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Longer LOS (longer + los)
Selected AbstractsAdmission Hyperglycemia and Length of Hospital Stay in Patients With Diabetes and Heart Failure: A Prospective Cohort StudyCONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, Issue 3 2008Yohannes Gebreegziabher MD The authors assessed the relationship between glycemia and length of hospital stay (LOS) in a prospective cohort study of patients with diabetes mellitus and heart failure (HF). Of 212 patients with acute HF exacerbation, 119 (56%) also had diabetes. The mean age of the cohort was 63±0.87 years, and the mean body mass index was 29.3 kg/m2. Diabetic patients had significantly longer LOS compared with the nondiabetics (5.0±0.29 vs 3.4±0.19; P<.001). In patients with diabetes, the mean glycated hemoglobin A1c was 8.3%, admission blood glucose (BG) was 169±7.7 mg/dL, and average BG was 196±8.1 mg/dL. After adjusting for age, sex, weight, hypertension, renal function, and anemia, LOS was significantly correlated with admission BG (r=0.31; P<.001) and average BG (r=0.34; P=.001). In patients with acute HF exacerbation, diabetes significantly prolonged LOS. Hyperglycemia correlated with LOS. [source] Mental Illness and Length of Inpatient Stay for Medicaid Recipients with AIDSHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 5 2004Donald R. Hoover Objective. To examine the associations between comorbid mental illness and length of hospital stays (LOS) among Medicaid beneficiaries with AIDS. Data Source and Collection/Study Setting. Merged 1992,1998 Medicaid claims and AIDS surveillance data obtained from the State of New Jersey for adults with ,1 inpatient stay after an AIDS diagnosis from 1992 to 1996. Study Design. Observational study of 6,247 AIDS patients with 24,975 inpatient visits. Severe mental illness (SMI) and other less severe mental illness (OMI) diagnoses at visits were ascertained from ICD,9 Codes. About 4 percent of visits had an SMI diagnosis; 5 percent had an OMI diagnosis; 43 percent did not have a mental illness diagnosis, but were patients who had been identified as having an SMI or OMI history; and 48 percent were from patients with no identified history of mental illness. Principal Findings. The overall mean hospital LOS was 12.7 days. After adjusting for measures of HIV disease severity and health care access in multivariate models, patients presenting with primary and secondary severe mental illness (SMI) diagnoses had ,32 percent and ,11 percent longer LOS, respectively, than did similar patients without a mental illness history (p<0.001 for each). But in these adjusted models of length of stay: (1) diagnosis of OMI was not related to LOS, and (2) in the absence of a mental illness diagnosed at the visit, an identified history of either SMI or OMI was also not related to LOS. In adjusted models of time to readmission for a new visit, current diagnosis of SMI or OMI and in the absences of a current diagnosis, history of SMI or OMI all tended to be associated with quicker readmission. Conclusions. This study finds greater (adjusted) LOS for AIDS patients diagnosed with severe mental illness (but not for those diagnosed with less severe mental comorbidity) at a visit. The effect of acute severe mental illness on hospitalization time may be comparable to that of an acute AIDS opportunistic illness. While previous research raises concerns that mental illness increases LOS by interfering with treatment of HIV conditions, the associations here may simply indicate that extra time is needed to treat severe mental illnesses or arrange for discharge of afflicted patients. [source] Factors affecting outcome in liver resectionHPB, Issue 3 2005CEDRIC S. F. LORENZO Abstract Background. Studies demonstrate an inverse relationship between institution/surgeon procedural volumes and patient outcomes. Similar studies exist for liver resections, which recommend referral of patients for liver resections to ,high-volume' centers. These studies did not elucidate the factors that underlie such outcomes. We believe there exists a complex interaction of patient-related and perioperative factors that determine patient outcomes after liver resection. We sought to delineate these factors. Methods. Retrospective review of 114 liver resections by a single surgeon from 1993,2003: Records were reviewed for demographics; diagnosis; type/year of surgery; American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score; preoperative albumin, creatinine, and bilirubin; operative time; intraoperative blood transfusions; epidural use; and intraoperative hypotension. Main outcome measurements were postoperative morbidities, mortalities and length of stay (LOS). Data were analyzed using a multivariate linear regression model (SPSS v10.1 statistical analysis program). Results. Primary indications