants with complications, those with Medicaid were more likely to be complicated due to preterm birth/low birth weight and respiratory distress, while those with private insurance were more likely to be complicated due to jaundice. State Medicaid programs are paying for an increasing proportion of births and costly complicated births. Policies to prevent common birth complications have the potential to reduce costs for public programs and improve birth outcomes.

Hospital costs for patients with lower extremity cellulitis: a retrospective population-based study.

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Challener, Douglas; Marcelin, Jasmine; Visscher, Sue; Baddour, Larry

2017-12-01

Hospital admissions for non-purulent lower extremity cellulitis (NLEC) are common and can be prolonged and costly. Newer treatment options and preventive strategies are expected to result in cost savings before implementation, but few studies have quantified the cost of conventional treatment. Using the Rochester Epidemiology Project, the incidence of NLEC in Olmsted County, MN in 2013 was 176.6 per 100,000 persons. The subset of patients who required hospitalization for NLEC in 2013 was determined. Hospital admissions were analyzed retrospectively using standardized cost analysis within several relevant categories. Thirty-four patients had an average hospital length of stay of 4.7 days. The median total inpatient cost was $7,341. The median cost per day was $2,087, with 49% due to room and board. Antibiotics administered for treatment of NLEC contributed a median cost of $75 per day of hospitalization, and laboratory and imaging test costs were $73 and $44, respectively, per day of hospitalization. Hospitalizations for NLEC can be costly and prolonged with room and board accounting for much of the cost. Therefore, newer management strategies should seek to reduce hospital length of stay and/or avoid inpatient admission to reduce cost.

CMS proposes to OK one-midnight inpatient stays.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-01

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed that stays shorter than two midnights be reimbursed as inpatient stays if the documentation in the medical record supports it. CMS made the proposal in the Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule for 2016 and left the policy unchanged for stays of two midnights or longer. CMS also announced that the two Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs), Livanta and KEPRO, will take over the responsibility of Probe and Educate and will review cases for medical necessity when patient stays are one midnight or less, referring hospitals with high denial rates to the Recovery Auditors. Case managers should continue to assist physicians in determining patient status and to make sure that the documentation is complete, accurate, and specifies the severity of illness.

A medical admission unit reduces duration of hospital stay and number of readmissions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vork, Jan C; Brabrand, Mikkel; Folkestad, Lars

2011-01-01

Political initiatives promoting a more efficient emergency admission process have triggered a reorganisation of the Danish health system with a view to creating fewer and larger admission units counting more experienced physicians. At our hospital, a medical admission unit (MAU) was established. ...... present the effect of this on the length of hospital stay, mortality rates and the number of readmissions for the last year with the previous structure and the first year of the new MAU structure....

Preferences for photographic art among hospitalized patients with cancer.

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Hanson, Hazel; Schroeter, Kathryn; Hanson, Andrew; Asmus, Kathryn; Grossman, Azure

2013-07-01

To determine the preferences of patients with cancer for viewing photographic art in an inpatient hospital setting and to evaluate the impact of viewing photographic art. Quantitative, exploratory, single-group, post-test descriptive design incorporating qualitative survey questions. An academic medical center in the midwestern United States. 80 men (n = 44) and women (n = 36) aged 19-85 years (X = 49) and hospitalized for cancer treatment. Participants viewed photographs via computers and then completed a five-instrument electronic survey. Fatigue, quality of life, performance status, perceptions of distraction and restoration, and content categories of photographs. Ninety-six percent of participants enjoyed looking at the study photographs. The photographs they preferred most often were lake sunset (76%), rocky river (66%), and autumn waterfall (66%). The most rejected photographs were amusement park (54%), farmer's market vegetable table (51%), and kayakers (49%). The qualitative categories selected were landscape (28%), animals (15%), people (14%), entertainment (10%), imagery (10%), water (7%), spiritual (7%), flowers (6%), and landmark (3%). Some discrepancy between the quantitative and qualitative sections may be related to participants considering water to be a landscape. The hypothesis that patients' preferences for a category of photographic art are affected by the psychophysical and psychological qualities of the photographs, as well as the patients' moods and characteristics, was supported. Nurses can play an active role in helping patients deal with the challenges of long hospital stays and life-threatening diagnoses through distraction and restoration interventions such as viewing photographic images of nature. Nurses can use photographic imagery to provide a restorative intervention during the hospital experience. Photographic art can be used as a distraction from the hospital stay and the uncertainty of a cancer diagnosis. Having patients view

Sepsis Alert - a triage model that reduces time to antibiotics and length of hospital stay.

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Rosenqvist, Mari; Fagerstrand, Emma; Lanbeck, Peter; Melander, Olle; Åkesson, Per

2017-07-01

To study if a modified triage system at an Emergency Department (ED) combined with educational efforts resulted in reduced time to antibiotics and decreased length of hospital stay (LOS) for patients with severe infection. A retrospective, observational study comparing patients before and after the start of a new triage model at the ED of a University Hospital. After the implementation of the model, patients with fever and abnormal vital signs were triaged into a designated sepsis line (Sepsis Alert) for rapid evaluation by the attending physician supported by a infectious diseases (IDs) specialist. Also, all ED staff participated in a designated sepsis education before Sepsis Alert was introduced. Medical records were evaluated for patients during a 3-month period after the triage system was started in 2012, and also during the corresponding months in 2010 and 2014. A total of 1837 patients presented with abnormal vital signs. Of these, 221 patients presented with fever and thus at risk of having severe sepsis. Among patients triaged according to the new model, median time to antibiotics was 58.5 at startup and 24.5 minutes at follow-up two years later. This was significantly less than for patients treated before the new model, 190 minutes. Also, median LOS was significantly decreased after introduction of the new triage model, from nine to seven days. A triage model at the ED with special attention to severe sepsis patients, led to sustained improvements of time to antibiotic treatment and LOS.

Comparison of costs and discharge outcomes for patients hospitalized for ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke with or without atrial fibrillation in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Xianying; Simon, Teresa A; Hamilton, Melissa; Kuznik, Andreas

2015-05-01

This retrospective analysis investigated the impact of baseline clinical characteristics, including atrial fibrillation (AF), on hospital discharge status (to home or continuing care), mortality, length of hospital stay, and treatment costs in patients hospitalized for stroke. The analysis included adult patients hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke between January 2006 and June 2011 from the premier alliance database, a large nationally representative database of inpatient health records. Patients included in the analysis were categorized as with or without AF, based on the presence or absence of a secondary listed diagnosis of AF. Irrespective of stroke type (ischemic or hemorrhagic), AF was associated with an increased risk of mortality during the index hospitalization event, as well as a higher probability of discharge to a continuing care facility, longer duration of stay, and higher treatment costs. In patients hospitalized for a stroke event, AF appears to be an independent risk factor of in-hospital mortality, discharge to continuing care, length of hospital stay, and increased treatment costs.

Constipation--prevalence and incidence among medical patients acutely admitted to hospital with a medical condition.

Science.gov (United States)

Noiesen, Eline; Trosborg, Ingelise; Bager, Louise; Herning, Margrethe; Lyngby, Christel; Konradsen, Hanne

2014-08-01

To examine the prevalence and incidence of patient-reported symptoms of constipation in acutely hospitalised medical patients. Constipation is a common medical problem with severe consequences, and most people suffer from constipation at some point in their lives. In the general population, constipation is one of the most common complaints and is a significant personal and public health burden. Alteration in patients' patterns of elimination while in hospital has long been identified as either a potential or an actual problem that requires attention. Knowledge of the prevalence and incidence of constipation during hospitalisation is only sporadic. The study was descriptive and a prospective cohort design was chosen. The Constipation Assessment Scale was translated into Danish and was used for the assessment of patient-reported bowel function. Five nurses made the assessments at admission to the acute medical ward and three days after admission. Three hundred and seventy-three patients participated in this study. Thirty-nine percent of the patients showed symptoms of constipation at admission. Of the patients who did not have the symptoms at admission, 43% developed the symptoms during the first three days of their stay in hospital. Significantly more of the older patients developed symptoms of moderate constipation. The incidence rate was 143 new cases per 1000 patient days. In this study, symptoms of constipation were common among patients acutely admitted to hospital due to different medical conditions. Symptoms of constipation were also developed during the first three days of the stay in hospital. The study highlights the need to develop both clinical guidelines towards treating constipation, and preventive measures to ensure that patients do not become constipated while staying in hospital. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Division of overall duration of stay into operative stay and postoperative stay improves the overall estimate as a measure of quality of outcome in burn care.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Islam Abdelrahman

Full Text Available Surgically managed burn patients admitted between 2010-14 were included. Operative stay was defined as the time from admission until the last operation, postoperative stay as the time from the last operation until discharge. The difference in variation was analysed with F-test. A retrospective review of medical records was done to explore reasons for extended postoperative stay. Multivariable regression was used to assess factors associated with operative stay and postoperative stay.Operative stay/TBSA% showed less variation than total duration/TBSA% (F test = 2.38, p<0.01. The size of the burn, and the number of operations, were the independent factors that influenced operative stay (R2 0.65. Except for the size of the burn other factors were associated with duration of postoperative stay: wound related, psychological and other medical causes, advanced medical support, and accommodation arrangements before discharge, of which the two last were the most important with an increase of (mean 12 and 17 days (p<0.001, R2 0.51.Adjusted operative stay showed less variation than total hospital stay and thus can be considered a more accurate outcome measure for surgically managed burns. The size of burn and number of operations are the factors affecting this outcome measure.

Outcomes of hospitalized patients undergoing emergency general surgery remote from admission.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharoky, Catherine E; Bailey, Elizabeth A; Sellers, Morgan M; Kaufman, Elinore J; Sinnamon, Andrew J; Wirtalla, Christopher J; Holena, Daniel N; Kelz, Rachel R

2017-09-01

Emergency general surgery during hospitalization has not been well characterized. We examined emergency operations remote from admission to identify predictors of postoperative 30-day mortality, postoperative duration of stay >30 days, and complications. Patients >18 years in The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (2011-2014) who had 1 of 7 emergency operations between hospital day 3-18 were included. Patients with operations >95th percentile after admission (>18 days; n = 581) were excluded. Exploratory laparotomy only (with no secondary procedure) represented either nontherapeutic or decompressive laparotomy. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of study outcomes. Of 10,093 patients with emergency operations, most were elderly (median 66 years old [interquartile ratio: 53-77 years]), white, and female. Postoperative 30-day mortality was 12.6% (n = 1,275). Almost half the cohort (40.1%) had a complication. A small subset (6.8%) had postoperative duration of stay >30 days. Postoperative mortality after exploratory laparotomy only was particularly high (>40%). In multivariable analysis, an operation on hospital day 11-18 compared with day 3-6 was associated with death (odds ratio 1.6 [1.3-2.0]), postoperative duration of stay >30 days (odds ratio 2.0 [1.6-2.6]), and complications (odds ratio 1.5 [1.3-1.8]). Exploratory laparotomy only also was associated with death (odds ratio 5.4 [2.8-10.4]). Emergency general surgery performed during a hospitalization is associated with high morbidity and mortality. A longer hospital course before an emergency operation is a predictor of poor outcomes, as is undergoing exploratory laparotomy only. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Cannabis on Inpatient Agitation, Aggression, and Length of Stay.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Joseph M; Wu, Chris Y; Winder, Gerald Scott; Casher, Michael I; Marshall, Vincent D; Bostwick, Jolene R

2016-01-01

This study examines the association between cannabis use and the hospital course of patients admitted to the psychiatric inpatient unit with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder. Many confounding variables potentially contribute to the clinical presentation of hospitalized patients in the psychiatric unit. Illicit drug use, in particular, has been associated with acute agitation, and questions can be raised as to what lasting effects drug use prior to admission may have throughout a patient's hospital stay. Subjects with a discharge diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or psychosis not otherwise specified (N = 201) were retrospectively identified, and those with positive results of urine drug screen for cannabis on admission were compared to negative counterparts. Agitation and aggression were measured using an adaptation of the Excited Component of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-EC). These markers were also quantified by comparing charted episodes of restraint and seclusion and administration of as needed medications, such as benzodiazepines and antipsychotics. Positive urine drug screen results for cannabis was correlated with young (p = .001) males (p = .003) with bipolar disorder (p = .009) exhibiting active manic symptoms (p = .003) at the time of admission. Cannabis use was further associated with a shorter length of stay (p = .008), agitation triggering adapted PANSS-EC nursing assessments (p = .029), and oral medications as needed (p = .002) for agitation. Cannabis use, as defined by positive urine drug screen results, was more common in patients with bipolar disorder and was accompanied by a higher incidence of inpatient agitation. Although these patients also had short hospital lengths of stay, there was no clear relationship between level of agitation and length of stay across all patient groups. One possible explanation for patients with bipolar disorder

[Hospitality for elderly patients in the emergency department].

Science.gov (United States)

Boulet, Marie-Claude; Dami, Fabrice; Hugli, Olivier; Renard, Delphine; Foucault, Eliane; Carron, Pierre-Nicolas

2015-12-09

Demographic evolution results in a growing use of emergency department by elderly patients. They require special care to avoid any further degradation of cognitive and functional abilities already compromised by the disease or injury that led them to hospital in the first place. Through a clinical case, we list the risks related to the care of these particular patients in the emergency department. Early recognition of those risks and careful management of these patients' specific needs can significantly contribute to reduce lengths of stay, an important outcome from both the individual patient's and society's perspective.

