Relationship between dementia and length of stay of general medical patients admitted to acute care

Objective: To determine the contributing factors that lead to increased length of stay (LOS) of patients with dementia. Methods: A case-controlled study in a tertiary metropolitan hospital general medical unit was conducted. Patients were aged 65 and over, 26 cases with dementia were identified and 26 controls without dementia were randomly selected. Results: The mean (+/- SD) LOS for patients with dementia was significantly longer than for those without dementia (20.59 +/- 15.38 days vs. 9.6 +/- 6.45 days, P = 0.02). In addition to dementia, severity of illness, referral to the aged care assessment team, and day of week admitted were also significant independent Predictors of increased LOS. Conclusion: Reasons for increased LOS of patients with dementia remain unclear. Cognitive impairment due to dementia is likely to increase within the context of an increasing and ageing population. Specific strategies may be required within in-hospital clinical pathways to assist the needs of this group.