FROM HOSPITAL PRACTICE
Current and former cigarette smoking were associated with a longer hospital stay for patients with lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or ischemic heart disease, according to a report published in Hospital Practice.
Researchers assessed factors influencing hospital length of stay (LOS) as a first step toward shortening that measure, improving inpatient services, and cutting hospital costs in Iran, where this issue has not been studied previously. The overall prevalence of smoking in Iran is 12.5%, and it is much more common among men than women, said Satar Rezaei, Ph.D., of the Research Centre for Environmental Determinants of Health, Kermanshah (Iran) University of Medical Sciences, and his associates.
They assessed LOS in 1,271 patients aged 35-93 years (mean age, 63 years) who were hospitalized at 11 Tehran medical centers during a 1-year period. Slightly more than half (54%) of these patients had never smoked, while 34% were current smokers and 12% were former smokers. A total of 415 (32%) had lung cancer, 427 (34%) had COPD, and 429 (34%) had ischemic heart disease. The overall mean LOS was 7.3 days, with a range from 1 to 45 days.
The mean LOS was 48% longer among current smokers and 15% longer among former smokers than among nonsmokers. It was 9.4 days for current smokers and 7.3 days for former smokers, compared with 6.0 days for nonsmokers, Dr. Rezaei and his associates said ( Hosp. Pract. 2016. doi: 10.1080/21548331.2016.1178579 ).
Patient cigarette smoking imposes a heavy financial burden on these hospitals and contributes to their shortage of resources. Hospital-based smoking cessation programs would be useful in shortening LOS and sparing hospital resources, the researchers added.
This study was supported by Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Dr. Rezaei and his associates reported having no relevant financial disclosures.
