[Explanatory factors for length of stay in the postoperative intensive care unit].

OBJECTIVES

Because of the increasing role of post-anaesthesia care in anaesthetic activity, the explicative value of various factors on post-anaesthesia length of stay (POLS) was tested.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective study.

PATIENTS

Population of 38,655 patients admitted to the post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) between 1990 and 1994.

METHOD

Multivariate analysis (semiparametric Cox model) of POLS.

RESULTS

Overall 71% of the patients stayed less than four hours in PACU. Average POLS did not vary with years. Eleven variables were related to POLS, with an odds-ratio (OR) between 0.75 and 0.77 (negative link) or between 1.22 and 2.77 (positive link). A comparison of the OR for years 1990 to 1994 indicated major variations for the following three variables: neurosurgery, mechanical ventilation in PACU, low occupancy rate in the PACU at the time of discharge.

CONCLUSION

POLS are linked with various factors whose changes in explicative value can be analysed chronologically. However, other methods remain necessary in order to evaluate the impact of organisational modifications, as the introduction of objective criteria for discharge.