The Effect of Covid-19 on Length of Stay for Non-Covid-19 Patients: A Single Center Study

Abstract

Research Question: How does the number of admitted Covid-19 patients affect the length of stay (LOS) for non-Covid-19 patients in acute care and intensive care units?

Background and Significance: Covid-19 had a large impact on healthcare systems and various populations. US hospitals saw reduced admissions during the height of the pandemic that had severe repercussions. More research examining specific populations could be used to guide how to best serve a healthcare system¿s patient population.

Materials and Methods: We compiled deidentified patient information from the EMR of a large, single center in North Texas and grouped the information into two timeframes ¿ Pre and Post Covid-19.

Results: The number of diagnoses was found to be higher in the 2020-2021 timeframe than the 2019-2020 timeframe (p <0.001). Comparing LOS across quarters, October through December was found to be statistically significant (p=0.0363). A regression model for the 2019-2020 dataset, the number of diagnoses, age, and being of an unknown or declining to list race were statistically significant (p<0.05). The regression for the 2020-2021 dataset had age, being female, having race listed as unknown/ other, African American, or Asian, being Hispanic, number of diagnoses, and Covid-19 census as all statistically significant (p<0.05). Overall, there was not an overall statistically significant difference between the 2019-2020 population and the 2020-2021 non-Covid-19 population LOS (p=0.2837).

Conclusion: Our article finds that length of stay for non-Covid-19 patients was not affected by the Covid-19 inpatient census.