Two factors that can increase the length of hospital stay of patients with dementia

Mary Duah-Owusu White; Michael Vassallo; Fiona Kelly; Samuel Nyman

doi:10.1016/j.regg.2022.10.004

Two factors that can increase the length of hospital stay of patients with dementia

Rev Esp Geriatr Gerontol. 2022 Nov-Dec;57(6):298-302. doi: 10.1016/j.regg.2022.10.004. Epub 2022 Nov 18.

Authors

Mary Duah-Owusu White¹, Michael Vassallo², Fiona Kelly³, Samuel Nyman⁴

Affiliations

¹ Bournemouth University, United Kingdom. Electronic address: mduahowusuwhite@bournemouth.ac.uk.
² University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom.
³ Queen Margaret University, United Kingdom.
⁴ Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, Dorset, United Kingdom.

PMID: 36411104
DOI: 10.1016/j.regg.2022.10.004

Abstract

Objectives: Patients with dementia are at greater risk of a long hospital stay and this is associated with adverse outcomes. The aim of this service evaluation was to identify variables most predictive of increased length of hospital stay amongst patients with dementia.

Methods/design: We conducted a retrospective analysis on a cross-sectional hospital dataset for the period January-December 2016. Excluding length of stay less than 24h and readmissions, the sample comprised of 1133 patients who had a dementia diagnosis on record.

Results: The highest incidence rate ratio for length of stay in the dementia sample was: (a) discharge to a care home (IRR: 2.443, 95% CI 1.778-3.357), (b) falls without harm (IRR: 2.486, 95% CI 2.029-3.045).

Conclusions: Based on this dataset, we conclude that improvements made to falls prevention strategies in hospitals and discharge planning procedures can help to reduce the length of stay for patients with dementia.

Keywords: Alta; Caídas; Demencia; Dementia; Discharge; Duración de la estancia; Falls; Hospital; Length of stay.

MeSH terms

Cross-Sectional Studies
Dementia*
Humans
Length of Stay
Patient Discharge*
Retrospective Studies