Early colonoscopy for acute lower XXXX predicts shorter hospital stay: a retrospective study of experience in a single center.

@entity1 @entity548 @entity1344
BACKGROUND: Appropriate management of @entity548 remains controversial largely because outcomes data are lacking. It is our hypothesis that clinical factors, such as comorbidity, @entity1344 , and timing of colonoscopy, are associated with hospital lengths of stay. METHODS: Medical records of @entity1 hospitalized for @entity548 from 1993 to 2000 were reviewed and abstracted, and a Cox regression model was constructed to explore associations between time to discharge (i.e., length of stay) and clinical parameters. RESULTS: A total of 565 hospitalizations for @entity548 were examined in which mean length of stay was 6.7 days. Colonoscopy was performed during 415 hospitalizations. Approximately a third of @entity1 were discharged within 48 hours after colonoscopy. In the regression model, @entity1344 , higher comorbidity, performance of a tagged red blood cell nuclear scan, and surgery for hemostasis were significantly associated with a decreased likelihood of discharge. Having a colonoscopy was associated with an increased likelihood of being discharged compared with not having a colonoscopy at any given time point during hospitalization (hazard ratio 1.5: 95% CI[1.2, 1.8]. The mean lengths of stay for @entity1 having colonoscopy within 24 hours of hospitalization was shorter than those having colonoscopy after 24 hours of hospitalization (5.4 vs. 7.2 days; p<0.008). CONCLUSIONS: In @entity1 with @entity548 , earlier colonoscopy predicted earlier hospital discharge. However, colonoscopy did not necessarily lead to expedited post-procedural discharge. Although early colonoscopy appears to shorten hospital length of stay, prospective studies of inpatient colonoscopy are needed to determine the impact of this approach on outcomes.
