Authors: Kevin D Hofer Rotraud K Saurenmann
Publish Date: 2017/03/08
Volume: 176, Issue: 5, Pages: 591-598
Abstract
Prolonged emergency department ED length of stay LOS is used as a proxy for ED overcrowding and is associated with adverse outcomes of patients requiring therapy and reduced patient satisfaction Our aim was to identify and quantify variables which affect EDLOS Patients admitted to the pediatric ED of a large regional Swiss hospital during a 1year period were analyzed for LOS in minutes Predictor variables included patientassociated parameters time of admission and discharge ED occupancy triage score diagnosis and demographic data and external factors weekday time and season A total of 4885 visits were included in a multivariable logistic regression analysis Median LOS was 124 min The most important factors associated with prolonged LOS were physician referral adjusted odds ratio OR 197 95 confidence interval CI 147–262 morning admissions especially before noon OR 192 95 CI 123–307 and gastrointestinal infections OR 138 95 CI 108–176 Upper airway infections OR 037 95 CI 027–049 and triage level 5 OR 018 95 CI 006–061 were inversely associated with EDLOS Together with ED occupancy these factors did significantly contribute to log LOS in a stepwise backward multiple regression model p 0001
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