Assessment of length of stay in a psychiatric unit

ABSTRACT

A sample of the files of the patients admitted to the psychiatric unit of Cairo University teaching hospital were analyzed for different demographic and clinical variables. Patients were divided into those with a short stay [less than 2 weeks] and those with an intermediate stay [more than 2 weeks]. The mean length of stay for the former group was 8.6 days and for the latter group was 42.73 days [P< 0.01]. The only variable of significant difference between the two groups was social status, where single status was significantly more associated with the short term group. The authors discuss the clinical implications of their findings and present recommendations for future research