Epidemiology of long-stay patients in a university teaching hospital

Abstract

Background: Patients admitted to acute care hospitals may have multiple comorbidities, and a small proportion may stay for a protracted period. Aims: To assess the proportion of hospital patients who are long stay (≥14 days) and evaluate associations with baseline variables and subsequent inpatient morbidity and mortality. Methods: This is a retrospective observational study of patients aged ≥18 years staying in hospital for at least 24 h between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2014. Results: There were 22 094 admissions in 15 623 patients. The median (interquartile range (IQR)) length of stay (LOS) was 4 (2–8) days, and 10% had a LOS >16 days. Long-stay admissions comprised 13.1% of admissions but ..