ABSTRACT
Objective China is experiencing increasing disease burden and economic burden of acute myocardial infarction(AMI),while the healthcare resources are limited and unevenly distributed.Hospitalization duration is an important measure of health resource utilization index.This study aims to describe the time trend of Length of stay(LOS) for AMI inpatient care in eastern urban areas of China,and to identify potential hospital-level factors associated with the LOS,which is an important indicator of resource utilization.Methods The study randomly selected a representative sample of patients admitted for AMI in 2001,2006 and 2011,from urban hospitals in eastern China.After central data abstraction from medical records,patients' characteristics,treatments and outcomes were compared between 3 hospital groups that were divided according to their median of LOS.Results Five thousand and forty-seven AMI cases were included in the analyses.The average LOS were (15.3±10.2),(13.5±8.7) and (12.2±7.8) d in 2001,2006 and 2011 respectively,with a decreasing trend(F=10.93,P<0.001).After adjusted for patients' characteristics,there were no significant different in LOS between years.Patients' characteristics were similar between high-,middle-and low-LOS hospitals,however,in high-LOS hospitals,use rates of aspirin,clopidogrel and statins were even lower(P≤0.001).LOS were longer 1.9 d in the hospitals with relatively small AMI inpatient treatment volumes(30-80 annually,t=2.97,P<0.01).Conclusions The average LOS for AMI in eastern urban areas of China is much longer than in western countries.Conclusion between hospitals have highlighted the gaps in care quality and efficiency.Standardized clinical pathways and hierarchical medical system are essential strategies in the new healthcare reform.