Effect of tactile kinesthetic stimulation on preterm infants' weight and length of hospital stay in Khartoum, Sudan.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Ragaa G; Suliman, Gaafer I; Elfakey, Walyeldin A; Salih, Karimeldin M; El-Amin, Ehab I; Ahmed, Waled A; Khalid, Khalid E

2015-02-01

To determine the effect of 7 days tactile kinesthetic stimulation (TKS) on preterm infants' weight and hospital stays in Khartoum State, Sudan. This is a quasi-experimental study, it was conducted in 4 hospitals between January and June 2013, Khartoum, Sudan, and it involved 160 preterm infants randomly assigned into the case and control groups (80 neonates in each). Preterm infants in the control group received routine nursing care, while preterm infants in the case group received TKS for 3 periods, 15 minute per day for 7 constitutive days, in addition to routine care. Data was collected using a structured self-designed and validated questionnaire, checklist, and weighting scale. Weight gain and hospital stay were compared between the 2 groups. Over the constitutive 7 days, the case group gained significantly more weight (1071 gm versus 1104 gm) compared with the control group (1077 gm versus 1084 gm) (1084.55±90.74) who gained only 6.9 gm within the same 7 days without TKS treatment. The mean difference in weight gain was significant (p=0.00). The hospital stay for preterm infants in the case group was significantly shorter (18.05±9.36 versus 25.47±10.25; p=0.00). Tactile kinesthetic stimulation for preterm infants has a beneficial effect on weight gain and earlier discharge from hospital, which are sequentially efficient and cost effective.

Prognosis of hospitalized patients with 2009 H1N1 influenza in Spain: influence of neuraminidase inhibitors

Science.gov (United States)

Delgado-Rodríguez, Miguel; Castilla, Jesús; Godoy, Pere; Martín, Vicente; Soldevila, Nuria; Alonso, Jordi; Astray, Jenaro; Baricot, Maretva; Cantón, Rafael; Castro, Ady; Gónzález-Candelas, Fernando; Mayoral, José María; Quintana, José María; Pumarola, Tomás; Tamames, Sonia; Sáez, Marc; Domínguez, Angela

2012-01-01

Background The H1N1 influenza pandemic strain has been associated with a poor prognosis in hospitalized patients. The present report evaluates the factors influencing prognosis. Methods A total of 813 patients hospitalized with H1N1 influenza in 36 hospitals (nationwide) in Spain were analysed. Detailed histories of variables preceding hospital admission were obtained by interview, validating data on medications and vaccine with their attending physicians. Data on treatment and complications during hospital stay were recorded. As definition of poor outcome, the endpoints of death and admission to intensive care were combined; and as a further outcome, length of stay was used. Results The mean age was 38.5 years (SD 22.8 years). There were 10 deaths and 79 admissions to intensive care (combined, 88). The use of neuraminidase inhibitors was reported by 495 patients (60.9%). The variables significantly associated with a poor outcome were diabetes (OR = 2.21, 95% CI = 1.21–4.02), corticosteroid therapy (OR = 3.37, 95% CI = 1.39–8.20) and use of histamine-2 receptor antagonists (OR = 2.68, 95% CI = 1.14–6.36), while the use of neuraminidase inhibitors (OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.34–0.94) was protective. Neuraminidase inhibitors within the first 2 days after the influenza onset reduced hospital stay by a mean of 1.9 days (95% CI = 4.7–6.6). Conclusions The use of neuraminidase inhibitors decreases the length of hospital stay and admission to intensive care and/or death. PMID:22467633

Relationship Between Severity of Illness and Length of Stay on Costs Incurred During a Pediatric Critical Care Hospitalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Benson S; Lakhani, Saquib; Brazelton, Thomas B

2015-08-01

To estimate the impact of severity of illness and length of stay on costs incurred during a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) hospitalization. This is a retrospective cohort study at an academic PICU located in the U.S. that examined 850 patients admitted to the PICU from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2009. The study population was segmented into three severity levels based on pediatric risk of mortality (PRISM) III scores: low (PRISM score 0), medium (PRISM score 1-5), and high (PRISM score greater than 5). Outcome measures were total and daily PICU costs (2009 U.S. dollars). Eight hundred and fifty patients were admitted to the PICU during the study period. Forty-eight patients (5.6 percent) had incomplete financial data and were excluded from further analysis. Mean total PICU costs for low (n = 429), medium (n = 211), and high (n = 162) severity populations were $21,043, $37,980, and $55,620 (p costs for the low, medium, and high severity groups were $5,138, $5,903, and $5,595 (p = 0.02). Higher severity of illness resulted in higher total PICU costs. Interestingly, although daily PICU costs across severity of illness showed a statistically significant difference, the practical economic difference was minimal, emphasizing the importance of length of stay to total PICU costs. Thus, the study suggested that reducing length of stay independent of illness severity may be a practical cost control measure within the pediatric intensive care setting.

Stoma creation: does onset of ostomy care education delay hospital length of stay?

Science.gov (United States)

Rashidi, Laila; Long, Kevin; Hawkins, Melinda; Menon, Raman; Bellevue, Oliver

2016-05-01

Balancing patient safety with hospital length of stay (LOS) and associated cost is critically important. Subjectively, we have observed that patients undergoing ostomy creation early in the week have a shorter LOS. We retrospectively reviewed LOS based on day of the week the operation was performed. We reviewed 180 patients undergoing minimally invasive surgery with planned ostomy. Group 1 underwent surgery on Monday to Wednesday (n = 77), Group 2 on Thursday (n = 49), and Group 3 on Friday (n = 54). The average LOS for Group 1, 2, and 3 was 6.2, 4.9, and 7.2 days, respectively. The average number of visits with ostomy nursing for Group 1, 2, and 3 was 2.7, 1.8, and 2.3, respectively. Day of initial ostomy nursing visit was significantly correlated between the delay to initial visit and LOS with Group 3 delayed most. Patients with the longest delay to initial nurse visit had the longest LOS, with Friday operations being most delayed. A contributing factor may be absence of ostomy teaching over the weekend. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Factors associated with prolonged length of stay following cardiac surgery in a major referral hospital in Oman: a retrospective observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Almashrafi, Ahmed; Alsabti, Hilal; Mukaddirov, Mirdavron; Balan, Baskaran; Aylin, Paul

2016-06-08

Two objectives were set for this study. The first was to identify factors influencing prolonged postoperative length of stay (LOS) following cardiac surgery. The second was to devise a predictive model for prolonged LOS in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) based on preoperative factors available at admission and to compare it against two existing cardiac stratification systems. Observational retrospective study. A tertiary hospital in Oman. All adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery at a major referral hospital in Oman between 2009 and 2013. 30.5% of the patients had prolonged LOS (≥11 days) after surgery, while 17% experienced prolonged ICU LOS (≥5 days). Factors that were identified to prolong CICU LOS were non-elective surgery, current congestive heart failure (CHF), renal failure, combined coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and valve surgery, and other non-isolated valve or CABG surgery. Patients were divided into three groups based on their scores. The probabilities of prolonged CICU LOS were 11%, 26% and 28% for group 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The predictive model had an area under the curve of 0.75. Factors associated with prolonged overall postoperative LOS included the body mass index, the type of surgery, cardiopulmonary bypass machine use, packed red blood cells use, non-elective surgery and number of complications. The latter was the most important determinant of postoperative LOS. Patient management can be tailored for individual patient based on their treatments and personal attributes to optimise resource allocation. Moreover, a simple predictive score system to enable identification of patients at risk of prolonged CICU stay can be developed using data that are routinely collected by most hospitals. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Risk Factors for Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Among Hospitalized Patients at a Malaysian Hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd, N.M.D.; Nurnajwa, M.H.; Lay, J.; Teoh, J.C.; Syafinaz, A.N.; Niazlin, M.T.

2015-01-01

A case-control study was conducted based on medical cases of 100 hospitalized patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa-isolation at a Malaysian hospital. Cases with 50 multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa MDRPA and 50 non-multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa (NMDRPA) were randomly included and compared with socio-demographic and clinical data of the patients, using Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests as the statistical tool. Analysis found no significant association between MDRPA with ages, gender and ethnicity of patients (p>0.050). Other risk factors being investigated were invasive procedure, immunosuppression, bedridden and clinical diagnosis such as central nervous- and respiratory-system disorder, as well as antibiotic exposure during hospitalization and duration of hospital stay with only the last two were found to have significant association (p=0.035 and 0.019, respectively). Some other studies also reported a similar association indicating that the two factors could serve as an important predictive tool for isolation of MDRPA. More studies involving a larger sampling size are warranted to establish the association. (author)

Association between preoperative anaemia with length of hospital stay among patients undergoing primary total knee arthroplasty in Singapore: a single-centre retrospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdullah, Hairil Rizal; Sim, Yilin Eileen; Hao, Ying; Lin, Geng Yu; Liew, Geoffrey Haw Chieh; Lamoureux, Ecosse L; Tan, Mann Hong

2017-06-08

Studies in western healthcare settings suggest that preoperative anaemia is associated with poor outcomes after elective orthopaedic surgery. We investigated the prevalence of preoperative anaemia among patients with primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in Singapore and its association with length of hospital stay (LOS), perioperative blood transfusion and hospital readmission rates. Retrospective cohort study performed in a tertiary academic medical centre in Singapore, involving patients who underwent primary unilateral TKA between January 2013 and June 2014. Demographics, comorbidities, preoperative haemoglobin (Hb) level, LOS and 30-day readmission data were collected. Anaemia was classified according to WHO definition. Prolonged LOS was defined as more than 6 days, which corresponds to >75th centile LOS of the data. We analysed 2394 patients. The prevalence of anaemia was 23.7%. 403 patients (16.8%) had mild anaemia and 164 patients (6.8%) had moderate to severe anaemia. Overall mean LOS was 5.4±4.8 days. Based on multivariate logistic regression, preoperative anaemia significantly increased LOS (mild anaemia, adjusted OR (aOR) 1.71, p70 years were associated with prolonged LOS. Our 30-day related readmission rate was 1.7% (42) cases. Anaemia is common among patients undergoing elective TKA in Singapore and is independently associated with prolonged LOS and increased perioperative blood transfusion. We suggest measures to correct anaemia prior to surgery, including the use of non-gender-based Hb cut-off for establishing diagnosis. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

How Much Time Do Unhospitalized Patients Applying for Emergency Services Stay in Emergency Department

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Mansur Kürsad Erkuran

2013-12-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: The patients applying to a emergency service may stay longer than necessary for diagnosis, monitoring and treatment. This can be due to the inadequacy of the treatment performed in emergency department or to the absence of the required unit in the hospital. In this study, we analyzed the waiting period of the patients who have not been hospitalized. METHODS: The patients applying to Bolu İzzet Baysal Public Hospital Emergency Unit between 24.11.2009 and 25.08.2011 have been studied regarding their application date, the season, and their waiting period in the emergency unit. The data have been analyzed using the statistics software Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, version 17.0 for Windows. The chi-square χ2 test has been used for the determination of the percentage distribution and significance and p<0,05 has been considered significant. RESULTS: 4215 patients applying to Bolu İzzet Baysal Public Hospital Emergency Unit between 24.11.2009 and 25.08.2011 and monitored without hospitalization have been studied. The patients mainly presented during spring (p<0.05. The application occurred more often between 20.00 PM – 23.59 PM (p<0.005. The mean duration of the accept-standby of the patients in emergency unit was 09±12 (minimum 0 minute, maximum 130 minutes. The patients waited 0,26 ±70 minutes in emergency unit examination (minimum 0 minute, maximum 1292 minutes. The total waiting time in emergency unit was 52 ±100 minutes (minimum 10, maximum 1435 minutes. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In this study, we observed that the duration of the hospitalization in emergency unit is longer than the ideal duration.

Patients' perceptions of interactions with hospital staff are associated with hospital readmissions: a national survey of 4535 hospitals.

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Yang, Lianping; Liu, Chaojie; Huang, Cunrui; Mukamel, Dana B

2018-01-29

suggest that elements of care related to staff responsiveness during patients' stay may influence rehospitalization rates. Changes in staff responsiveness may offer an additional tool for hospitals to employ ongoing efforts to achieve reductions in readmissions, an important objective both financially and for patient health outcomes.

Evaluation of hospital outcomes: the relation between length-of-stay, readmission, and mortality in a large international administrative database.

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Lingsma, Hester F; Bottle, Alex; Middleton, Steve; Kievit, Job; Steyerberg, Ewout W; Marang-van de Mheen, Perla J

2018-02-14

Hospital mortality, readmission and length of stay (LOS) are commonly used measures for quality of care. We aimed to disentangle the correlations between these interrelated measures and propose a new way of combining them to evaluate the quality of hospital care. We analyzed administrative data from the Global Comparators Project from 26 hospitals on patients discharged between 2007 and 2012. We correlated standardized and risk-adjusted hospital outcomes on mortality, readmission and long LOS. We constructed a composite measure with 5 levels, based on literature review and expert advice, from survival without readmission and normal LOS (best) to mortality (worst outcome). This composite measure was analyzed using ordinal regression, to obtain a standardized outcome measure to compare hospitals. Overall, we observed a 3.1% mortality rate, 7.8% readmission rate (in survivors) and 20.8% long LOS rate among 4,327,105 admissions. Mortality and LOS were correlated at the patient and the hospital level. A patient in the upper quartile LOS had higher odds of mortality (odds ratio = 1.45, 95% confidence interval 1.43-1.47) than those in the lowest quartile. Hospitals with a high standardized mortality had higher proportions of long LOS (r = 0.79, p < 0.01). Readmission rates did not correlate with either mortality or long LOS rates. The interquartile range of the standardized ordinal composite outcome was 74-117. The composite outcome had similar or better reliability in ranking hospitals than individual outcomes. Correlations between different outcome measures are complex and differ between hospital- and patient-level. The proposed composite measure combines three outcomes in an ordinal fashion for a more comprehensive and reliable view of hospital performance than its component indicators.

