Determinants of length of stay in an inpatient stroke rehabilitation unit in Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE: To determine and analyze the influence of age, gender, and ethnicity in the length of stay (LoS) of inpatient rehabilitation unit patients after stroke.

METHODS: All patients who completed the stroke rehabilitation program at Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 1st January 2005 to 15th October 2008 were selected for the study. Admission records of 823 (male; 551, female; 272) patients with a mean age of 62.87 +/- 0.54 years were included in this study. Patients aged less than or equal to 19 and more than than or equal to 91 years were excluded due to small sample size. Age, gender, and ethnic differences of LoS were analyzed.

RESULTS: The mean LoS on the stroke rehabilitation program of the study population was 45 +/- 1.56 days. Results showed that the frequency of the stroke was higher in the 51-60, 61-70, and 71-80 age groups, and lower in the 20-30 and 31-40 age groups. The LoS of males were longer than females in all age groups, and statistically significant results were observed in the 51-60 (p=0.0084), 61-70 (p=0.0042), and 71-80 (p=0.037) age groups as compared with females. The study also found that the LoS of Saudi patients were higher when compared with non-Saudis (p=0.0009).

CONCLUSION: The results of the study suggest that gender, age, and ethnic differences were risk factors of LoS of stroke patients.