Worries regarding short length of stay (LOS) adversely impacting quality of care prompted
us to assess the relation between hospital LOS and inpatient guideline adherence in
patients with acute coronary syndrome. We used the American Heart Association's Get
with The Guidelines (GWTG)—Coronary Artery Disease data set. Data were collected from
January 2, 2000, to March 21, 2010, for patients with acute coronary syndrome from
405 different sites. Of the 119,398 patients in the study, the mean LOS was 5.5 days
with a median of 4 days. There was no difference in the LOS on the basis of hospital
size, hospital type, or cardiac surgery availability. The population with an LOS <4 days
were younger (63.8 ± 14.1 vs 70 ± 14.5, p <0.0001), men (63.8% vs 55.3%, p <0.0001)
and had fewer clinical co-morbidities. The overall adherence was high in the GWTG
participating hospitals. Those with the LOS <4 days were more likely to receive aspirin
(adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.12, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.19; p <0.001), clopidogrel (OR 1.77,
95% CI 1.60 to 1.95; p <0.001), lipid-lowering therapy if indicated (OR 1.13, 95%
CI 1.05 to 1.21; p <0.001), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin
receptor blocker for left ventricular systolic dysfunction (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01 to
1.21; p = 0.04) and smoking cessation counseling (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.24; p <0.001)
compared to those with the LOS ≥4 days. In contrast, those with the LOS <4 days were
less likely to receive beta blockers (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.93; p <0.001). The
odds of receiving defect-free care were greater for patients with the LOS <4 days
(OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.21; p <0.001). In conclusion, in GWTG participating hospitals,
a shorter LOS did not appear to adversely affect adherence to discharge quality of
care measures.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: November 05, 2015
Accepted:
October 22,
2015
Received in revised form:
October 22,
2015
Received:
June 24,
2015
Footnotes
See page 205 for disclosure information.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.