Asthma length of stay in hospitals in London 2001-2006: demographic, diagnostic and temporal factors.

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Ireneous N Soyiri

Full Text Available Asthma is a condition of significant public health concern associated with morbidity, mortality and healthcare utilisation. This study identifies key determinants of length of stay (LOS associated with asthma-related hospital admissions in London, and further explores their effects on individuals. Subjects were primarily diagnosed and admitted for asthma in London between 1(st January 2001 and 31(st December 2006. All repeated admissions were treated uniquely as independent cases. Negative binomial regression was used to model the effect(s of demographic, temporal and diagnostic factors on the LOS, taking into account the cluster effect of each patient's hospital attendance in London. The median and mean asthma LOS over the period of study were 2 and 3 days respectively. Admissions increased over the years from 8,308 (2001 to 10,554 (2006, but LOS consistently declined within the same period. Younger individuals were more likely to be admitted than the elderly, but the latter significantly had higher LOS (p<0.001. Respiratory related secondary diagnoses, age, and gender of the patient as well as day of the week and year of admission were important predictors of LOS. Asthma LOS can be predicted by socio-demographic factors, temporal and clinical factors using count models on hospital admission data. The procedure can be a useful tool for planning and resource allocation in health service provision.

Asthma length of stay in hospitals in London 2001-2006: demographic, diagnostic and temporal factors.

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Soyiri, Ireneous N; Reidpath, Daniel D; Sarran, Christophe

2011-01-01

Asthma is a condition of significant public health concern associated with morbidity, mortality and healthcare utilisation. This study identifies key determinants of length of stay (LOS) associated with asthma-related hospital admissions in London, and further explores their effects on individuals. Subjects were primarily diagnosed and admitted for asthma in London between 1(st) January 2001 and 31(st) December 2006. All repeated admissions were treated uniquely as independent cases. Negative binomial regression was used to model the effect(s) of demographic, temporal and diagnostic factors on the LOS, taking into account the cluster effect of each patient's hospital attendance in London. The median and mean asthma LOS over the period of study were 2 and 3 days respectively. Admissions increased over the years from 8,308 (2001) to 10,554 (2006), but LOS consistently declined within the same period. Younger individuals were more likely to be admitted than the elderly, but the latter significantly had higher LOS (p<0.001). Respiratory related secondary diagnoses, age, and gender of the patient as well as day of the week and year of admission were important predictors of LOS. Asthma LOS can be predicted by socio-demographic factors, temporal and clinical factors using count models on hospital admission data. The procedure can be a useful tool for planning and resource allocation in health service provision.

A longer stay for the kissing disease: epidemiology of bacterial tonsillitis and infectious mononucleosis over a 20-year period.

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Lennon, P; Saunders, J; Fenton, J E

2013-02-01

Anecdotally, infectious mononucleosis is considered a more severe infection than bacterial tonsillitis, requiring a longer hospital stay. However, there is little in the literature comparing the epidemiology of the two conditions. This study aimed to compare the epidemiology of bacterial tonsillitis and infectious mononucleosis, in particular any differences in the length of in-patient stay. The hospital in-patient enquiry system was used to analyse patients admitted with bacterial tonsillitis and infectious mononucleosis between 1990 and 2009 inclusive. There was a total of 3435 cases over the 20 years: 3064 with bacterial tonsillitis and 371 with infectious mononucleosis. The mean length of stay was 3.22 days for bacterial tonsillitis and 4.37 days for infectious mononucleosis. The median length of stay for each condition was compared using the Mann-Whitney U non-parametric test, and a significant difference detected (p mononucleosis have a significantly longer stay in hospital than those with bacterial tonsillitis.

Hospital stay as a proxy indicator for severe injury in earthquakes: a retrospective analysis.

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Zhao, Lu-Ping; Gerdin, Martin; Westman, Lina; Rodriguez-Llanes, Jose Manuel; Wu, Qi; van den Oever, Barbara; Pan, Liang; Albela, Manuel; Chen, Gao; Zhang, De-Sheng; Guha-Sapir, Debarati; von Schreeb, Johan

2013-01-01

Earthquakes are the most violent type of natural disasters and injuries are the dominant medical problem in the early phases after earthquakes. However, likely because of poor data availability, high-quality research on injuries after earthquakes is lacking. Length of hospital stay (LOS) has been validated as a proxy indicator for injury severity in high-income settings and could potentially be used in retrospective research of injuries after earthquakes. In this study, we assessed LOS as an adequate proxy indicator for severe injury in trauma survivors of an earthquake. A retrospective analysis was conducted using a database of 1,878 injured patients from the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Our primary outcome was severe injury, defined as a composite measure of serious injury or resource use. Secondary outcomes were serious injury and resource use, analysed separately. Non-parametric receiver operating characteristics (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC) analysis was used to test the discriminatory accuracy of LOS when used to identify severe injury. An 0.7earthquake survivors. However, LOS was found to be a proxy for major nonorthopaedic surgery and blood transfusion. These findings can be useful for retrospective research on earthquake-injured patients when detailed hospital records are not available.

Wound Botulism in Injection Drug Users: Time to Antitoxin Correlates with Intensive Care Unit Length of Stay

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Offerman, Steven R

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Objectives: We sought to identify factors associated with need for mechanical ventilation (MV, length of intensive care unit (ICU stay, length of hospital stay, and poor outcome in injection drug users (IDUs with wound botulism (WB.Methods: This is a retrospective review of WB patients admitted between 1991-2005. IDUs were included if they had symptoms of WB and diagnostic confirmation. Primary outcome variables were the need for MV, length of ICU stay, length of hospital stay, hospital-related complications, and death.Results: Twenty-nine patients met inclusion criteria. Twenty-two (76% admitted to heroin use only and seven (24% admitted to heroin and methamphetamine use. Chief complaints on initial presentation included visual changes, 13 (45%; weakness, nine (31%; and difficulty swallowing, seven (24%. Skin wounds were documented in 22 (76%. Twenty-one (72% patients underwent mechanical ventilation (MV. Antitoxin (AT was administered to 26 (90% patients but only two received antitoxin in the emergency department (ED. The time from ED presentation to AT administration was associated with increased length of ICU stay (Regression coefficient = 2.5; 95% CI 0.45, 4.5. The time from ED presentation to wound drainage was also associated with increased length of ICU stay (Regression coefficient = 13.7; 95% CI = 2.3, 25.2. There was no relationship between time to antibiotic administration and length of ICU stay.Conclusion: MV and prolonged ICU stays are common in patients identified with WB. Early AT administration and wound drainage are recommended as these measures may decrease ICU length of stay.[West J Emerg Med. 2009;10(4:251-256.

Comparative Effect of Massage Therapy versus Kangaroo Mother Care on Body Weight and Length of Hospital Stay in Low Birth Weight Preterm Infants

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Priya Singh Rangey

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Massage therapy (MT and kangaroo mother care (KMC are both effective in increasing the weight and reducing length of hospital stay in low birth weight preterm infants but they have not been compared. Aim. Comparison of effectiveness of MT and KMC on body weight and length of hospital stay in low birth weight preterm (LBWPT infants. Method. 30 LBWPT infants using convenience sampling from Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, V.S. hospital, were randomly divided into 2 equal groups. Group 1 received MT and Group 2 received KMC for 15 minutes, thrice daily for 5 days. Medically stable babies with gestational age < 37 weeks and birth weight < 2500 g were included. Those on ventilators and with congenital, orthopedic, or genetic abnormality were excluded. Outcome measures, body weight and length of hospital stay, were taken before intervention day 1 and after intervention day 5. Level of significance was 5%. Result. Data was analyzed using SPSS16. Both MT and KMC were found to be effective in improving body weight (P = 0.001, P = 0.001. Both were found to be equally effective for improving body weight (P = 0.328 and reducing length of hospital stay (P = 0.868. Conclusion. MT and KMC were found to be equally effective in improving body weight and reducing length of hospital stay. Limitation. Long term follow-up was not taken.

Hospital Related Stress Among Patients Admitted to a Psychiatric In-patient Unit in India

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Latha KS

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The psychiatric patient’s attitudes towards hospitalization have found an association between patient perceptions of the ward atmosphere and dissatisfaction. The aim of the study was to determine the aspects of stress related to hospitalization in inpatients admitted to a psychiatric facility. Fifty in-patients of both sexes admitted consecutively to a psychiatric unit in a General Hospital were asked to rate the importance of, and their satisfaction with, 38 different aspects of in-patient care and treatment. Results showed that the major sources of stress were related to having a violent patient near to his/her bed; being away from family; having to stay in closed wards; having to eat cold and tasteless food; losing income or job due to illness, being hospitalized away from home; not able to understand the jargons used by the clinical staff and not getting medication for sleep. A well-differentiated assessment of stress and satisfaction has implications for the evaluation of the quality of psychiatric care and for the improvement of in-patient psychiatric care.

Ethnic variations in unplanned readmissions and excess length of hospital stay: a nationwide record-linked cohort study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Bruijne, Martine C.; van Rosse, Floor; Uiters, Ellen; Droomers, Mariël; Suurmond, Jeanine; Stronks, Karien; Essink-Bot, Marie-Louise

2013-01-01

Studies in the USA have shown ethnic inequalities in quality of hospital care, but in Europe, this has never been analysed. We explored variations in indicators of quality of hospital care by ethnicity in the Netherlands. We analysed unplanned readmissions and excess length of stay (LOS) across

Understanding inappropriate hospital admissions of patients presenting to the Emergency Department.

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Roberta Siliquini

2005-06-01

Full Text Available

Objectives. To identify 1 the characteristics of patients receiving non acute (inappropriate care and 2 the variables associated to inappropriate hospital use, in order to 3 estimate the relevance of the problem and to 4 focus future concurrent reviews and efforts to allocate patients to alternative health care settings.

Design. A prospective review of a random sample of adult patients who presented to the Emergency Department of the Molinette Hospital. Patients were assessed at admission and on day 3, 5and 8 using the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (Italian validated version. Patients: 490 overall; 312 (64 % medical and 178 (36 % surgical.

Outcome measures. Acute (appropriate and non acute (inappropriate admissions, Major Disease Category, costs, mean weights of Diagnosis Related Groups, and length of stay (days.

Results. The proportion of patients requiring acute care declined rapidly from presentation (84.5% to the fifth day of admission (60.9%. Patients admitted during weekends showed a higher rate of inappropriate stay on day 5 (P=0.04. The proportion of inappropriate admissions was higher for medical rather than surgical patients (P=0.07 at presentation and at day 5 (P < 0.01. Traditional social-demographic variables were not significant risk indicators for inappropriate admissions. The likelihood ratio for inappropriate admission at presentation was significantly higher for minor illnesses and disturbances (P=0.03.

Inappropriate stay on day 5 was significantly associated with lower cost (P < 0.01, lower mean DRG weight (P < 0.01 and shorter length of stay (P=0.05 for medical but not for surgical admissions.

Conclusions. Traditional epidemiological indicators are inadequate to target prospective concurrent reviews. Qualitative studies focusing on patient physician dialogue in different situations and contexts could

The effects of higher hemoglobin levels on mortality and hospitalization in hemodialysis patients.

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Ofsthun, Norma; Labrecque, John; Lacson, Eduardo; Keen, Marcia; Lazarus, J Michael

2003-05-01

The introduction of recombinant human erythropoietin for the treatment of anemia of chronic renal failure provided the opportunity to correct anemia in this patient population. The optimal target hemoglobin for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) remains controversial. A large database of hemodialysis patients was analyzed to determine whether increasing hemoglobin level above the current Kidney Dialysis Outcomes Quality Initiative (K/DOQI) recommendations was associated with increased risk of mortality and hospitalization. A longitudinal study of hemodialysis patients in Fresenius Medical Care-North America facilities was performed. Selection was restricted to patients in the census for 6 consecutive months from July 1, 1998 through June 30, 2000. Patient mean hemoglobin and other covariates measured during the initial 6 months were related to survival, number of hospitalizations, and length of stay over the subsequent 6 months of follow-up. Patients with hemoglobin /=13 g/dL had an adjusted length of stay of 9.6 days compared to 10.9 days for those with 11 12 g/dL.

Factors Affecting Mortality in Elderly Patients Hospitalized for Nonmalignant Reasons

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Teslime Ayaz

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Elderly population is hospitalized more frequently than young people, and they suffer from more severe diseases that are difficult to diagnose and treat. The present study aimed to investigate the factors affecting mortality in elderly patients hospitalized for nonmalignant reasons. Demographic data, reason for hospitalization, comorbidities, duration of hospital stay, and results of routine blood testing at the time of first hospitalization were obtained from the hospital records of the patients, who were over 65 years of age and hospitalized primarily for nonmalignant reasons. The mean age of 1012 patients included in the study was 77.8 ± 7.6. The most common reason for hospitalization was diabetes mellitus (18.3%. Of the patients, 90.3% had at least a single comorbidity. Whilst 927 (91.6% of the hospitalized patients were discharged, 85 (8.4% died. Comparison of the characteristics of the discharged and dead groups revealed that the dead group was older and had higher rates of poor general status and comorbidity. Differences were observed between the discharged and dead groups in most of the laboratory parameters. Hypoalbuminemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypopotassemia, hypernatremia, hyperuricemia, and high TSH level were the predictors of mortality. In order to meet the health necessities of the elderly population, it is necessary to well define the patient profiles and to identify the risk factors.

Job stress, recognition, job performance and intention to stay at work among Jordanian hospital nurses.

