Individual and Injury Characteristics as Risk Factors for Length of Hospital Stay (LOS) among Vehicular Crash Patients in Philippine Tertiary Hospitals

Background. Mobility in the Philippines has increasingly become a major issue, especially with the growing economy of the country. Road transport in the country is still substandard despite a rise in budget for infrastructure and road repair. Hence, there is a need to focus efforts on reducing vehicular crashes.

Objective. This study looked into the length of hospital stay (LOS) and factors affecting LOS among vehicular crash victims brought to the major tertiary hospitals located in the three major metropolitan areas in the Philippines.

Methods. Data gathering and processing of road crash patients brought to the major tertiary hospitals in the Philippines from 2009 to 2020 were done. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as the Kruskal-Wallis H Test and Cox Regression analysis were used.

Results. The average length of hospital stay of the victims is 6.98 days (±2.26), with 2016 recording the highest LOS (10.44 days) and 2020 the lowest (2.99 days). On the other hand, the median length of hospital stay of road crash victims is 3 days, with the years 2011 to 2014 having the highest median length of hospitalization (6 days), while 2019 had the lowest median length of hospital stay. Using Kruskal-Wallis H Test, length of hospitalization is associated with sex (H(1) = 300.411, p <0.001), marital status (H(1) = 51.696, p <0.001), context of mechanism of injury (H(7) = 346.046, p <0.001), victim type (H(2) = 92.091, p <0.001), vehicle type (H(9) = 288.188, p <0.001), body parts injured (p <0.0001), the number of injured body parts (H(5) = 960.7598, p <0.0001) and type of injury (H(2) = 570.9585, p <0.0001), patient classification (H(1) = 63.12, p <0.0001), consult type (H(1) = 785.55, p <0.0001), GCS (H(4) = 643.87, p <0.0001), vital statistics (p <0.0001), and patient outcomes (H(6) = 2197.243, p <0.0001). On the other hand, Cox Regression Analysis shows that patients who suffered head and neck, face, chest, and abdomen injuries have significantly increased odds of death occurring in a shorter length of hospital stay.

Conclusion. The study showed the length of hospital stay over the years for road crash victims, and risk factors included risky behavior, vehicle type, type of injury, among others. There is a need to look at postcrash response as a strategy to reduce road injuries and related fatalities.