Psychiatric consultations and length of hospital stay

Objective: To examine factors affecting the length ofhospital stay (LOS) of patients referred to psychiatricconsultation liaison (C-L) services.Methods: The study sample prospectively includedall the referrals in 2004 to the C-L psychiatry unitat King Khaled University Hospital in Riyadh,Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The following factorswere documented for each consultation: patientdemographic characteristics, dates of admission,consultation, and discharge, and total days of stay,medical specialty service requesting the consultation,reason for referral given by the referring physician,and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual ofMental Disorders DSM-IV diagnosis, based on theconsultation interview.Results: The total number of referrals was 264. TheLOS showed positive correlation with referral time(p=0.0001) accounting for 22% of the variancein LOS. Surgical ward admission and diagnosis ofdelirium predicted longer LOS, while obstetric/gynecology ward admission, diagnosis of anxiety,and diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder predictedshorter LOS.Conclusion: The direct correlation between the timingof referral and LOS reinforces that it is important formedical professionals to identify and detect patientswho require early psychiatric intervention. Ways ofdetecting high-risk patients are discussed.