for resections were hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (N=57), metastatic colorectal cancer (N=25), and benign disease (N=18). There were no intraoperative mortalities and 4 perioperative (30-day) mortalities (3.5%). Mortality occurred in patients with malignancies who were older than 50 years. Morbidity was higher in malignant (15.6%) versus benign (5.5%) disease. Complications included bile leak/stricture (N=6), liver insufficiency (N=3), postoperative bleeding (N=2), myocardial infarction (N=2), aspiration pneumonia (N=1), renal insufficiency (N=1), and cancer implantation into the wound (N=1). Average LOS for all resections was 8.6 days. Longer operative time (p=0.04), lower albumin (p<0.001), higher ASA score (p<0.001), no epidural use (p=0.04), and higher creatinine (p<0.001) all correlated positively with longer LOS. ASA score and creatinine were the strongest predictors of LOS. LOS was not affected by patient age, sex, diagnosis, presence of malignancy, intraoperative transfusion requirements, intraoperative hypotension, preoperative bilirubin, case volume per year or year of surgery. Conclusions. Liver resections can be performed with low mortality/morbidity and with acceptable LOS by an experienced liver surgeon. Outcome as measured by LOS is most influenced by patient comorbidities entering into surgery. Annual case volume did not influence LOS and had no impact on patient safety. Length of stay may not reflect surgeon/institution performance, as LOS is multifactorial and likely related to patient population, patient selection and increased high-risk cases with a surgeon's experience. [source] Geriatric Patients Improve as Much as Younger Patients from Hospitalization on General Psychiatric UnitsJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 10 2004Mark B. Snowden MD Objectives: To determine whether geriatric patients aged 65 and older on general adult psychiatric units improve as much as younger patients, over what duration their improvement occurs, and their risk of readmission. Design: Cohort study. Setting: Inpatient psychiatric unit of an urban, university-affiliated, county hospital from January 1993 through August 1999. Participants: A total of 5,929 inpatients. Measurements: Standardized, routine assessments by attending psychiatrists included the Psychiatric Symptom Assessment Scale (PSAS) on admission and discharge. Discharge scores, length of stay (LOS), and risk of readmission within 1 year were modeled for the groups using multiple regression analyses. Results: Geriatric patients constituted 5% (n=299) of the 5,929 admissions. In multivariate analysis, geriatric status was not associated with discharge PSAS scores. Median LOS was longer for geriatric patients (16 days) than younger patients (10 days, P<.001), especially in older women (14 days) and geriatric patients with mild medical illness severity (13 days vs 11 days in those with moderate-to-severe medical illness). Geriatric patients were as likely to be readmitted within 1 year of discharge as younger patients. Conclusion: Geriatric patients on general inpatient psychiatry units improved as much as younger patients. Their longer LOS was associated with milder medical illness severity. There may be a role for more specialized care of elderly women or geriatric patients with mild to moderate medical illness to improve the efficiency of their care. [source] Hospital Use in the Treatment of Sleep Apnea,THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 3 2004Erik J. Petersen MD Abstract Objectives Evaluate hospital use for treatment of sleep apnea. Study Design Retrospective database review. Materials and Methods The 1998 to 2000 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) was searched for admissions with a diagnosis of sleep apnea. Records were examined for demographics, diagnoses, procedures, and complications. Data were analyzed to identify factors affecting length of stay (LOS) and charges. Results There were 5,864 (0.03% NIS) admissions for sleep apnea. The sleep apnea group had lower mean age (43.1 vs. 47.2 years), higher percentages of males (71.6% vs. 41.0%) and African Americans (18.7% vs. 13.7%), and higher rates of obesity, hypertension, and anatomic airway diagnoses than the NIS population. Of sleep apnea group adults, 77.1% underwent a mean 2.3 procedures, whereas of those patients under 18 years of age, 60.8% underwent a mean of 1.2 procedures. Tracheotomy and procedures for hypopharyngeal airway compromise were used infrequently. Within the sleep apnea group, there were significant differences in LOS and charges on the basis of age, sex, race, payment method, procedures, and number of secondary diagnoses (all P < .05). Patients over 18 admitted for other diagnoses, but with secondary diagnosis of sleep apnea, had longer LOS (5.38 vs. 4.95 days) and