Flanagan D, Moore E, Baker S, Wright D, Lynch P
Plymouth Diabetes Service, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK.
Diabet Med. 2008 Feb;25(2):147-51. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-5491.2007.02326.x. Epub 2008 Jan 14.
At any given time, people with diabetes occupy approximately 5-10% of acute hospital beds. In addition, diabetes is associated with a greater length of stay (LOS). This is partially because of increased complexity of the cases but also because of unfamiliarity of dealing with the condition by other specialist teams.
In 2002, with increasing pressure on acute hospital beds, a team was established to improve the care of inpatients with diabetes admitted to Derriford Hospital. The team consisted of five diabetes specialist nurses dedicated to inpatient care, supported by a consultant and specialist registrar diabetologist. A link nurse responsible for diabetes was appointed on every ward and each individual with a diagnosis of diabetes was identified on admission. We have compared LOS of all patients with diabetes admitted between January 2002 and December 2006.
LOS fell from a mean +/- se of 8.3 +/- 0.18 days in 2002 to 7.7 +/- 0.10 days in 2006 (P = 0.002). Significant falls were seen for emergency admissions (9.7 +/- 0.23 vs. 9.2 +/- 0.20, P < 0.001) but not elective admissions. The data show significant reductions in LOS for medical admissions (9.2 +/- 0.24 vs. 8.4 +/- 0.20, P < 0.001) but not surgical admissions. Over the same period, LOS for the total hospital population fell by 0.3 days (P < 0.001).
In conclusion, a team specifically employed to focus on inpatient diabetes care has a significant impact on LOS of this patient group.
在任何给定时间，糖尿病患者约占用急性医院病床的5 - 10%。此外，糖尿病与更长的住院时间（LOS）相关。部分原因是病例复杂性增加，但也因为其他专科团队对处理该病症不熟悉。
2002年，随着急性医院病床压力增大，成立了一个团队以改善德里福德医院住院糖尿病患者的护理。该团队由五名专注于住院护理的糖尿病专科护士组成，由一名顾问和糖尿病专科住院医师提供支持。每个病房都指定了一名负责糖尿病护理的联络护士，并且在入院时识别出每一位诊断为糖尿病的患者。我们比较了2002年1月至2006年12月期间所有入院糖尿病患者的住院时间。
住院时间从2002年的平均±标准误8.3±0.18天降至2006年的7.7±0.10天（P = 0.002）。急诊入院患者的住院时间显著下降（9.7±0.2
