Factors that contribute to prolonged length of stay in the hospital environment

Abstract

Objective: To identify the factors that contribute to the increase of hospitalization time in the hospital environment. Methods: A prospective study was carried out with patients admitted to the male and female surgical clinics of a philanthropic hospital in Montes Claros (MG) during the month of November 2011. The study included patients who extrapolated hospital stay beyond the number of days authorized by the Unified Health System. The data came from the medical records of hospitalized patients. Results: The reasons for extrapolated permanence were varied. The most frequent were delays or cancellations of surgical procedures, clinical destabilization, waiting for stabilization of the clinical picture and patients in antibiotic therapy. Conclusion: The mentioned factors contribute to increase the average permanence, increasing the hospital cost and decreasing the rotation of the beds, pointing out the necessity of complex measures to control these factors.