Factors Associated with Prolonged Hospital Stay Following Surgical Procedures, A Cross-sectional study
Keywords:
Surgical procedures, hospital stay, postoperative complications, risk factors, length of stay, surgical outcomes, tertiary care hospitalAbstract
Background: A major healthcare problem is the length of hospital stay following surgical procedures because of the cost, use of healthcare resources, and the risk of hospital-acquired infections. This study aims to see the demographic, clinical, and perioperative factors responsible for prolonged hospital stay in surgical patients. Methodology: A cross-sectional, analytical study used a consecutive sampling technique for the patients (18 years and above) undergoing elective and emergency surgical procedures (n=120). A structured proforma and hospital records were used to gather demographic data, comorbidities, type and duration of surgery, and postoperative complications. These were categorized as normal or extended (>7 days) hospital stay. The data were analyzed with SPSS version 25.0 (p-value<0.05). Results: 37.5% of the patients (120) were admitted to the hospital for a prolonged period. Results: The mean age was 48.9 ± 14.7 years, and 56.7% were male. Long operative time (>4 hours), postoperative infection, wound complication, hospital admission in the intensive care unit, diabetes mellitus, and obesity were significantly associated with long hospital stay (p<0.05). The risk of the patients being hospitalized for a long duration was the highest in the patients with postoperative infection (OR = 3.74, 95% CI: 1.89–7.41). Other factors that were strong predictors of a prolonged surgical stay included emergency surgery (OR = 2.61) and surgery time (OR = 3.05). The regression model was statistically significant (R² = 0.50, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Prolonged hospital stay after surgical procedures is greatly influenced by patient-related and surgical factors. These are the most important predictors: postoperative infection, emergency surgery, and greater operative duration.
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