Predictors of Length of Hospital Stay in Stroke Patients and the Role of These Factors in the Management of Neurology Ward Hospital Beds

Introduction: The rate of first hospitalization for incidence of stroke has been significantly rising over the past 20 years and this requires proper management of the neurology ward beds. In this regard, the present study was conducted to evaluate the correlates of length of stay in stroke patients. Methods: the study design is descriptive and correlation. The study population consisted of 153 patients diagnosed with stroke admitted to the neurology ward of Imam Reza Hospital of Kermanshah in Iran, December 2014 to February 2015. The required data obtained from Hospital Information System (HIS) and it was confirmed by telephone follow-up. Statistical analysis included Pearson correlation and linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: The linear regression analysis results show that type of transfer the patient to hospital can correctly predict the length of stay (P=0.012) and the patients who used ambulance for transfer to hospital occupy a bed almost 5 days more than others. Our model was able to explain only 7% of the variance for the length of stay. Conclusions: It seems stroke patients who used ambulance for transfer to a hospital compared to others stay in the hospital for a longer time. Therefore, it is necessary that the number of beds required in stroke therapy wards be calculated according to the usual demand for dispatching ambulances and taking the ratio of personal referrals.