Length of Stay of Surgical Inpatients at University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

Aims: This study was conducted to assess the Length of Stay (LOS) of surgical inpatients and compared factors associated.
Study Design: Retrospective review of records.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. Review of records of 404 inpatients who had surgery from January to December, 2010 was conducted.
Methodology: Information was collected on socio-demographic, LOS and other variables related to the surgical procedure with the aid of a semi-structured pro-forma. Cost of care was estimated using hospital billing documents. LOS was summarized using median with 25th-75th percentile. LOS was categorized into ≤ 7 and >7 days. Chi square test was used to compare factors associated with LOS. Level of statistical significance was set at 5%.
Results: The median age of patients was 30 years with inter-quartile range of 13-42 years. Males were 257(63.6%). Overall median LOS was 11 days with an inter-quartile range of 5-20 days. In all, 254(63%) stayed longer than 7 days. Longer stay was statistically significant in 141(75%) of patients who had emergency surgery (p<.001), 35(87.5%) Neurological Surgery (p=.01), 188 (66.9%) General anaesthesia (p=.02), and 64(81.0%) of those who had blood transfusion (p<.001).
Conclusion: Prolonged LOS was experienced by a high proportion of surgical inpatient at University College Hospital, Ibadan. Types of surgery, emergency surgery, higher American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) grade and blood transfusion were the factors identified to have led to longer LOS. These factors are non-modifiable. There is therefore a need for a prospective research to identify modifiable and hospital related factors responsible for prolonged LOS of surgical inpatients.