Ann Rehabil Med.  2011 Dec;35(6):798-806. 10.5535/arm.2011.35.6.798.

Length of Hospital Stay in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

• Jang HJ
• Park J
• Shin HI

• KMID: 2266805
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5535/arm.2011.35.6.798

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To provide the latest statistics about the length of hospital stay (LOS) and the number of hospitals where the patient was admitted (NHA) for patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to investigate the correlated demographic characteristics. METHOD: In total, 277 patients with SCI who were members of the Korea Spinal Cord Injury Association were included in the analysis. The survey was conducted by self-completed questionnaires to collect data on LOS, NHA, and demographic variables.
RESULTS
Mean LOS was 13.5+/-9.7 months and the mean NHA was 2.7+/-1.4. Patients who suffered from SCI by traffic accidents showed a longer LOS and larger NHA than those with other causes. The mean LOS for patients with traumatic SCI was longer than that whose cause of injury was disease. Patients discharged in the 2000s had a longer LOS and a larger NHA than those discharged earlier. Other factors such as gender, age at the time of injury, neurological category, and ambulation capability did not result in a significant difference in either LOS or NHA.
CONCLUSION
The mean LOS of domestic patients with SCI was longer than the values reported in foreign studies. Interestingly, neither neurological category nor functional status were related to LOS. These findings suggest that other factors such as socio-psychological factors, other than the medical state of the patient, have an effect on the LOS of patients with SCI in Korea.

Keyword

Spinal cord injury; Length of stay; Hospitalization; Patient discharge

MeSH Terms

Accidents, Traffic
Hospitalization
Humans
Korea
Length of Stay
Patient Discharge
Spinal Cord
Spinal Cord Injuries
Walking
Surveys and Questionnaires

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Comparison of length of hospital stay and number of hospitals where the patient was admitted after injury between the trauma and disease group. (A) The trauma group showed a significantly longer hospital stay than that in the disease group. (B) The number of hospitals in the trauma group tended to be larger than that in the disease group. *p<0.05.

• 

  Fig. 2 Comparison of length of hospital stay and number of hospitals where the patient was admitted after injury between the traffic accident and other etiology groups. (A) The traffic accident group showed a significantly longer hospital stay than that of the other etiology group. (B) The traffic accident group was admitted to a significantly larger number of hospitals than that of the other etiology group. *p<0.05, TA: Traffic accident.

• 

  Fig. 3 Comparison of length of hospital stay and number of hospitals where the patient was admitted after injury among three groups classified by point of discharge. (A) Patients who were discharged in 2000 and later showed significantly longer hospital stays than patients who were discharged before 1990, and patients who were discharged from 1990-1999, respectively. (B) Patients who were discharged in 2000 and later showed that they were admitted to a significantly larger number of hospitals than patients who were discharged before 1990 and patients who were discharged from 1990-1999, respectively. *p<0.05.

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