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AbuAlRub, Raeda Fawzi; Al-Zaru, Ibtisam Moawiah

2008-04-01

To investigate: (1) relationships between job stress, recognition of nurses' performance, job performance and intention to stay among hospital nurses; and (2) the buffering effect of recognition of staff performance on the 'stress-intention to stay at work' relationship. Workplace stress tremendously affects today's workforce. Recognition of nurses' performance needs further investigation to determine if it enhances the level of intention to stay at work and if it can buffer the negative effects of stress on nurses' intention to stay at work. The sample of the present study was a convenience one. It consisted of 206 Jordanian staff nurses who completed a structured questionnaire. The findings of the study indicated a direct and a buffering effect of recognition of nurses' performance on job stress and the level of intention to stay at work. The results of the study indicated the importance of recognition for outstanding performance as well as achievements. Implications for nursing management The results of this study support the need to focus on the implementation of recognition strategies in the workplace to reduce job stress and enhance retention.

Length of stay and medical stability for spinal cord-injured patients on admission to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital: a comparison between a model SCI trauma center and non-SCI trauma center.

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Ploumis, A; Kolli, S; Patrick, M; Owens, M; Beris, A; Marino, R J

2011-03-01

Retrospective database review. To compare lengths of stay (LOS), pressure ulcers and readmissions to the acute care hospital of patients admitted to the inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) from a model spinal cord injury (SCI) trauma center or from a non-SCI acute hospital. Only sparse data exist comparing the status of patients admitted to IRF from a model SCI trauma center or from a non-SCI acute hospital. Acute care, IRF and total LOS were compared between patients transferred to IRF from the SCI center (n=78) and from non-SCI centers (n=131). The percentages of pressure ulcers on admission to IRF and transfer back to acute care were also compared. Patients admitted to IRF from the SCI trauma center (SCI TC) had significantly shorter (P=0.01) acute care LOS and total LOS compared with patients admitted from non-SCI TCs. By neurological category, acute-care LOS was less for all groups admitted from the SCI center, but statistically significant only for tetraplegia. There was no significant difference in the incidence of readmissions to acute care from IRF. More patients from non-SCI centers (34%) than SCI centers (12%) had pressure ulcers (PSCI TCs before transfer to IRF can significantly lower acute-care LOS or total LOS and incidence of pressure ulcers compared with non-SCI TCs. Patients admitted to IRF from SCI TCs are no more likely to be sent back to an acute hospital than those from non-SCI TCs.

Cost analysis of the Dutch obstetric system: low-risk nulliparous women preferring home or short-stay hospital birth--a prospective non-randomised controlled study.

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Hendrix, Marijke Jc; Evers, Silvia Maa; Basten, Marloes Cm; Nijhuis, Jan G; Severens, Johan L

2009-11-19

In the Netherlands, pregnant women without medical complications can decide where they want to give birth, at home or in a short-stay hospital setting with a midwife. However, a decrease in the home birth rate during the last decennium may have raised the societal costs of giving birth. The objective of this study is to compare the societal costs of home births with those of births in a short-stay hospital setting. This study is a cost analysis based on the findings of a multicenter prospective non-randomised study comparing two groups of nulliparous women with different preferences for where to give birth, at home or in a short-stay hospital setting. Data were collected using cost diaries, questionnaires and birth registration forms. Analysis of the data is divided into a base case analysis and a sensitivity analysis. In the group of home births, the total societal costs associated with giving birth at home were euro3,695 (per birth), compared with euro3,950 per birth in the group for short-stay hospital births. Statistically significant differences between both groups were found regarding the following cost categories 'Cost of contacts with health care professionals during delivery' (euro138.38 vs. euro87.94, -50 (2.5-97.5 percentile range (PR)-76;-25), p home' (euro1,551.69 vs. euro1,240.69, -311 (PR -485; -150), p home birth are euro4,364 per birth, and euro4,541 per birth for short-stay hospital births. The total costs associated with pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum care are comparable for home birth and short-stay hospital birth. The most important differences in costs between the home birth group and the short-stay hospital birth group are associated with maternity care assistance, hospitalisation, and travelling costs.

A decentralised model of psychiatric care: Profile, length of stay and outcome of mental healthcare users admitted to a district-level public hospital in the Western Cape

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Eileen Thomas

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background. There is a lack of studies assessing the profile and outcome of psychiatric patients at entry-level public hospitals that are prescribed by the Mental Health Care Act to provide a decentralised model of psychiatric care. Objective. To assess the demographic and clinical profile as well as length of stay and outcomes of mental healthcare users admitted to a district-level public hospital in the Western Cape.  Method. Demographic data, clinical diagnosis, length of stay, referral profile and outcomes of patients (N=487 admitted to Helderberg Hospital during the period 1 January 2011 - 31 December 2011 were collected.  Results. Psychotic disorders were the most prevalent (n=287, 59% diagnoses, while 228 (47% of admission episodes had comorbid/secondary diagnoses. Substance use disorders were present in 184 (38% of admission episodes, 37 (57% of readmissions and 19 (61% of abscondments. Most admission episodes (n=372, 76% were discharged without referral to specialist/tertiary care.  Conclusion. Methamphetamine use places a significant burden on the provision of mental healthcare services at entry-level care. Recommendations for improving service delivery at this district-level public hospital are provided.

Nutrition support team management of enterally fed patients in a community hospital is cost-beneficial.

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Hassell, J T; Games, A D; Shaffer, B; Harkins, L E

1994-09-01

To determine whether nutrition support team (NST) management of enterally fed patients is cost-beneficial and to compare primary outcomes of care between team and nonteam management. A quasi-experimental study was conducted over a 7-month period. A 400-bed community hospital. A convenience sample of 136 subjects who had received enteral nutrition support for at least 24 hours. Forty-two patients died; only their mortality data were used. Ninety-six patients completed the study. Outcomes, including cost, for enterally fed patients in two treatment groups--those managed by the nutrition support team and those managed by nonteam staff--were compared. Severity of illness level was determined for patients managed by the nutrition support team and those managed by nonteam staff. For each group, the following measures were adjusted to reflect a significant difference in average severity of illness and then compared: length of hospital stay, readmission rates, and mortality rates. Complication rates between the groups were also compared. The cost benefit was determined based on savings from the reduction in adjusted length of hospital stay. Parametric and nonparametric statistics were used to evaluate outcomes between the two groups. Differences were statistically significant for both severity of illness, which was at a higher level in the nutrition support team group (P group (P team-managed group, there was a 23% reduction in adjusted mortality rate, an 11.6% reduction in the adjusted length of hospital stay, and a 43% reduction in adjusted readmission rate. Cost-benefit analysis revealed that for every $1 invested in nutrition support team management, a benefit of $4.20 was realized. Financial and humanitarian benefits are associated with nutrition support team management of enterally fed hospitalized patients.

Constipation in the acutely hospitalized older patients.

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Cardin, Fabrizio; Minicuci, Nadia; Droghi, Annapaola Teggia; Inelmen, Emine Meral; Sergi, Giuseppe; Terranova, Oreste

2010-01-01

The aim of this work was to establish the factors that determine the onset of constipation in acutely hospitalized older patients with a view to contributing towards an evidence-based identification of which patients warrant early, specific preventive measures. To evade the problem posed by the definition of constipation, we have considered parameters that are part of the daily routine in the hospital ward, such as the prescription of laxatives, also paying attention to how the co-operative older person subjectively interpret this condition. One thirds of the 192 hospitalized older patients needed a laxative at least once every 3 days. Multivariate analysis identified the use of laxatives at home as the only risk factor for objective constipation while in hospital (odds ratio (OR)=3.0). A significant risk of being dissatisfied with their bowel emptying emerged among patients who were bedridden for more than 2 weeks (OR=6.0), and in those who experienced cerebrovascular events (OR=3.1). The use of laxatives at home and awareness that satisfaction with bowel movements drops in patients obliged to stay in bed for lengthy periods of time and in those who have suffered cerebrovascular damage, should provide the grounds for a screening program to establish rational guidelines on bowel movement therapy. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impact of hospital-onset Clostridium difficile infection on outcomes of hospitalized patients with sepsis.

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Lagu, Tara; Stefan, Mihaela S; Haessler, Sarah; Higgins, Thomas L; Rothberg, Michael B; Nathanson, Brian H; Hannon, Nicholas S; Steingrub, Jay S; Lindenauer, Peter K

2014-07-01

To examine the impact of hospital-onset Clostridium difficile infection (HOCDI) on the outcomes of patients with sepsis. Most prior studies that have addressed this issue lacked adequate matching to controls, suffered from small sample size, or failed to consider time to infection. Retrospective cohort study. We identified adults with a principal or secondary diagnosis of sepsis who received care at 1 of the institutions that participated in a large multihospital database between July 1, 2004 and December 31, 2010. Among eligible patients with sepsis, we identified patients who developed HOCDI during their hospital stay. We used propensity matching and date of diagnosis to match cases to patients without Clostridium difficile infections and compared outcomes between the 2 groups. Of 218,915 sepsis patients, 2368 (1.08%) developed HOCDI. Unadjusted in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in HOCDI patients than controls (25% vs 10%, P Clostridium difficile infections was 5.1 days longer than controls (95% confidence interval: 4.4-5.8) and the median-adjusted cost increase was $4916 (P Clostridium difficile infection was associated with increased mortality, LOS, and cost. Our results can be used to assess the cost-effectiveness of prevention programs and suggest that efforts directed toward high-risk patient populations are needed. © 2014 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Predicting the post-operative length of stay for the orthopaedic trauma patient.

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Chona, Deepak; Lakomkin, Nikita; Bulka, Catherine; Mousavi, Idine; Kothari, Parth; Dodd, Ashley C; Shen, Michelle S; Obremskey, William T; Sethi, Manish K

2017-05-01

Length of stay (LOS) is a major driver of cost and quality of care. A bundled payment system makes it essential for orthopaedic surgeons to understand factors that increase a patient's LOS. Yet, minimal data regarding predictors of LOS currently exist. Using the ACS-NSQIP database, this is the first study to identify risk factors for increased LOS for orthopaedic trauma patients and create a personalized LOS calculator. All orthopaedic trauma surgery between 2006 and 2013 were identified from the ACS-NSQIP database using CPT codes. Patient demographics, pre-operative comorbidities, anatomic location of injury, and post-operative in-hospital complications were collected. To control for individual patient comorbidities, a negative binomial regression model evaluated hospital LOS after surgery. Betas (β), were determined for each pre-operative patient characteristic. We selected significant predictors of LOS (p < 0.05) using backwards stepwise elimination. 49,778 orthopaedic trauma patients were included in the analysis. Deep incisional surgical site infections and superficial surgical site infections were associated with the greatest percent change in predicted LOS (β = 1.2760 and 1.2473, respectively; p < 0.0001 for both). A post-operative LOS risk calculator was developed based on the formula: [Formula: see text]. Utilizing a large prospective cohort of orthopaedic trauma patients, we created the first personalized LOS calculator based on pre-operative comorbidities, post-operative complications and location of surgery. Future work may assess the use of this calculator and attempt to validate its utility as an accurate model. To improve the quality measures of hospitals, orthopaedists must employ such predictive tools to optimize care and better manage resources.

The variance of length of stay and the optimal DRG outlier payments.

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Felder, Stefan

2009-09-01

Prospective payment schemes in health care often include supply-side insurance for cost outliers. In hospital reimbursement, prospective payments for patient discharges, based on their classification into diagnosis related group (DRGs), are complemented by outlier payments for long stay patients. The outlier scheme fixes the length of stay (LOS) threshold, constraining the profit risk of the hospitals. In most DRG systems, this threshold increases with the standard deviation of the LOS distribution. The present paper addresses the adequacy of this DRG outlier threshold rule for risk-averse hospitals with preferences depending on the expected value and the variance of profits. It first shows that the optimal threshold solves the hospital's tradeoff between higher profit risk and lower premium loading payments. It then demonstrates for normally distributed truncated LOS that the optimal outlier threshold indeed decreases with an increase in the standard deviation.

The German hospital malnutrition study.

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Pirlich, Matthias; Schütz, Tatjana; Norman, Kristina; Gastell, Sylvia; Lübke, Heinrich Josef; Bischoff, Stephan C; Bolder, Ulrich; Frieling, Thomas; Güldenzoph, Helge; Hahn, Kristian; Jauch, Karl-Walter; Schindler, Karin; Stein, Jürgen; Volkert, Dorothee; Weimann, Arved; Werner, Hansjörg; Wolf, Christiane; Zürcher, Gudrun; Bauer, Peter; Lochs, Herbert

2006-08-01

Malnutrition is frequently observed in chronic and severe diseases and associated with impaired outcome. In Germany general data on prevalence and impact of hospital malnutrition are missing. Nutritional state was assessed by subjective global assessment (SGA) and by anthropometric measurements in 1,886 consecutively admitted patients in 13 hospitals (n=1,073, university hospitals; n=813, community or teaching hospitals). Risk factors for malnutrition and the impact of nutritional status on length of hospital stay were analyzed. Malnutrition was diagnosed in 27.4% of patients according to SGA. A low arm muscle area and arm fat area were observed in 11.3% and 17.1%, respectively. Forty-three % of patients 70 years old were malnourished compared to only 7.8% of patients malnutrition was observed in geriatric (56.2%), oncology (37.6%), and gastroenterology (32.6%) departments. Multivariate analysis revealed three independent risk factors: higher age, polypharmacy, and malignant disease (all PMalnutrition was associated with an 43% increase of hospital stay (PMalnutrition is associated with increased length of hospital stay. Higher age, malignant disease and major comorbidity were found to be the main contributors to malnutrition. Adequate nutritional support should be initiated in order to optimize the clinical outcome of these patients.

Prospective casemix-based funding, analysis and financial impact of cost outliers in all-patient refined diagnosis related groups in three Belgian general hospitals.

