Relationship between nutritional status indicators and length of hospital stay for patients with diverticular disease.

The length of a patient's stay in a hospital is an indication of the patient's recovery rate. Length of hospital stay has also become an important economic factor for hospitals. This is especially true since 1983 as a result of implementation of the Prospective Payment System based on diagnosis-related groups. In this study, the results of routine laboratory tests of nutritional status were examined for relationships between nutritional status and the length of hospital stay. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 163 patients with diverticulosis and diverticulitis of the colon to determine which nutrition assessment parameters are sensitive in predicting recovery rate (length of hospital stay). We found that serum albumin level was negatively correlated with length of hospital stay. Women without gastrointestinal bleeding stayed an average of 20.1 +/- 8.5 days when serum albumin level was 30 g/L or less vs 11.2 +/- 10.5 days when it was greater than 30 g/L. Hemoglobin and/or hematocrit levels were also negatively correlated with length of hospital stay for this group. Women without bleeding stayed an average of 16.4 +/- 13.4 days when the hemoglobin level was 120 g/L or less vs 10.4 +/- 9.1 days when it was greater than 120 g/L. These results suggest that a patient's nutritional status upon admission has an effect on the length of hospital stay for patients with diverticular disease.