AB081. SOH21AS178. Exploring variation of length of in-hospital stay (LOS) in various elderly acute surgical admission cohorts
General Session I

AB081. SOH21AS178. Exploring variation of length of in-hospital stay (LOS) in various elderly acute surgical admission cohorts

Maria Mahmood1, Muhammad Umair2,3, Jan Sorensen2, Paul Ridgway2

1Department of Health Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, School of Medicine, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; 2Department of Surgery, Tallaght University Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland; 3Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, Healthcare Outcomes Research Centre (HORC), Dublin, Ireland

Background: Increased length of in-hospital stay (LOS) indicates more complex health care needs. It is unclear if age, alone, can be used as an indicator of longer LOS and complexity of care. We aim to explore age as a reliable predictor of LOS in the elderly.

Methods: Retrospective review of acute surgical admissions in a university hospital [2016–2018] was performed. Three age groups, Group 1 (65–74 years), Group 2 (75–84 years) and Group 3 (≥85 years) were analysed for effect of independent variables, including age, groups of episodes with similar diagnosis (GESD) and surgical interventions on the LOS, discharge disposition and mortality. Sub-group analysis was performed for admissions with above average-LOS (aveLOS).

Results: A total of 1,880 patients were analysed with aveLOS =12.81±0.54 days. AveLOS for each age group was 12.5, 13.3 and 12.5 days respectively (P=0.68). A mean increase noted in patients with acute surgical intervention under General Anaesthesia, Interventional Radiology and Emergency Endoscopy was 13, 7.3 and 5 days respectively. Patients discharged home accounted for 79.6%. Out of the patients transferred to convalescent centres 66.0% were over 75 years. In Group 3, 22.0% of the admissions were discharged to nursing homes. Admissions with above aveLOS; 57.5% were male, 38.8% had gastrointestinal pathology and 47.6% underwent GA. No significant correlation was found between gender, diagnosis and interventions among admissions with above aveLOS.

Conclusions: Variables other than age are important to understand the variation in LOS. LOS is significantly influenced by GESD, acute surgery and type of intervention performed. Elderly acute surgical patients who are more likely to require surgery, should be pre-screened for discharge pathways.

Keywords: Acute surgical admission; age; elderly population length of in-hospital stay; surgical intervention; surgical outcomes

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-21-ab081
Cite this abstract as: Mahmood M, Umair M, Sorensen J, Ridgway P. SOH21AS178. Exploring variation of length of in-hospital stay (LOS) in various elderly acute surgical admission cohorts. Mesentery Peritoneum 2021;5:AB081.

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