Length of Hospital Stay After Stroke: A Korean Nationwide Study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the length of hospital stay (LOS) after stroke using the database of the Korean Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service.


METHODS
We matched the data of patients admitted for ischemic stroke onset within 7 days in the Departments of Neurology of 12 hospitals to the data from the database of the Korean Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service. We recruited 3,839 patients who were hospitalized between January 2011 and December 2011, had a previous modified Rankin Scale of 0, and no acute hospital readmission after discharge. The patients were divided according to the initial National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score (mild, ≤5; moderate, >5 and ≤13; severe, >13); we compared the number of hospitals that admitted patients and LOS after stroke according to severity, age, and sex.


RESULTS
The mean LOS was 115.6±219.0 days (median, 19.4 days) and the mean number of hospitals was 3.3±2.1 (median, 2.0). LOS was longer in patients with severe stroke (mild, 65.1±146.7 days; moderate, 223.1±286.0 days; and severe, 313.2±336.8 days). The number of admitting hospitals was greater for severe stroke (mild, 2.9±1.7; moderate, 4.3±2.6; and severe, 4.5±2.4). LOS was longer in women and shorter in patients less than 65 years of age.


CONCLUSIONS
LOS after stroke differed according to the stroke severity, sex, and age. These results will be useful in determining the appropriate LOS after stroke in the Korean medical system.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Ji-Ho
0000-0002-1108-2844
JH
Kang
Department of Neurology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Hee-Joon
0000-0003-0051-1997
HJ
Bae
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Young-Ah
0000-0003-3053-8525
YA
Choi
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Sang Heon
0000-0002-8910-2112
SH
Lee
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Hyung Ik
0000-0001-8805-3104
HI
Shin
Database; Length of stay; Patient acuity; Stroke