Key result
Among 390 patients admitted to a subacute complex discharge unit, 60.7% experienced a length of stay >15 days, with age, gender, and multimorbidity evaluated as factors affecting discharge delay.
Why the study?
The study aimed to analyse delaying factors amongst patients with a length of stay greater than 15 days during the COVID-19 pandemic using time-to-event analysis.
Observational (n=390)
No
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 60% of patients in an Irish subacute complex discharge unit experienced delayed discharge (>15 days), highlighting the impact of multimorbidity and age on hospital flow.
May warrant targeted discharge planning for multimorbid elderly patients; leaves open causal factors and intervention efficacy.
Our study aimed to analyse delaying factors amongst patients with a length of stay (LOS) > 15 days during the COVID-19 pandemic using time-to-event analysis. A total of 390 patients were admitted between March 2020-February 2021 to the subacute complex discharge unit in St James's Hospital: 326 (83.6%) were >65 years of age and 233 (59.7%) were female. The median (IQR) age was 79 (70-86) years with a median (IQR) of 19.4 (10-41) days. A total of 237 (60.7%) events were uncensored, with LOS > 15 days, of which 138 (58.2%) were female and 124 (52.32%) had >4 comorbidities; 153 (39.2%) were censored into LOS ≤ 15 days, and death occurred in 19 (4.8%). Kaplan-Meier's plot compared factors causing a delay in discharge to the single factors: age, gender, and multimorbidity. A multivariate Cox regression analysis adjusted to age, gender, and multimorbidity predicted factors affecting LOS. Further research is required to explore multimorbidity as a risk factor for mortality in patients with prolonged LOS within a complex discharge unit and target gender-specific frailty measures to achieve high-quality patient management.
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Rajendran et al. (2023) conducted an observational in Admission to a subacute complex discharge unit (n=390). Age, gender, and multimorbidity was evaluated on Length of stay > 15 days. Among 390 patients admitted to a subacute complex discharge unit, 60.7% experienced a length of stay >15 days, with age, gender, and multimorbidity evaluated as factors affecting discharge delay.
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