Impact of psychiatric comorbidity on length of hospital stay for medical/surgical patients: A preliminary report

G. Fulop, J. J. Strain, J. Vita, J. S. Lyons, J. S. Hammer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

176 Scopus citations

Abstract

The impact of psychiatric comorbidity on the length of hospital stay was addressed in a study of all medical/surgical patients discharged in 1984 from the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City (N = 37,370) and Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago (N = 21,889). At both hospitals the mean ± SD length of stay of the patients with psychiatric comorbidity was significantly longer than that of the other patients: 19.8 ± 33.3 versus 9.2 ± 15.3 days at Mount Sinai Hospital and 13.7 ± 27.7 versus 8.3 ± 13.2 days at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Early identification of patients with psychiatric comorbidity would permit appropriate psychosocial intervention, which might shorten their hospital stays.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)878-882
Number of pages5
JournalAmerican Journal of Psychiatry
Volume144
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 1987

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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