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Pirson, Magali; Martins, Dimitri; Jackson, Terri; Dramaix, Michèle; Leclercq, Pol

2006-03-01

This study examined the impact of cost outliers in term of hospital resources consumption, the financial impact of the outliers under the Belgium casemix-based system, and the validity of two "proxies" for costs: length of stay and charges. The cost of all hospital stays at three Belgian general hospitals were calculated for the year 2001. High resource use outliers were selected according to the following rule: 75th percentile +1.5 xinter-quartile range. The frequency of cost outliers varied from 7% to 8% across hospitals. Explanatory factors were: major or extreme severity of illness, longer length of stay, and intensive care unit stay. Cost outliers account for 22-30% of hospital costs. One-third of length-of-stay outliers are not cost outliers, and nearly one-quarter of charges outliers are not cost outliers. The current funding system in Belgium does not penalize hospitals having a high percentage of outliers. The billing generated by these patients largely compensates for costs generated. Length of stay and charges are not a good approximation to select cost outliers.

Support, sensitivity, satisfaction: Filipino, Turkish and Vietnamese women's experiences of postnatal hospital stay.

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Yelland, J; Small, R; Lumley, J; Rice, P L; Cotronei, V; Warren, R

1998-09-01

To assess Filipino, Turkish and Vietnamese women's views about their care during the postnatal hospital stay. Interviews were conducted with recent mothers in the language of the women's choice, 6-9 months after birth, by three bilingual interviewers. Three hundred and eighteen women born in the Philippines (107), Turkey (107) and Vietnam (104) who had migrated to Australia. Women were recruited from the postnatal wards of three maternity teaching hospitals in Melbourne, Australia, and interviewed at home. Overall satisfaction with care was low, and one in three women left hospital feeling that they required more support and assistance with both baby care and their own personal needs. The method of baby feeding varied between the groups, with women giving some insight into the reason for their choice. A significant minority wanted more help with feeding, irrespective of the method. The need for rest was a recurrent theme, with women stating that staff's attitudes to individual preferences, coupled with lack of assistance, made this difficult. The majority of comments women made regarding their postnatal stay focused on the attitude and behaviour of staff and about routine aspects of care. Issues related to culture and cultural practices were not of primary concern to women. Maternity services need to consider ways in which care can focus on the individual needs and preferences of women.

Disease associated malnutrition correlates with length of hospital stay in children.

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Hecht, Christina; Weber, Martina; Grote, Veit; Daskalou, Efstratia; Dell'Era, Laura; Flynn, Diana; Gerasimidis, Konstantinos; Gottrand, Frederic; Hartman, Corina; Hulst, Jessie; Joosten, Koen; Karagiozoglou-Lampoudi, Thomais; Koetse, Harma A; Kolaček, Sanja; Książyk, Janusz; Niseteo, Tena; Olszewska, Katarzyna; Pavesi, Paola; Piwowarczyk, Anna; Rousseaux, Julien; Shamir, Raanan; Sullivan, Peter B; Szajewska, Hania; Vernon-Roberts, Angharad; Koletzko, Berthold

2015-02-01

Previous studies reported a wide range of estimated malnutrition prevalence (6-30%) in paediatric inpatients based on various anthropometric criteria. We performed anthropometry in hospitalised children and assessed the relationship between malnutrition and length of hospital stay (LOS) and complication rates. In a prospective multi-centre European study, 2567 patients aged 1 month to 18 years were assessed in 14 centres in 12 countries by standardised anthropometry within the first 24 h after admission. Body mass index (BMI) and height/length malnutrition) and a BMI malnutrition) was associated with a 1.3 (CI95: 1.01, 1.55) and 1.6 (CI95: 1.27, 2.10) days longer LOS, respectively (p = 0.04 and p malnutrition in hospitalised children in Europe is common and is associated with significantly prolonged LOS and increased complications, with possible major cost implications, and reduced quality of life. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01132742. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

UTILITY OF THE DECAF SCORE IN PREDICTING IN HOSPITAL OUTCOME IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE EXACERBATION OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF SOUTHERN INDIA

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Ravi Chethan Kumar A. N

2017-09-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease being an all too common cause for hospital admissions Worldwide poses a logistical stress for the treating physicians and hospital administration with regards to morbidity and mortality rates. Identifying upon admission those at higher risk of dying in-hospital could be useful for triaging patients to the appropriate level of care, determining the aggressiveness of therapies and timing safe discharges. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utilisation of the DECAF score in predicting in hospital outcome in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Southern India. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients admitted with COPD exacerbations in K.R. Hospital, Mysore Medical College And Research Institute, Mysuru in between the May 2017 and July 2017 were taken has study subjects. A total of 80 patients were taken into the study. The duration of hospital stay, ICU admission and deaths were noted. DECAF score is applied to all study subjects and the severity of AECOPD is graded at the time of admission. The data collected and complied were then analysed for the correlation between score and subsequent management and overall outcome. RESULTS Total of 80 patients were recruited in the study. Mean age for male was 66.47, female was 70.86. Length of hospital stay was more in patients with decaf score more than 3 (average hospital stay 10 days. Patients with DECAF score of 2, 70.4% required inhalations oxygen, remaining 29.6% were managed with only bronchodilators whereas patients with DECAF score of 5 (max score in our study group there was a 100% initiation of assisted ventilation 33.3% received NIV ventilation while 66.6% required endotracheal intubation with ventilator support. In present study, 85 percent patients were survived. Total 6 patients (7.5% had died, belonging to high risk DECAF group (score 3 to 6

Age and admission times as predictive factors for failure of admissions to discharge-stream short-stay units.

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Shetty, Amith L; Shankar Raju, Savitha Banagar; Hermiz, Arsalan; Vaghasiya, Milan; Vukasovic, Matthew

2015-02-01

Discharge-stream emergency short-stay units (ESSU) improve ED and hospital efficiency. Age of patients and time of hospital presentations have been shown to correlate with increasing complexity of care. We aim to determine whether an age and time cut-off could be derived to subsequently improve short-stay unit success rates. We conducted a retrospective audit on 6703 (5522 inclusions) patients admitted to our discharge-stream short-stay unit. Patients were classified as appropriate or inappropriate admissions, and deemed successful if discharged out of the unit within 24 h; and failures if they needed inpatient admission into the hospital. We calculated short-stay unit length of stay for patients in each of these groups. A 15% failure rate was deemed as acceptable key performance indicator (KPI) for our unit. There were 197 out of 4621 (4.3%, 95% CI 3.7-4.9%) patients up to the age of 70 who failed admission to ESSU compared with 67 out of 901 (7.4%, 95% CI 5.9-9.3%, P 70 years of age have higher rates of failure after admission to discharge-stream ESSU. Although in appropriately selected discharge-stream patients, no age group or time-band of presentation was associated with increased failure rate beyond the stipulated KPI. © 2014 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine.

Causes of poisoning in patients evaluated in a hospital emergency department in Konya, Turkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kara, H.; Bayir, A.; Degirmenci, S.; Akinci, M.; Ak, A.; Azap, M.

2014-01-01

Objectives: To evaluate demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with poisoning at a community hospital. Methods: The retrospective study comprised records of patients who were admitted to the emergency department of Konya Numune Hospital, Turkey, because of poisoning between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2011. Data was evaluated for age, gender, educational status, occupation, arrival time, mechanism of intoxication , body temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, Glasgow Coma Scale score, treatment applied, duration of hospital stay, duration of follow-up, test results, final diagnosis, clinical disposition, and outcome. Agents causing the poisoning were also determined. Results: Records of 1036 patients were evaluated. Of them, 764(74%) were female and 272(26%) were male. The predominant age range was 15-24 years in 617(60%) patients. The median time from substance exposure to admission to the emergency department was 2 hours. The most common cause of poisoning was attempted suicide in 955 (92%) patients and drug intoxication was the agent involved in 932 (90%). In the 15-24 year age range, there were 469(76%) female patients. Of the total female population in the study, 716(94%) attempted suicide. The median hospital stay was 24 hours. There were 908(88%) patients who were advised to seek further evaluation at the psychiatry clinic, and 9 (0.9%) patients were admitted to the psychiatry inpatient units after medical treatment. In patients who were hospitalized and followed up, 1 (0.1%) died because of multiple drug poisoning. Conclusion: Most admissions to the emergency department for poisoning related to young women had used drugs during a suicide attempt. (author)

How patients perceive the role of hospital chaplains: a preliminary exploration.

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Ellis, J M; McManus, C; Newton, B A

1995-09-01

An exploratory study of the attitudes of hospital patients to the service provided by hospital chaplains. Questionnaire study of hospital inpatients in December 1992. One large teaching hospital in London. 180 hospital inpatients in 14 different general wards, 168 (93%) of whom agreed to take part. Attitudes to chaplains and their role contained in 12 questions developed during a pilot study on hospital inpatients (16) and staff (14) and their relation to patients' age, sex, length of hospital stay, and religious beliefs, according to Kendall rank order correlations. Of 168(93%) respondents, 72(43%) were women; mean age of patients was 63.1 (SD 16.8) years. Forty five (27%) were inpatients of three days or less and 22(13%) for one month or more. 136(81%) were Christian; 17(10%) atheist, agnostic, or had no religion; and 15(9%) were of other religions. In general, patients showed positive attitudes towards the role of hospital chaplains and to the services they provided. The correlation analysis showed that there was a significant tendency for older patients, those who had been inpatients for longer, and those with religious beliefs to be more sympathetic to the role of hospital chaplains. Hospital chaplains provide a service which is appreciated by patients. This study provides a simple instrument for assessing patients' attitudes to chaplains.

Real money: complications and hospital costs in trauma patients.

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Hemmila, Mark R; Jakubus, Jill L; Maggio, Paul M; Wahl, Wendy L; Dimick, Justin B; Campbell, Darrell A; Taheri, Paul A

2008-08-01

Major postoperative complications are associated with a substantial increase in hospital costs. Trauma patients are known to have a higher rate of complications than the general surgery population. We used the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) methodology to evaluate hospital costs, duration of stay, and payment associated with complications in trauma patients. Using NSQIP principles, patient data were collected for 512 adult patients admitted to the trauma service for > 24 hours at a Level 1 trauma center (2004-2005). Patients were placed in 1 of 3 groups: no complications (none), >or=1 minor complication (minor, eg, urinary tract infection), or >or=1 major complication (major, eg, pneumonia). Total hospital charges, costs, payment, and duration of stay associated with each complication group were determined from a cost-accounting database. Multiple regression was used to determine the costs of each type of complication after adjusting for differences in age, sex, new injury severity score, Glasgow coma scale score, maximum head abbreviated injury scale, and first emergency department systolic blood pressure. A total of 330 (64%) patients had no complications, 53 (10%) had >or= 1 minor complication, and 129 (25%) had >or= 1 major complication. Median hospital charges increased from $33,833 (none) to $81,936 (minor) and $150,885 (major). The mean contribution to margin per day was similar for the no complication and minor complication groups ($994 vs $1,115, P = .7). Despite higher costs, the patients in the major complication group generated a higher mean contribution to margin per day compared to the no complication group ($2,168, P costs when adjusted for confounding variables was $19,915 for the minor complication group (P costs associated with traumatic injury provides a window for assessing the potential cost reductions associated with improved quality care. To optimize system benefits, payers and providers should develop integrated

Length of stay and associated costs of obesity related hospital admissions in Ireland.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Vellinga, Akke

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: Obesity is the cause of other chronic diseases, psychological problems, obesity shortens the lifespan and puts strain on health systems. The risk associated with childhood obesity in particular, which will accelerate the development of adult morbidity and mortality, has been identified as an emerging public health problem. METHODS: To estimate the length of stay and associated hospital costs for obesity related illnesses a cost of illness study was set up. All discharges from all acute hospitals in the Republic of Ireland from 1997 to 2004 with a principal or secondary diagnostic code for obesity for all children from 6 to 18 years of age and for adults were collected.A discharge frequency was calculated by dividing obesity related discharges by the total number of diagnoses (principal and secondary) for each year. The hospital costs related to obesity was calculated based on the total number of days care. RESULTS: The discharge frequency of obesity related conditions increased from 1.14 in 1997 to 1.49 in 2004 for adults and from 0.81 to 1.37 for children. The relative length of stay (number of days in care for obesity related conditions per 1000 days of hospital care given) increased from 1.47 in 1997 to 4.16 in 2004 for children and from 3.68 in 1997 to 6.74 in 2004 for adults.Based on the 2001 figures for cost per inpatient bed day, the annual hospital cost was calculated to be 4.4 Euromillion in 1997, increasing to 13.3 Euromillion in 2004. At a 20% variable hospital cost the cost ranges from 0.9 Euromillion in 1997 to 2.7 Euromillion in 2004; a 200% increase. CONCLUSION: The annual increase in the proportion of hospital discharges related to obesity is alarming. This increase is related to a significant increase in economic costs. This paper emphasises the need for action at an early stage of life. Health promotion and primary prevention of obesity should be high on the political agenda.

Hotel-based ambulatory care for complex cancer patients: a review of the University College London Hospital experience.

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Sive, Jonathan; Ardeshna, Kirit M; Cheesman, Simon; le Grange, Franel; Morris, Stephen; Nicholas, Claire; Peggs, Karl; Statham, Paula; Goldstone, Anthony H

2012-12-01

Since 2005, University College London Hospital (UCLH) has operated a hotel-based Ambulatory Care Unit (ACU) for hematology and oncology patients requiring intensive chemotherapy regimens and hematopoietic stem cell transplants. Between January 2005 and 2011 there were 1443 patient episodes, totaling 9126 patient days, with increasing use over the 6-year period. These were predominantly for hematological malignancy (82%) and sarcoma (17%). Median length of stay was 5 days (range 1-42), varying according to treatment. Clinical review and treatment was provided in the ACU, with patients staying in a local hotel at the hospital's expense. Admission to the inpatient ward was arranged as required, and there was close liaison with the inpatient team to preempt emergency admissions. Of the 523 unscheduled admissions, 87% occurred during working hours. An ACU/hotel-based treatment model can be safely used for a wide variety of cancers and treatments, expanding hospital treatment capacity, and freeing up inpatient beds for those patients requiring them.

