Impact of dementia on length of stay and costs in acute care hospitals

Abstract

The treatment of patients with dementia in acute care hospitals is becoming increasingly more important. The aim of this study was to investigate and demonstrate aspects of the healthcare situation and resource consumption of dementia patients during their hospital stay in a ward for internal medicine. Secondary data from a ward of internal medicine were analyzed on a retrospective and case-related basis. For 100 patients a diagnosis of dementia by a general practitioner before hospitalization was identified. The control group was selected by age and sex from the other patients in the ward (n= 100). The costs were calculated on the basis of the German diagnosis-related groups (G-DRG) flat rate case classification. The relationship between dementia, deviation from the average length of stay and costs was investigated under the control of comorbidities using multivariate regression analysis. Patients with dementia had poorer health at admission with respect to functionality and orientation and a higher risk of falls and pressure ulcers. During hospitalization patients with dementia fell more frequently than patients without dementia (12 % versus 3 %, p= 0.029). Regarding the average length of stay, according to the G‑DRG catalogue patients with dementia stayed 1.4 days longer in hospital than patients without dementia and caused excess costs of 19 %. Patients with dementia are a highly vulnerable patient group with a higher consumption of resources than patients without dementia. The results demonstrate the care-related and economic consequences, which the increasing number of patients with dementia could have in the future.