Objective: Patients requiring hospital care for COVID-19 may be stable for discharge soon after admission. This study sought to describe patient characteristics associated with short-stay hospitalization for COVID-19.
Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with COVID-19 admitted to five United States hospitals from March to December 2020. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify patient characteristics associated with short hospital length-of-stay.
Results: Of 3103 patients, 648 (20.9%) were hospitalized for less than 48 h. These patients were significantly less likely to have an age greater than 60, diabetes, chronic kidney disease; emergency department vital sign abnormalities, or abnormal initial diagnostic testing. For patients with no significant risk factors, the adjusted probability of short-stay hospitalization was 62.4% (95% CI 58.9-69.6).
Conclusion: Identification of candidates for early hospital discharge may allow hospitals to streamline throughput using protocols that optimize the efficiency of hospital care and coordinate post-discharge monitoring.
Keywords: COVID-19; hospital capacity; hospital operations; hospital readmissions.