Performance of in-hospital mortality prediction models for acute hospitalization: Hospital Standardized Mortality Ratio in Japan

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Motomura Noboru

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objective In-hospital mortality is an important performance measure for quality improvement, although it requires proper risk adjustment. We set out to develop in-hospital mortality prediction models for acute hospitalization using a nation-wide electronic administrative record system in Japan. Methods Administrative records of 224,207 patients (patients discharged from 82 hospitals in Japan between July 1, 2002 and October 31, 2002 were randomly split into preliminary (179,156 records and test (45,051 records groups. Study variables included Major Diagnostic Category, age, gender, ambulance use, admission status, length of hospital stay, comorbidity, and in-hospital mortality. ICD-10 codes were converted to calculate comorbidity scores based on Quan's methodology. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was then performed using in-hospital mortality as a dependent variable. C-indexes were calculated across risk groups in order to evaluate model performances. Results In-hospital mortality rates were 2.68% and 2.76% for the preliminary and test datasets, respectively. C-index values were 0.869 for the model that excluded length of stay and 0.841 for the model that included length of stay. Conclusion Risk models developed in this study included a set of variables easily accessible from administrative data, and still successfully exhibited a high degree of prediction accuracy. These models can be used to estimate in-hospital mortality rates of various diagnoses and procedures.

Use of antibiotics in patients admitted to the hospital due to acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, S K.; Weis, N; Almdal, T

2002-01-01

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess to what extent symptoms and signs of bacterial infection are present and evaluated in patients admitted to the hospital for exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in relation to initiation of antibiotic treatment. METHODS......: All adult patients (>18 years of age) discharged from a department of internal medicine in Copenhagen in 1997 with a diagnosis of exacerbation of COPD were included in our study and their reports were retrospectively reviewed. Gender, age, number of admissions and length of hospital stay, use...... was the initial antibiotic of choice. The median hospital stay was 6 days for the entire group of patients. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that, in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD, a relatively high number of patients with only weak symptoms or signs of bacterial infection are treated with antibiotics....

[Deinstitutionalization of long-stay psychiatric patients in upper Austria -- utilization of healthcare resources and costs of outpatient care].

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Haberfellner, Egon Michael; Grausgruber, Alfred; Grausgruber-Berner, Rosemarie; Ortmair, Margarethe; Schöny, Werner

2006-03-01

The study was intended to evaluate the therapeutic and healthcare services utilized by 116 former long-stay patients after an average of 42.9 months of deinstitutionalization during a follow-up time of (1/2) year and to calculate the costs thus incurred. 116 patients and their caregivers were interviewed during a period of 6 months using the German version of the Client Sociodemographic and Service Receipt Inventory. On average, 3.3 institutions/facilities were contacted per patient, most often by younger patients living in group homes and least often by patients in psychiatric nursing homes. During the 6-month follow-up time costs of euro 14,665 were incurred per patient. Of these costs, 87.2 % were for the residential facilities. The costs of outpatient care accounted for 41.4 % of the costs that would have been incurred for inpatient care in a psychiatric hospital. Deinstitutionalization of psychiatric long-stay patients in Upper Austria provided for considerable reductions in costs while maintaining a high quality of care.

Effect of treatment modality on in-hospital outcome in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage: a nationwide study in Japan (J-ASPECT Study).

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Kurogi, Ryota; Kada, Akiko; Nishimura, Kunihiro; Kamitani, Satoru; Nishimura, Ataru; Sayama, Tetsuro; Nakagawara, Jyoji; Toyoda, Kazunori; Ogasawara, Kuniaki; Ono, Junichi; Shiokawa, Yoshiaki; Aruga, Toru; Miyachi, Shigeru; Nagata, Izumi; Matsuda, Shinya; Yoshimura, Shinichi; Okuchi, Kazuo; Suzuki, Akifumi; Nakamura, Fumiaki; Onozuka, Daisuke; Hagihara, Akihito; Iihara, Koji

2018-05-01

OBJECTIVE Although heterogeneity in patient outcomes following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) has been observed across different centers, the relative merits of clipping and coiling for SAH remain unknown. The authors sought to compare the patient outcomes between these therapeutic modalities using a large nationwide discharge database encompassing hospitals with different comprehensive stroke center (CSC) capabilities. METHODS They analyzed data from 5214 patients with SAH (clipping 3624, coiling 1590) who had been urgently hospitalized at 393 institutions in Japan in the period from April 2012 to March 2013. In-hospital mortality, modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score, cerebral infarction, complications, hospital length of stay, and medical costs were compared between the clipping and coiling groups after adjustment for patient-level and hospital-level characteristics by using mixed-model analysis. RESULTS Patients who had undergone coiling had significantly higher in-hospital mortality (12.4% vs 8.7%, OR 1.3) and a shorter median hospital stay (32.0 vs 37.0 days, p < 0.001) than those who had undergone clipping. The respective proportions of patients discharged with mRS scores of 3-6 (46.4% and 42.9%) and median medical costs (thousands US$, 35.7 and 36.7) were not significantly different between the groups. These results remained robust after further adjustment for CSC capabilities as a hospital-related covariate. CONCLUSIONS Despite the increasing use of coiling, clipping remains the mainstay treatment for SAH. Regardless of CSC capabilities, clipping was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality, similar unfavorable functional outcomes and medical costs, and a longer hospital stay as compared with coiling in 2012 in Japan. Further study is required to determine the influence of unmeasured confounders.

Qualities of Inpatient Hospital Rooms: Patients' Perspectives.

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Devlin, Ann Sloan; Andrade, Cláudia Campos; Carvalho, Diana

2016-04-01

The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate what design features of hospital rooms are valued by inpatients. Little research has explored how patients evaluate the physical environment of their hospital rooms. Most responses are captured by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, which includes only two questions about the physical environment. Two hundred thirty-six orthopedic patients (78 in the United States and 158 in Portugal) listed three features of their hospital room that influenced their level of satisfaction with their hospital stay, indicating whether the feature was positive or negative. The comments were more positive (71.4%) than negative (28.6%). Using the framework of supportive design from Ulrich, over half the comments (64.31%) could be categorized in one of the three dimensions: 33.2% (positive distraction), 22.4% (perceived control), and 6.0% (social support). This total includes Internet (2.7%), which could be categorized as either social support or positive distraction. Comments called "other aspects" focused on overall environmental appraisals, cleanliness, and functionality and maintenance. The majority of comments could be accommodated by Ulrich's theory, but it is noteworthy that other aspects emerge from patients' comments and affect their experience. Cross-cultural differences pointed to the greater role of light and sun for Portuguese patients and health status whiteboard for U.S. Qualitative research can add significantly to our understanding of the healthcare experience and may inform design decisions. © The Author(s) 2015.

Patients who leave the hospital against medical advice: the role of the psychiatric consultant.

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Holden, P; Vogtsberger, K N; Mohl, P C; Fuller, D S

1989-01-01

Previous studies have identified characteristics of patients who threaten to leave non-psychiatric units against medical advice, but few have described the role of the psychiatric consultant in the patient's decision. This study compared the medical records of 31 patients who threatened to leave the hospital against medical advice (AMA) and who were seen in consultation with the records of AMA-discharged patients who were not seen by a psychiatric consultant. Most patients who received consultations remained hospitalized or were discharged in regular fashion. Those seen soon after admission were most likely to stay. Patients were more likely to remain hospitalized if the consultant's recommendations had a practical, rather than a psychological, orientation.

Bed blocking by elderly patients in general-hospital wards.

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Rubin, S G; Davies, G H

1975-08-01

A point prevalence survey, using a questionnaire, was performed in three general hospitals to investigate the problem of elderly patients blocking acute-hospital beds. A total of 1010 occupied general beds were surveyed and all patients, over the age of 60 years, who had been in hospital more than four weeks, and who, in the opinion of medical and nursing staff, were no longer in need of the facilities of a general hospital, were investigated. Forty-eight patients (4.8 per cent of the total) were found to be genuinely in bed inappropriate to their needs. Rehabilitation, together with assessment of these patients, appeared disorganized and lacked consistency, and decisions regarding suitable 'disposal' appeared to be made without sufficient consultation and conformed to no detectable pattern. The main reason for the continuing bed occupancy of the patients was the length of the waiting lists for alternative residential accommodation and the main single medical factor preventing discharge home or to a hostel was the problem of mobility. By interviewing staff and patients and scrutinizing the questionnaires, it was found that 23 patients (48 per cent) were only suitable for transfer to a long-stay hospital. Of these, however, 15 (31 per cent) could be placed in specialized accommodation if some degree of nursing care, at present not available, was provided.

Impact of comorbidities on hospitalization costs following hip fracture.

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Nikkel, Lucas E; Fox, Edward J; Black, Kevin P; Davis, Charles; Andersen, Lucille; Hollenbeak, Christopher S

2012-01-04

Hip fractures are common in the elderly, and patients with hip fractures frequently have comorbid illnesses. Little is known about the relationship between comorbid illness and hospital costs or length of stay following the treatment of hip fracture in the United States. We hypothesized that specific individual comorbid illnesses and multiple comorbid illnesses would be directly related to the hospitalization costs and the length of stay for older patients following hip fracture. With use of discharge data from the 2007 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, 32,440 patients who were fifty-five years or older with an isolated, closed hip fracture were identified. Using generalized linear models, we estimated the impact of comorbidities on hospitalization costs and length of stay, controlling for patient, hospital, and procedure characteristics. Hypertension, deficiency anemias, and fluid and electrolyte disorders were the most common comorbidities. The patients had a mean of three comorbidities. Only 4.9% of patients presented without comorbidities. The average estimated cost in our reference patient was $13,805. The comorbidity with the largest increased hospitalization cost was weight loss or malnutrition, followed by pulmonary circulation disorders. Most other comorbidities significantly increased the cost of hospitalization. Compared with internal fixation of the hip fracture, hip arthroplasty increased hospitalization costs significantly. Comorbidities significantly affect the cost of hospitalization and length of stay following hip fracture in older Americans, even while controlling for other variables.

Clinical features and therapeutic management of patients admitted to Italian acute hospital psychiatric units: the PERSEO (psychiatric emergency study and epidemiology survey

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Russo Federico

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The PERSEO study (psychiatric emergency study and epidemiology is a naturalistic, observational clinical survey in Italian acute hospital psychiatric units, called SPDCs (Servizio Psichiatrico Diagnosi e Cura; in English, the psychiatric service for diagnosis and management. The aims of this paper are: (i to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients, including sociodemographic features, risk factors, life habits and psychiatric diagnoses; and (ii to assess the clinical management, subjective wellbeing and attitudes toward medications. Methods A total of 62 SPDCs distributed throughout Italy participated in the study and 2521 patients were enrolled over the 5-month study period. Results Almost half of patients (46% showed an aggressive behaviour at admission to ward, but they engaged more commonly in verbal aggression (38%, than in aggression toward other people (20%. A total of 78% of patients had a psychiatric diagnosis at admission, most frequently schizophrenia (36%, followed by depression (16% and personality disorders (14%, and no relevant changes in the diagnoses pattern were observed during hospital stay. Benzodiazepines were the most commonly prescribed drugs, regardless of diagnosis, at all time points. Overall, up to 83% of patients were treated with neuroleptic drugs and up to 27% received more than one neuroleptic either during hospital stay or at discharge. Atypical and conventional antipsychotics were equally prescribed for schizophrenia (59 vs 65% during stay and 59 vs 60% at discharge, while atypical drugs were preferred in schizoaffective psychoses (72 vs 49% during stay and 70 vs 46% at discharge and depression (41 vs 32% during stay and 44 vs 25% at discharge. Atypical neuroleptics were slightly preferred to conventional ones at hospital discharge (52 vs 44%. Polypharmacy was in general widely used. Patient attitudes toward medications were on average positive and self

High lung cancer surgical procedure volume is associated with shorter length of stay and lower risks of re-admission and death

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Henrik; Riaz, Sharma P; Holmberg, Lars

2016-01-01

It is debated whether treating cancer patients in high-volume surgical centres can lead to improvement in outcomes, such as shorter length of hospital stay, decreased frequency and severity of post-operative complications, decreased re-admission, and decreased mortality. The dataset for this anal......It is debated whether treating cancer patients in high-volume surgical centres can lead to improvement in outcomes, such as shorter length of hospital stay, decreased frequency and severity of post-operative complications, decreased re-admission, and decreased mortality. The dataset...... to their geographical population. Higher volume hospitals had shorter length of stay and the odds of re-admission were 15% lower in the highest hospital volume quintile compared with the lowest quintile. Mortality risks were 1% after 30 d and 3% after 90 d. Patients from hospitals in the highest volume quintile had...

