Ann Rehabil Med.  2012 Oct;36(5):609-617.

Inpatient Course and Length of Hospital Stay in Patients with Brain Disorders in South Korea: A Population-based Registry Study

• Jung SH
• Lee KM
• Park SW
• Chun MH
• Jung HY
• Kim IS
• Kim SH
• Han TR

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To describe inpatient course and length of hospital stay (LOS) for people who sustain brain disorders nationwide. METHOD: We interviewed 1,903 randomly selected community-dwelling patients registered as 'disabled by brain disorders' in 28 regions of South Korea.
RESULTS
Seventy-seven percent were initially admitted to a Western medicine hospital, and 18% were admitted to a traditional Oriental medicine hospital. Forty-three percent were admitted to two or more hospitals. Mean LOS was 192 days. Most patients stayed in one hospital for more than 4 weeks. The transfer rate to other hospitals was 30-40%. Repeated admissions and increased LOS were related to younger onset age, higher education, non-family caregiver employment, smaller families, and more severe disability.
CONCLUSION
Korean patients with brain disorders showed significantly prolonged LOS and repeated admissions. Factors increasing burden of care influenced LOS significantly.

Keyword

Inpatients; Length of stay; Discharge; Stroke; Brain diseases

MeSH Terms

Age of Onset
Brain
Brain Diseases
Caregivers
Employment
Humans
Inpatients
Length of Stay
Medicine, East Asian Traditional
Stroke

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Length of stay according to admission step. (A) Mean length of stay in one hospital, according to admission step. (B) Proportion of patients with a given length of stay in one hospital, according to admission step.

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  Fig. 2 Rate and reasons of transfer to another hospital. Rate of transfer to another hospital, according to admission step. Dark bar, number of patients who were discharged home; Light bar, number of patients who were transferred to another hospital.

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