Factors influencing the length of stay in a unit with mixed rehabilitation and psychiatric care after a suicide attempt by jumping: a cohort observational retrospective study.
France Hirot, Aminata Ali, Philippe Azouvi and 7 others
PMID 36052890WHAT IT FOUND
Longer hospital stays after suicide jumps were driven by physical severity, not just psychiatric diagnosis.
Patients with longer acute care stays, continence issues, or sphincter disorders stayed significantly longer. Behavioral dependence and unemployment also predicted longer stays. Arm mobility limits were linked to shorter stays.
Key findings
01Physical factors like acute care length, continence dependence at admission, and sphincter disorders at discharge were strongly associated with longer hospital stays.
02Psychiatric and social factors, including higher behavioral dependence at discharge, unemployment, and student status, were also linked to longer stays.
03Patients with arm mobility limitations at discharge had shorter hospital stays.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was retrospective, relying on existing medical records without standardized interviews or validated functional scales like the FIM. Data on family environment, social integration, and the exact number or type of therapies received were not collected. The sample was from a single specialized unit in France, which may limit generalizability to other healthcare systems. The study excluded six patients with stays longer than 600 days as outliers, which may bias the upper end of the LOS distribution.
Declared interests
No specific funding sources or conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that psychiatric diagnosis alone determines length of stay. While schizophrenia was associated with longer stays compared to 'other diagnoses' in one model, the strongest predictors of prolonged hospitalization were physical severity markers like acute care duration and sphincter disorders. Treating these patients requires addressing both somatic and psychiatric needs simultaneously.