scholarly journals Illnesses Associated With Increased Length of Stay for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness: A Retrospective Cohort Study of Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumantra Monty Ghosh ◽  
Khokan Sikdar ◽  
Adetola Koleade ◽  
Peter Farris ◽  
Jordan Ross ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Individuals experiencing homelessness (IEH) tend to have increased length of stay (LOS) in acute care settings, which negatively impacts health care costs and resource utilization. It is unclear however, what specific factors account for this increased LOS. This study attempts to define which diagnoses most impact LOS for IEH and if there are differences based on their demographics. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted looking at ICD-10 diagnosis codes and LOS for patients identified as IEH seen in Emergency Departments (ED) and also for those admitted to. Data were stratified based on diagnosis, gender and age. Statistical analysis was conducted to determine which ICD-10 diagnoses were significantly associated with increased ED and inpatient LOS for IEH compared to housed individuals.Results: Homelessness admissions were associated with increased LOS regardless of gender or age group. The absolute mean difference of LOS between IEH and housed individuals was 1.62 hours [95% CI 1.49 – 1.75] in the ED and 3.02 days [95% CI 2.42-3.62] for inpatients. Males age 18-24 years spent on average 7.12 more days in hospital, and females aged 25-34 spent 7.32 more days in hospital compared to their housed counterparts. Thirty-one diagnoses were associated with increased LOS in EDs for IEH compared to their housed counterparts; maternity concerns and coronary artery disease were associated with significantly increased inpatient LOS. Conclusion: Homelessness significantly increases the LOS of individuals within both ED and inpatient settings. We have identified numerous diagnoses that are associated with increased LOS in IE; these inform the prioritization and development of targeted interventions to improve the health of IEH.

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 547-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly J. Horstman ◽  
Andrew M. Spiegelman ◽  
Aanand D. Naik ◽  
Barbara W. Trautner

OBJECTIVETo examine the impact of urine culture testing on day 1 of admission on inpatient antibiotic use and hospital length of stay (LOS).DESIGNWe performed a retrospective cohort study using a national dataset from 2009 to 2014.SETTINGThe study used data from 230 hospitals in the United States.PARTICIPANTSAdmissions for adults 18 years and older were included in this study. Hospitalizations were matched with coarsened exact matching by facility, patient age, gender, Medicare severity-diagnosis related group (MS-DRG), and 3 measures of disease severity.METHODSA multilevel Poisson model and a multilevel linear regression model were used to determine the impact of an admission urine culture on inpatient antibiotic use and LOS.RESULTSMatching produced a cohort of 88,481 patients (n=41,070 with a culture on day 1, n=47,411 without a culture). A urine culture on admission led to an increase in days of inpatient antibiotic use (incidence rate ratio, 1.26; P<.001) and resulted in an additional 36,607 days of inpatient antibiotic treatment. Urine culture on admission resulted in a 2.1% increase in LOS (P=.004). The predicted difference in bed days of care between admissions with and without a urine culture resulted in 6,071 additional bed days of care. The impact of urine culture testing varied by admitting diagnosis.CONCLUSIONSPatients with a urine culture sent on day 1 of hospital admission receive more days of antibiotics and have a longer hospital stay than patients who do not have a urine culture. Targeted interventions may reduce the potential harms associated with low-yield urine cultures on day 1.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:547–554


PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. e0135066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffie H. A. Brouns ◽  
Patricia M. Stassen ◽  
Suze L. E. Lambooij ◽  
Jeanne Dieleman ◽  
Irene T. P. Vanderfeesten ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  

Background: Emergency department (ED) overcrowding and overuse are global healthcare problems. Despite that substantial pieces of literature have explored quality parameters to monitor the patients’ safety and quality of care in the ED, to the best of our knowledge, no reasonable patient-to-ED staff ratios were established. Objectives: This study aimed to find the association between unexpected emergency department cardiac arrest (EDCA) and the patient-to-ED staff ratio. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a medical center in Taiwan. Non-trauma patients (age > 18) who visited the ED from January 1, 2016 to November 30, 2018 were included. The total number of patients in ED, number of patients waiting for boarding, length of stay over 48 hours, and physician/nurse number in ED were collected and analyzed. The primary outcome was the association of each parameter with the incidence of EDCA. Results: A total of 508 patients were included. The total number of patients in ED ( > 361, RR: 1.54; 95% CI {1.239-1.917}), ED occupancy rate (> 280, RR: 1.54; 95% CI {1.245-1.898}), ED bed occupancy rate (> 184, RR: 1.63; 95% CI {1.308-2.034}), number of patients waiting for boarding (> 134, RR: 1.45; 95% CI {1.164-1.805}), number of patients in ED with length of stay over 48 hours (> 36, RR: 1.27; 95% CI {1.029-1.558}) and patient-to-nurse ratio (> 8.5, adjusted RR: 1.33; 95% CI {1.054-1.672}) had significant associations with higher incidence of EDCA. However, the patient-to-physician ratio was not associated with EDCA incidence. Discussions: Regarding loading parameters, the patient-to-nurse ratio is more representative than the patient-to-physician ratio as regards association with higher EDCA incidence. Conclusions: A higher patient-to-nurse ratio (> 8.5) was associated with an increment in the incidence of EDCA. Our findings provide a basis for setting different thresholds for different ED settings to adjust ED staff and develop individually tailored approaches corresponding to the level of ED overcrowding.


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