This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Trauma patient mortality unaffected by ED length of stay

ED length of stay did not affect mortality or hospital length of stay among trauma patients, according to recent data.

“Overcrowding may impact overall patient satisfaction and hospital staff stress, but the primary outcome for trauma care — survival — remained favorable at about 4.5%,” Eric Armbrecht, PhD, director of consulting practice and associate professor at the Center for Outcomes Research at Saint Louis University, said in a press release.

Using Saint Louis University Hospital data from Level 1 and 2 trauma patients at a Level 1 Trauma Center from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011, the researchers analyzed outcome and length of stay of 1,139 patients. The researchers categorized patients with a length of stay less than 4 hours into the short group and patients with a length of stay more than 4 hours into the long group.

The researchers found no significant difference in mortality by ED length of stay (4.8% short and 4% long; P = 0.5). After adjusting for Trauma Injury Severity Score (TRISS), the researchers found no difference in hospital length of stay according to ED length of stay. A lower percentage of staffed hospital beds correlated with a longer ED length of stay (P < .001); however, ED census did not affect length of stay, the researchers wrote.

“The demands on resources and manpower may add to the length of stay or morbidity of other patients,” Preeti Dalawari, MD, MSPH, associate professor at Saint Louis University and ED physician at Saint Louis University Hospital, said in the release. “We are at an all-time high for patients in the ER. We are extremely busy and with the Affordable Care Act, we’ve only gotten busier.”

Disclosures: Healio.com/Internal Medicine was unable to confirm relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.