Racial Disparity in Duration of Patient Visits to the Emergency Department: Teaching Versus Non-teaching Hospitals

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Zynal Karaca

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The sources of racial disparity in duration of patients’ visits to emergency departments (EDs have not been documented well enough for policymakers to distinguish patient-related factors from hospital- or area-related factors. This study explores the racial disparity in duration of routine visits to EDs at teaching and non-teaching hospitals.Methods: We performed retrospective data analyses and multivariate regression analyses to investigate the racial disparity in duration of routine ED visits at teaching and non-teaching hospitals. The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD were used in the analyses. The data include 4.3 million routine ED visits encountered in Arizona, Massachusetts, and Utah during 2008. We computed duration for each visit by taking the difference between admission and discharge times.Results: The mean duration for a routine ED visit was 238 minutes at teaching hospitals and 175 minutes at non-teaching hospitals. There were significant variations in duration of routine ED visits across race groups at teaching and non-teaching hospitals. The risk-adjusted results show that the mean duration of routine ED visits for Black/African American and Asian patients when compared to visits for white patients was shorter by 10.0 and 3.4%, respectively, at teaching hospitals; and longer by 3.6 and 13.8%, respectively, at non-teaching hospitals. Hispanic patients, on average, experienced 8.7% longer ED stays when compared to white patients at non-teaching hospitals.Conclusion: There is significant racial disparity in the duration of routine ED visits, especially in non-teaching hospitals where non-White patients experience longer ED stays compared to white patients. The variation in duration of routine ED visits at teaching hospitals when compared to non-teaching hospitals was smaller across race groups. [West J Emerg Med. 2013;14(5:529–541.

Reducing length of stay in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: A three year institutional experience.

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Alaraj, Ali; Hussein, Ahmed E; Esfahani, Darian R; Amin-Hanjani, Sepideh; Aletich, Victor A; Charbel, Fady T

2017-08-01

Hospital length of stay is a common metric of excellence in health care. With limited data evaluating hospital length of stay (LOS) and cost in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), in this study we explore multiple prognostic factors and present our institutional experience in shortening LOS. 345 SAH patients were reviewed over a three year period. Patient demographics, hemorrhage grade, hospital course, hospital costs, and LOS were reviewed. Angiogram-negative SAH, Hunt and Hess (HH) Grade 5, and early mortalities were excluded. During this period a physician-led daily multidisciplinary huddle was established to identify and expedite patient discharge needs. 174 patients met inclusion criteria. Significant predictors of increased hospital LOS on univariate analysis included higher HH grade, hydrocephalus, need for ventriculostomy or ventriculoperitoneal shunt, clinical vasospasm, pneumonia, respiratory failure, deep venous thrombosis, and urinary tract infection. Need for shunt, clinical vasospasm, and pneumonia remained significant on multivariate analysis. Mean LOS times decreased to less than those cited in earlier studies, with mean hospital LOS dropping from 21.6days to 14.1. Total hospital costs per SAH patient decreased from $328K to $269K. Readmission rate and breakdown by patient discharge site remained unchanged. Need for ventriculoperitoneal shunt, clinical vasospasm, and pneumonia were found predictive of longer LOS in SAH patients. A physician-led daily multidisciplinary huddle is a potentially valuable tool to identify patient discharge needs and lower LOS and cost in SAH patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The short mean length of stay of post-emergency geriatric units is associated with the rate of early readmission in frail elderly.

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Traissac, Thalie; Videau, Marie-Neige; Bourdil, Marie-José; Bourdel-Marchasson, Isabelle; Salles, Nathalie

2011-06-01

Specific postemergency short-stay geriatric units may decrease length of hospital stay, functional decline, and early readmission rates. The aim of this study was to evaluate risk factors of early rehospitalization in a shortstay geriatric unit. This study was a prospective observational study comprising over one year patients aged over 75 years, admitted to the post-emergency short-stay geriatric unit (Hôpital Saint André, Bordeaux, France) and discharged home. Socio-demographic data, length of hospital stay, and a standardized geriatric assessment were collected for all patients. One month after home discharge, patients were followed-up by phone, and the hospital readmission rate was calculated. descriptive, unvaried and multivariate analyses were carried out. A total of 476 patients were included in this study (mean age 86.5±6 yrs; 154 men, 322 women). Mean length of stay in the post-emergency short-stay geriatric unit was 6.3±2.7 days, and a total of 68 (14.3%) patients were readmitted within one month after home discharge. The readmission rate was associated with a diagnosis of delirium (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.9; 95% CI 1.1-3.3; p=0.02), mean length of stay exceeding 6 days (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1-3.5; p=0.02), and decision of home discharge (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.4-4.1; p=0.002). Short mean lengths of stay were not considered as a risk factor for readmissions within one month, even in frail, dependent, hospitalized elderly persons.

Predictors for individual patient antibiotic treatment effect in hospitalized community-acquired pneumonia patients.

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Simonetti, A F; van Werkhoven, C H; Schweitzer, V A; Viasus, D; Carratalà, J; Postma, D F; Oosterheert, J J; Bonten, M J M

2017-10-01

Our objective was to identify clinical predictors of antibiotic treatment effects in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) who were not in the intensive care unit (ICU). Post-hoc analysis of three prospective cohorts (from the Netherlands and Spain) of adult patients with CAP admitted to a non-ICU ward having received either β-lactam monotherapy, β-lactam + macrolide, or a fluoroquinolone-based therapy as empirical antibiotic treatment. We evaluated candidate clinical predictors of treatment effects in multiple mixed-effects models by including interactions of the predictors with empirical antibiotic choice and using 30-day mortality, ICU admission and length of hospital stay as outcomes. Among 8562 patients, empirical treatment was β-lactam in 4399 (51.4%), fluoroquinolone in 3373 (39.4%), and β-lactam + macrolide in 790 (9.2%). Older age (interaction OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.23-2.29, p 0.034) and current smoking (interaction OR 2.36, 95% CI 1.34-4.17, p 0.046) were associated with lower effectiveness of fluoroquinolone on 30-day mortality. Older age was also associated with lower effectiveness of β-lactam + macrolide on length of hospital stay (interaction effect ratio 1.14, 95% CI 1.06-1.22, p 0.008). Older age and smoking could influence the response to specific antibiotic regimens. The effect modification of age and smoking should be considered hypothesis generating to be evaluated in future trials. Copyright © 2017 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predictors of extended length of stay, discharge to inpatient rehab, and hospital readmission following elective lumbar spine surgery: introduction of the Carolina-Semmes Grading Scale.

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McGirt, Matthew J; Parker, Scott L; Chotai, Silky; Pfortmiller, Deborah; Sorenson, Jeffrey M; Foley, Kevin; Asher, Anthony L

2017-10-01

OBJECTIVE Extended hospital length of stay (LOS), unplanned hospital readmission, and need for inpatient rehabilitation after elective spine surgery contribute significantly to the variation in surgical health care costs. As novel payment models shift the risk of cost overruns from payers to providers, understanding patient-level risk of LOS, readmission, and inpatient rehabilitation is critical. The authors set out to develop a grading scale that effectively stratifies risk of these costly events after elective surgery for degenerative lumbar pathologies. METHODS The Quality and Outcomes Database (QOD) registry prospectively enrolls patients undergoing surgery for degenerative lumbar spine disease. This registry was queried for patients who had undergone elective 1- to 3-level lumbar surgery for degenerative spine pathology. The association between preoperative patient variables and extended postoperative hospital LOS (LOS ≥ 7 days), discharge status (inpatient facility vs home), and 90-day hospital readmission was assessed using stepwise multivariate logistic regression. The Carolina-Semmes grading scale was constructed using the independent predictors for LOS (0-12 points), discharge to inpatient facility (0-18 points), and 90-day readmission (0-6 points), and its performance was assessed using the QOD data set. The performance of the grading scale was then confirmed separately after using it in 2 separate neurosurgery practice sites (Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates [CNSA] and Semmes Murphey Clinic). RESULTS A total of 6921 patients were analyzed. Overall, 290 (4.2%) patients required extended LOS, 654 (9.4%) required inpatient facility care/rehabilitation on hospital discharge, and 474 (6.8%) were readmitted to the hospital within 90 days postdischarge. Variables that remained as independently associated with these unplanned events in multivariate analysis included age ≥ 70 years, American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Classification System

Patient-controlled hospital admission for patients with severe mental disorders: study protocol for a nationwide prospective multicentre study.

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Thomsen, Christoffer Torgaard; Benros, Michael Eriksen; Hastrup, Lene Halling; Andersen, Per Kragh; Giacco, Domenico; Nordentoft, Merete

2016-09-28

Patient-controlled hospital admission for individuals with severe mental disorders is a novel approach in mental healthcare. Patients can admit themselves to a hospital unit for a short stay without being assessed by a psychiatrist or contacting the emergency department. Previous studies assessing the outcomes of patient-controlled hospital admission found trends towards reduction in the use of coercive measures and length of hospital stay; however, these studies have methodological shortcomings and small sample sizes. Larger studies are needed to estimate the effect of patient-controlled hospital admission on the use of coercion and of healthcare services. We aim to recruit at least 315 patients who are offered a contract for patient-controlled hospital admissions in eight different hospitals in Denmark. Patients will be followed-up for at least 1 year to compare the use of coercive measures and of healthcare services, the use of medications and suicidal behaviour. Descriptive statistics will be used to investigate hospitalisations, global assessment of functioning (GAF) and patient satisfaction with treatment. To minimise selection bias, we will match individuals using patient-controlled hospital admission and controls with a 1:5 ratio via a propensity score based on the following factors: sex, age group, primary diagnosis, substance abuse as secondary diagnosis, coercion, number of psychiatric bed days, psychiatric history, urbanity and suicidal behaviour. Additionally, a historical control study will be undertaken in which patients serve as their own control group prior to index date. The study has been approved by The Danish Health and Medicines Authority (j.nr.: 3-3013-934/1/) and by The Danish Data Protection Agency (j.nr.: 2012-58-0004). The study was categorised as a register study by The Danish Health Research Ethics Committee and therefore no further approval was needed (j.nr.: H-2-2014-FSP70). Findings will be disseminated through scientific

Effect of metronidazole versus standard care on length of stay of patients admitted with severe infectious mononucleosis: a randomized controlled trial.

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Lennon, P; O'Neill, J P; Fenton, J E

2014-07-01

Metronidazole may be of use in the treatment of infectious mononucleosis (IM). Our aim is to show that metronidazole shortens hospital stay for patients with severe IM. A single-centre randomized controlled trial was undertaken in patients admitted with severe IM, who were with a similar group treated by the standard care. Patients were blinded to which treatment arm they were in. Forty-two of these patients were enrolled in the trial. The primary endpoint was the difference in length of stay. This was significantly less in the metronidazole group (3.67 days v 4.67) (p 0.032). This study demonstrates that metronidazole has a role to play in severe infectious mononucleosis. © 2013 The Authors Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2013 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

The impact of hospital market structure on patient volume, average length of stay, and the cost of care.

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Robinson, J C; Luft, H S

1985-12-01

A variety of recent proposals rely heavily on market forces as a means of controlling hospital cost inflation. Sceptics argue, however, that increased competition might lead to cost-increasing acquisitions of specialized clinical services and other forms of non-price competition as means of attracting physicians and patients. Using data from hospitals in 1972 we analyzed the impact of market structure on average hospital costs, measured in terms of both cost per patient and cost per patient day. Under the retrospective reimbursement system in place at the time, hospitals in more competitive environments exhibited significantly higher costs of production than did those in less competitive environments.

Study of the length of hospital stay for free flap reconstruction of oral and pharyngeal cancer in the context of the new French casemix-based funding.

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Girod, Angélique; Brancati, Antonio; Mosseri, Véronique; Kriegel, Irène; Jouffroy, Thomas; Rodriguez, José

2010-03-01

The French national health insurance reimbursement system has recently changed from a global hospital funding system to casemix-based funding. The authors studied the factors likely to influence the length of hospital stay for free flap reconstructions after surgery for cancers of the oral cavity or pharynx. Data concerning 207 oral cavity or pharynx free flap reconstructions were extracted from a prospective registration. Lengths of hospital stay were compared by an analysis of variance F test or a nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test, and transfusion rates were compared by Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. The median length of hospital stay was 24 days (range: 7-145 days). Length of hospital stay was significantly longer according to the type of flap (pcasemix-based funding, this study raises the problem of harvesting of the fibula flap, management of preoperative haemoglobin and nutritional status. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of the Flugelman index for identifying patients who are difficult to discharge from the hospital

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Chiara Bozzano

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: To evaluate the use of multidimensional assessment based on the Fluegelman Index (FI to identify internal medicine patients who are likely to be difficult to discharge from the hospital. Materials and methods: Have been evaluated all patients admitted to the medical wards of the District General Hospital of Arezzo from September 1 to October 31, 2007. We collected data on age, sex, socioeconomic condition, cause of admission, comorbidity score preadmission functional status (Barthel Index, incontinence, feeding problems, length of hospitalization, condition at discharge, and type of discharge. The FI cut off for difficult discharge was > 17. Results: Of the 413 patients (mean age 80 + 11.37 years; percentage of women, 56.1% included in the study, 109 (26.39% had Flugelman Index > 17. These patients were significantly older than the patients with lower FIs (85 + 9.35 vs 78 + 11.58 years, p < 0.001, more likely to be admitted for pneumonia (22% vs. 4.9% of those with lower FIs; p < 0,001. They also had more comorbidity, loss of autonomy, cognitive impairment, social frailty, and nursing care needs. The subgroup with FIs>17 had significantly higher in-hospital mortality (30.28% vs 6.25%, p < 0.001, longer hospital stay (13 vs. 10 days, p < 0.05, and higher rates of discharge to nursing homes. Conclusions: Evaluation of internal medicine patients with the Flugelman Index may be helpful for identifying more critical patients likely to require longer hospitalization and to detect factors affecting the hospital stay. This information can be useful for more effective discharge planning.

[Patient satisfaction in hospital: critical incident technique or standardised questionnaire?].

