title: Inpatient Course and Length of Hospital Stay in Patients with Brain Disorders in South Korea: A Population-based Registry Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe inpatient course and length of hospital stay (LOS) for people who sustain brain disorders nationwide.
  
  
  METHODS
  We interviewed 1,903 randomly selected community-dwelling patients registered as 'disabled by brain disorders' in 28 regions of South Korea.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-seven percent were initially admitted to a Western medicine hospital, and 18% were admitted to a traditional Oriental medicine hospital. Forty-three percent were admitted to two or more hospitals. Mean LOS was 192 days. Most patients stayed in one hospital for more than 4 weeks. The transfer rate to other hospitals was 30-40%. Repeated admissions and increased LOS were related to younger onset age, higher education, non-family caregiver employment, smaller families, and more severe disability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Korean patients with brain disorders showed significantly prolonged LOS and repeated admissions. Factors increasing burden of care influenced LOS significantly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul 156-707, Korea.
authors.forename: Se Hee
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Kyoung Moo
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Si-Woon
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Min Ho
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Chun
authors.forename: Han Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Il-Soo
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Se Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Tai Ryoon
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Han