• Carol P Chong, Cilla Haywood, Anna Barker, and Wen Kwang Lim.
• Department of Aged Care and Northern Clinical Research Centre, The Northern Hospital, Epping, Australia. carol.chong@nh.org.au
• Australas J Ageing. 2013 Jun 1;32(2):122-4.

AimsTo determine whether Emergency Department length of stay (EDLOS) greater than 8 hours (EDLOS > 8 hours) and less than 4 hours (EDLOS < 4 hours) were independently associated with inpatient mortality taking into account patient comorbidities and age; and to determine the impact of EDLOS on inpatient length of stay (IPLOS).MethodsThis was a retrospective data analysis of emergency presentations and inpatient admissions during 2007 at The Northern Hospital, Victoria.ResultsTaking into account age and disease states, EDLOS > 8 hours was not associated with inpatient mortality (odds ratio 1.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9-1.4, P = 0.4), nor was EDLOS < 4 hours (odds ratio 0.9; 95% CI 0.6-1.4, P = 0.6) associated with reduced mortality. EDLOS > 8 hours was significantly associated with longer inpatient length of stay (IPLOS) (P < 0.001) adjusting for medical comorbidities. Mean EDLOS and IPLOS were significantly longer for patients over 75 years of age.ConclusionEDLOS > 8 hours and EDLOS < 4 hours are not independently associated with mortality. A longer EDLOS is independently associated with longer IPLOS.© 2012 The Authors. Australasian Journal on Ageing © 2012 ACOTA.

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