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Eckhardt-Abdulla, R; Bock, M; Bauer, M

2008-03-01

Questionnaires are usually used for the measurement of patient satisfaction, however, it is increasingly being recognized that the critical incident technique (CIT) also provides valuable insight. Questionnaires of the "Hamburger questionnaire on hospital stay" were distributed to 650 consecutive patients before discharge. Additionally 103 interviews were conducted in which the patients were asked to describe positive and negative incidents during their hospital stay. The results of both methods were then compared. A total of 369 patients returned the questionnaire and 103 patients participated in the interviews. The duration of a single interview was between 5 and 45 min with a mean of 12.7 min+/-10.1 min standard deviation (SD). Cronbach's alpha of the questionnaire was 0.9. A total of 424 incidents were reported, 301 of them were negative compared to 123 positive events. The questionnaires and interviews yielded partly similar and partly different results at category and subcategory levels concerning the areas of weaknesses and strengths in quality performance. The CIT was more concrete but did not give results for all aspects of quality. The CIT, but not the questionnaire, was able to detect 40/56 (71%) of the positive and 33/75 (44%) of the negative reports regarding medical performance and 25/42 (60%) of the positive and 15/51 (29.4%) of the negative reports of the performance of the nurses were revealed by the CIT and not by the questionnaires. The CIT gives valuable insights into the patient's perspective of strengths and weaknesses in hospital care, which might be overlooked by the questionnaire alone. However, the CIT is probably not suited for routine use because it is very time-consuming.

Is compliance with hospital accreditation Associated with length of stay and acute readmission? A Danish nationwide population-base study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Falstie-Jensen, Anne Mette; Nørgaard, Mette; Hollnagel, Erik

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between compliance with hospital accreditation and length of stay (LOS) and acute readmission (AR). DESIGN: A nationwide population-based follow-up study from November 2009 to December 2012. SETTING: Public, non-psychiatric Danish hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: In-...

Effects of multimedia nursing education on disease-related depression and anxiety in patients staying in a coronary intensive care unit.

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Demircelik, Muhammed Bora; Cakmak, Muzaffer; Nazli, Yunus; Şentepe, Esra; Yigit, Derya; Keklik, Mevlude; Arslan, Muzeyyen; Cetin, Mustafa; Eryonucu, Beyhan

2016-02-01

We evaluated the effectiveness of an accessibility-enhanced multimedia informational educational program in reducing depression and anxiety increasing satisfaction with the information and materials received by patients in coronary care unit. We selected 100 patients from among the patients who stayed at or who underwent surgery at one of two ICUs for any reason who satisfied the eligibility criteria, and agreed to participate in the research. The participants were included in the control or experimental group by random selection. The patients completed the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale during ICU admission and 1week after hospital discharge. The difference in HADSA score was significantly greater in patients who received education than in patients who did not receive multimedia nursing education (4.2±0.58 vs. 0.6±0.42; pnursing education (2.2±0.53 vs. 0.64±0.46; pdepression associated with hospital can be reduced with multimedia nursing education. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cost Analysis of the Dutch Obstetric System: low-risk nulliparous women preferring home or short-stay hospital birth - a prospective non-randomised controlled study

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Nijhuis Jan G

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the Netherlands, pregnant women without medical complications can decide where they want to give birth, at home or in a short-stay hospital setting with a midwife. However, a decrease in the home birth rate during the last decennium may have raised the societal costs of giving birth. The objective of this study is to compare the societal costs of home births with those of births in a short-stay hospital setting. Methods This study is a cost analysis based on the findings of a multicenter prospective non-randomised study comparing two groups of nulliparous women with different preferences for where to give birth, at home or in a short-stay hospital setting. Data were collected using cost diaries, questionnaires and birth registration forms. Analysis of the data is divided into a base case analysis and a sensitivity analysis. Results In the group of home births, the total societal costs associated with giving birth at home were €3,695 (per birth, compared with €3,950 per birth in the group for short-stay hospital births. Statistically significant differences between both groups were found regarding the following cost categories 'Cost of contacts with health care professionals during delivery' (€138.38 vs. €87.94, -50 (2.5-97.5 percentile range (PR-76;-25, p Conclusion The total costs associated with pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum care are comparable for home birth and short-stay hospital birth. The most important differences in costs between the home birth group and the short-stay hospital birth group are associated with maternity care assistance, hospitalisation, and travelling costs.

Relationship of Work Therapy to Psychiatric Length of Stay and Readmission

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Barbee, Margaret S.; and others

1969-01-01

Results indicated that participants in an in-hospital work-therapy program, randomly selected patients in Fort Logan Mental Health Center, had longer stays in both intensive treatment and total hospitalization and had more readmissions to Fort Logan than nonparticipants. Reprints available from authors at Fort Logan Mental Health Center, Denver,…

Emotional disorders in pairs of patients and their family members during and after ICU stay.

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Renata Rego Lins Fumis

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Patients and family members undergo different experiences of suffering from emotional disorders during ICU stay and after ICU discharge. The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD symptoms in pairs (patient and respective family member, during stay at an open visit ICU and at 30 and 90-days post-ICU discharge. We hypothesized that there was a positive correlation with the severity of symptoms among pairs and different patterns of suffering over time. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted in a 22-bed adult general ICU including patients with >48 hours stay. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS was completed by the pairs (patients/respective family member. Interviews were made by phone at 30 and 90-days post-ICU discharge using the Impact of Event Scale (IES and the HADS. Multivariate models were constructed to predict IES score at 30 days for patients and family members. RESULTS: Four hundred and seventy one family members and 289 patients were interviewed in the ICU forming 184 pairs for analysis. Regarding HADS score, patients presented less symptoms than family members of patients who survived and who deceased at 30 and 90-days (p<0.001. However, family members of patients who deceased scored higher anxiety and depression symptoms (p = 0.048 at 90-days when compared with family members of patients who survived. Patients and family members at 30-days had a similar IES score, but it was higher in family members at 90-days (p = 0.019. For both family members and patients, age and symptoms of anxiety and depression during ICU were the major determinants for PTSD at 30-days. CONCLUSIONS: Anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms were higher in family members than in the patients. Furthermore, these symptoms in family members persisted at 3 months, while they decreased in patients.

[Impact of HIV infection in hospital environment].

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Martínez Avilés, P; López Benito, I; Berbegal Serra, J

1998-12-01

Retrospective study to review the admissions at the Hospital Marina Alta due to infection for HIV or its complications and look for risk factors. Clinical charts of patients admitted at the hospital from 1989 to 1996 were analyzed. From 11,932 admissions, 199 (1.7%) were due to patients with infection from HIV, resulting in the 2.4% of the total stay. The medium stays were higher (8.6 +/- 7.4 vs 6 +/- 4.5) more re-admissions (42.7% vs 25.5%) and higher mortality (11% vs 7.8%). The parasitic infestations of the nervous central system and cardiovascular were the most numerous number of admissions and also the longer stays. Throughout the years we saw a increase in the patients at the outpatient clinic with HIV infection and a paradogic decrease in the inpatient admissions, and also a decrease in the media stay and total stays. There is a decrease in the admissions at the inpatient level in contrast with a increment of the prevalence in the outpatients with HIV infection. The improved treatments, the experience of the physicians, the use of the Day Hospital and the use of the service of Home Care Hospitalization allows to keep more patients with less admissions and more outpatient visits.

Electronic health record use, intensity of hospital care, and patient outcomes.

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Blecker, Saul; Goldfeld, Keith; Park, Naeun; Shine, Daniel; Austrian, Jonathan S; Braithwaite, R Scott; Radford, Martha J; Gourevitch, Marc N

2014-03-01

Previous studies have suggested that weekend hospital care is inferior to weekday care and that this difference may be related to diminished care intensity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a metric for measuring intensity of hospital care based on use of the electronic health record was associated with patient-level outcomes. We performed a cohort study of hospitalizations at an academic medical center. Intensity of care was defined as the hourly number of provider accessions of the electronic health record, termed "electronic health record interactions." Hospitalizations were categorized on the basis of the mean difference in electronic health record interactions between the first Friday and the first Saturday of hospitalization. We used regression models to determine the association of these categories with patient outcomes after adjusting for covariates. Electronic health record interactions decreased from Friday to Saturday in 77% of the 9051 hospitalizations included in the study. Compared with hospitalizations with no change in Friday to Saturday electronic health record interactions, the relative lengths of stay for hospitalizations with a small, moderate, and large decrease in electronic health record interactions were 1.05 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00-1.10), 1.11 (95% CI, 1.05-1.17), and 1.25 (95% CI, 1.15-1.35), respectively. Although a large decrease in electronic health record interactions was associated with in-hospital mortality, these findings were not significant after risk adjustment (odds ratio 1.74, 95% CI, 0.93-3.25). Intensity of inpatient care, measured by electronic health record interactions, significantly diminished from Friday to Saturday, and this decrease was associated with length of stay. Hospitals should consider monitoring and correcting temporal fluctuations in care intensity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

42 CFR 456.236 - Continued stay review process.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS UTILIZATION CONTROL Utilization Control: Mental Hospitals Ur Plan... each continued stay of a recipient in the mental hospital, the committee, subgroup or designee reviews... committee, subgroup or designee finds that a recipient's continued stay in the mental hospital is needed...

Transforming Patient Value: Comparison of Hospital, Surgical, and General Surgery Patients.

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Pitt, Henry A; Tsypenyuk, Ella; Freeman, Susan L; Carson, Steven R; Shinefeld, Jonathan A; Hinkle, Sally M; Powers, Benjamin D; Goldberg, Amy J; DiSesa, Verdi J; Kaiser, Larry R

2016-04-01

Patient value (V) is enhanced when quality (Q) is increased and cost (C) is diminished (V = Q/C). However, calculating value has been inhibited by a lack of risk-adjusted cost data. The aim of this analysis was to measure patient value before and after implementation of quality improvement and cost reduction programs. Multidisciplinary efforts to improve patient value were initiated at a safety-net hospital in 2012. Quality improvement focused on adoption of multiple best practices, and minimizing practice variation was the strategy to control cost. University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) risk-adjusted quality (patient mortality + safety + satisfaction + effectiveness) and cost (length of stay + direct cost) data were used to calculate patient value over 3 fiscal years. Normalized ranks in the UHC Quality and Accountability Scorecard were used in the value equation. For all hospital patients, quality scores improved from 50.3 to 66.5, with most of the change occurring in decreased mortality. Similar trends were observed for all surgery patients (42.6 to 48.4) and for general surgery patients (30.9 to 64.6). For all hospital patients, cost scores improved from 71.0 to 2.9. Similar changes were noted for all surgical (71.6 to 27.1) and general surgery (85.7 to 23.0) patients. Therefore, value increased more than 30-fold for all patients, 3-fold for all surgical patients, and almost 8-fold for general surgery patients. Multidisciplinary quality and cost efforts resulted in significant improvements in value for all hospitalized patients as well as general surgery patients. Mortality improved the most in general surgery patients, and satisfaction was highest among surgical patients. Copyright © 2016 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Psychosocial factors predicting length of hospitalization in elderly individuals with diabetes in selected hospitals of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, in 2015

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Omeleila Baharlooei

2017-06-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Currently, researchers seek to identify factors related to length of hospital stay in elderly in order to reduce burden on the health system. The importance of either physiological or psychological factors in determining health outcomes has been well stablished; however, the possible contribution of psychosocial factors particularly in elderly patients with diabetes is also of special importance. This study aimed to know what psychosocial variables predicts length of hospital stay in elderly patients with diabetes. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, correlational study conducted on 150 elderly patients from July-October 2015. Convenient sampling method was used to recruit the subjects. The data was collected by a three-part questionnaire consisted of demographic and health related characteristics, 21-item depression anxiety stress scale (DASS-21 and multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS. RESULTS: The mean ± standard deviation of length of hospital stay was 15.6 ± 7.7 days. Findings from multiple regression analysis showed that the models of predicting length of hospital stay in subgroups of both women (P = 0.001, F6,77 = 4.45 and men (P = 0.03, F6,71 = 2.43 were significant. The entered variables in subgroups of women and men accounted for 27% and 18% of total variance (R2 of the length of hospital stay, respectively. None of the psychosocial variables in women significantly predicted the lengths of hospital stay. However, one out of three predicting psychosocial variables (i.e. stress in men significantly predicted the length of hospital stay (β = 0.39, t = 2.1, P = 0.04. CONCLUSION: The results emphasized the importance of promoting social support of elderly patients with diabetes, particularly in patients who are women, have higher levels of stress, have higher period of disease and a history of hospitalization in the past 6 months in order to lower length of hospital stay and finally promote health status

Hospital Costs of Foreign Non-Resident Patients: A Comparative Analysis in Catalonia, Spain.

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Arroyo-Borrell, Elena; Renart-Vicens, Gemma; Saez, Marc; Carreras, Marc

2017-09-14

Although patient mobility has increased over the world, in Europe there is a lack of empirical studies. The aim of the study was to compare foreign non-resident patients versus domestic patients for the particular Catalan case, focusing on patient characteristics, hospitalisation costs and differences in costs depending on the typology of the hospital they are treated. We used data from the 2012 Minimum Basic Data Set-Acute Care hospitals (CMBD-HA) in Catalonia. We matched two case-control groups: first, foreign non-resident patients versus domestic patients and, second, foreign non-resident patients treated by Regional Public Hospitals versus other type of hospitals. Hospitalisation costs were modelled using a GLM Gamma with a log-link. Our results show that foreign non-resident patients were significantly less costly than domestic patients (12% cheaper). Our findings also suggested differences in the characteristics of foreign non-resident patients using Regional Public Hospitals or other kinds of hospitals although we did not observe significant differences in the healthcare costs. Nevertheless, women, 15-24 and 35-44 years old patients and the days of stay were less costly in Regional Public Hospitals. In general, acute hospitalizations of foreign non-resident patients while they are on holiday cost substantially less than domestic patients. The typology of hospital is not found to be a relevant factor influencing costs.