higher charges ($16,562 vs. $13,928) than patients without sleep apnea. Conclusions Hospital use for sleep apnea remains largely for surgical treatment of the disease. Procedures directed at hypopharyngeal obstruction are seldom used. Multiple factors including patient age, number of secondary diagnoses, and procedures affect LOS and charges. The presence of sleep apnea also increases charges and LOS in patients admitted for other diagnoses. [source] The Effect of Emergency Department Crowding on Length of Stay and Medication Treatment Times in Discharged Patients With Acute AsthmaACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 8 2010Jesse M. Pines MD ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:834,839 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Abstract Objectives:, This study sought to determine if emergency department (ED) crowding was associated with longer ED length of stay (LOS) and time to ordering medications (nebulizers and steroids) in patients treated and discharged with acute asthma and to study how delays in ordering may affect the relationship between ED crowding and ED LOS. Methods:, A retrospective cohort study was performed in adult ED patients aged 18 years and older with a primary International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9), diagnosis of asthma who were treated and discharged from two EDs from January 1, 2007, to January 1, 2009. Four validated measures of ED crowding (ED occupancy, waiting patients, admitted patients, and patient-hours) were assigned at the time of triage. The associations between the level of ED crowding and overall LOS and time to treatment orders were tested by analyzing trends across crowding quartiles, testing differences between the highest and lowest quartiles using Hodges-Lehmann distances, and using relative risk (RR) regression for multivariable analysis. Results:, A total of 1,716 patients were discharged with asthma over the study period (932 at the academic site and 734 at the community site). LOS was longer at the academic site than the community site for asthma patients by 90 minutes (95% confidence interval [CI] = 79 to 101 minutes). All four measures of ED crowding were associated with longer LOS and time to treatment order at both sites (p < 0.001). At the highest level of ED occupancy, patients spent 75 minutes (95% CI = 58 to 93 minutes) longer in the ED compared to the lowest quartile of ED occupancy. In addition, comparing the highest and lowest quartiles of ED occupancy, time to nebulizer order was 6 minutes longer (95% CI = 1 to 13 minutes), and time to steroid order was 16 minutes longer (95% CI = 0 to 38 minutes). In the multivariable analysis, the association between ED crowding and LOS remained significant. Delays in nebulizer and steroid orders explained some, but not all, of the relationship between ED crowding and ED LOS. Conclusions:, Emergency department crowding is associated with longer ED LOS (by more than 1 hour) in patients who ultimately get discharged with asthma flares. Some but not all of longer LOS during crowded times is explained by delays in ordering asthma medications. [source] Length of stay and procedure utilization are the major determinants of hospital charges for heart failureCLINICAL CARDIOLOGY, Issue 1 2001Edward F. Philbin M.D.Facc Abstract Background: Most of the 10 billion dollars spent annually on heart failure (HF) management in this country is attributed to hospital charges. There are widespread efforts to decrease the costs of treating this disorder, both by preventing hospital admissions and reducing lengths of stay (LOS). Methods: Administrative information on all 1995 New York State hospital discharges assigned ICD-9-CM codes indicative of HF in the principal diagnosis position were obtained. Bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were utilized to determine those patient- and hospital-specific characteristics which had the greatest influence on hospital charges. Results: In all, 43,157 patients were identified. Mean hospital charges were $11,507 ± 15,995 and mean hospital LOS was 9.6 ± 14.5 days. With multivariate analyses, the most significant independent predictors of higher hospital charges were longer LOS, admission to a teaching hospital, treatment in an intensive care unit, and the utilization of cardiac surgery, permanent pacemakers, and mechanical ventilation. Age, gender, race, comorbidity score, and medical insurance, as well as treatment by a cardiologist and death during the index hospitalization were not among the most significant predictors. Conclusions: We conclude that LOS and procedure utilization are the major determinants of hospital charges for an acute episode of inpatient HF care. Reducing LOS and other initiatives to restructure hospital-based HF care may reduce total health care costs for HF. [source] |